While the HIV/AIDS epidemic in America has diminished since its height in the 1980s, the disease continues to exist in America as a persistent, costly problem across the country and the world. As diagnosis is limited to those who have access to healthcare, roughly 5.3 million 5.3 people across the world did not know that they were living with HIV in 2024 alone. Transmission of the disease can be unknown and unrecognizable, leading to a lifetime of treatment as the retrovirus persists in one’s immune system.
Living with HIV impacts many aspects of daily life. Individuals may experience physical complications related to a weakened immune system, the need for lifelong medical management, and mental health challenges such as anxiety or depression. Beyond these personal struggles, HIV also carries significant social implications: stigma, discrimination, and fears surrounding disclosure continue to affect those living with the condition. These challenges underscore the importance of ongoing education, accessible healthcare, and scientific innovation to improve both quality of life and public understanding.
HIV remains a significant public health concern. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV, with approximately 31,800 new infections occurring each year. While annual infection rates have declined since the peak of the epidemic due to increased access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), improved viral suppression, and expanded HIV testing, HIV continues to present ongoing challenges.
The epidemic disproportionately affects certain populations, particularly racial and ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ men, highlighting persistent health disparities and the need for continued awareness, research, and innovation.
In the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the medical community faced an unprecedented challenge. Patients, many of them young and previously healthy, were presenting with rare infections and cancers. Physicians were left searching for answers as the full picture of the illness remained uncertain.
Through urgent investigation and collaboration, researchers eventually identified the source: the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), a retrovirus that specifically targets and destroys CD4+ T cells—key components of the immune system. This discovery revealed how a single virus could progressively weaken the body’s defenses, leaving individuals vulnerable to opportunistic infections.
The identification of HIV not only transformed the global understanding of the epidemic but also shifted the focus of modern medicine toward virology, immunology, and public health intervention. What exactly was this virus? How could it dismantle the body’s immune defense—and most importantly—what steps could be taken to stop it?
HIV is primarily concentrated in regions with limited healthcare access and high transmission risk, with the greatest rates found in sub-Saharan Africa, where millions continue to live with the virus. However, the epidemic’s reach extends far beyond geographical borders as HIV persists even in nations with advanced medical systems, reminding the world of its complexity and resilience.
What makes HIV particularly challenging is its ability to hide within the body long after initial infection. Once inside a host, the virus establishes latent reservoirs—cells that harbor dormant HIV integrated into their genome. These reservoirs act as invisible strongholds, evading both the immune system and antiretroviral drugs.
This hidden persistence means that even with effective therapy, HIV is never fully eliminated, creating one of the greatest challenges in modern medicine and one of the key reasons the epidemic continues decades after its discovery.
The global HIV/AIDS epidemic, once a medical emergency affecting millions, is now better understood thanks to decades of research into the virus’s biology and transmission. Advances in antiretroviral therapies (ARTs) and the treatment of opportunistic infections have transformed HIV from a fatal diagnosis into a manageable chronic condition, effectively minimizing viral load to undetectable levels for many patients.
Yet despite these successes, the virus remains persistent, hiding in latent reservoirs within the body—including the spine and brain. Complete eradication of HIV, through the removal of all viral RNA or DNA sequences from the body, remains an unresolved challenge for the medical community.
As a team of young researchers committed to innovation and impactful solutions, we cannot stand by while this problem persists. Our mission is to develop new strategies that target HIV at its source, reduce latent reservoirs, and ultimately work toward a future in which the virus can be fully eliminated.
Through synthetic biology, education, and public engagement, we aim to advance both scientific understanding and practical interventions, demonstrating that with creativity, collaboration, and dedication, even the most persistent global health challenges can be confronted.