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Home > Researcher's Toolbox > Clinical Research Training > Career Advancement Program for Clinical Research Scholars (CAPS) > Scholar Profiles > David Boulware, M.D., M.P.H., D.T.H.&M.
David Boulware, M.D., M.P.H., D.T.H.&M.
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Following his first year at Indiana University School of Medicine, David Boulware hiked the Appalachian Trail conducting a largely self-taught prospective cohort study of injuries and illness among backpackers. During his residency in internal medicine and pediatrics, his interests
led to clinical trials for preventing mosquito bites and jellyfish stings,
followed by clinical research in infectious diseases. Now assistant
professor of medicine and beginning his first year as a CAPS scholar, Boulware is part of an international study on complications of HIV therapy in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Minnesota collaboration is
investigating HIV immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) which is a paradoxical response to HIV therapy. As the immune system recovers, some patients have an exaggerated inflammatory response to
either previous treated infections or unmasking of new opportunistic
infections. These IRIS events occur in approximately 10 percent of patients in the U.S. and are often a minor, temporary inconvenience. In Africa where people start HIV therapy much later in the HIV disease
process, over one-third experience IRIS, and IRIS can prove rapidly fatal.
The unique ongoing collaborative study between U.S. and Ugandan
researchers goes beyond descriptive epidemiology to translational
research with a goal to understand the athophysiology. From the
bedside to the bench and back to the bedside, Minnesota researchers are investigating RNA expression to determine which genes are turned on and off over time in individuals with and without IRIS. The differences detected prior to starting HIV therapy should enable biomarkers to predict who will likely suffer IRIS. In understanding the pathophysiology and in having predictive tests, this will enable clinical trials in IRIS treatment and prophylaxis. As the roll out of HIV continues in resource-limited areas, Boulware’s research holds promise to improve patient care and quality of life for millions.
As a CAPS scholar, Boulware is allocated 75 percent protected research time. He will work with a multidisciplinary mentoring team including: Paul R. Bohjanen, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor, microbiology and medicine; Edward N. Janoff, M.D., professor, medicine at the University of Colorado; James D. Neaton, Ph.D., M.S., professor, biostatistics; and Tracy L. Bergemann, Ph.D., assistant professor, biostatistics. Dr. Boulware is particularly appreciative of the dedicated research time provided by the K12 program. “My research is in a new area with very little knowledge base,” he says. “The CAPS program is great as a junior faculty member interested in research which will improve the lives of people living with HIV.” |
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