A Strong Emphasis on HIV Prevention and Care

We are continuing our new series, Media Day, where we spotlight individual medical institutions and infectious disease (ID) programs. Today, we spotlight UC San Diego’s Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the university’s extensive research programs and community-based health programs to serve the local population.

UC San Diego has a comprehensive footprint in HIV clinical care and research. The university, through its The HIV Institute (THI), has partnered with the local community to support educational conferences, seminars, symposia, and workshops. They host events that address educational and/or training needs in San Diego County around HIV.¹

THI has educated clinicians and researchers in the diagnosis, management, and prevention of HIV for nearly 30 years. The institute’s Seminar Series is a training forum for clinicians and other HIV healthcare providers. The series is designed to provide the latest clinical evidence and treatment of HIV, produce changes in clinician knowledge resulting in improved competence, improve problem-solving and understanding of complex issues related to HIV/AIDS research and clinical care, and improve performance in practice, according to UC San Diego’s website. ¹

In addition, UCSD has a large HIV/PrEP clinic, and has been involved in some of the clinical trials that have led to the approval of medications used for PrEP.

Nimish Patel, PharmD, PhD, AAHIVP, professor of Clinical Pharmacy, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, UC San Diego, has been involved in clinical care and research around HIV/PrEP. For research, he has studied predictors of drug-drug interactions among veterans living with HIV and hepatitis C. He also works with marginalized patient populations, specifically transgender individuals.

There are concerns around the transgender community and the burden of HIV. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), of the 36,801 new HIV diagnoses in the US in 2019, 671 (2%) were among transgender people.²

Some of Patel's research around PrEP relates to improving access and mitigating or removing barriers in this population.

“I think there's a lack of awareness of PrEP, and particularly among the transgender population,” Patel said. “There's a perceived drug-drug interaction between the medications used for PrEP as well as the medications that are used for gender affirming hormone therapy.”

“In all of the studies that have evaluated drug concentrations of PrEP compared to gender affirming hormone therapy, there hasn't been an observed appreciable difference in drug concentrations, either on hormone levels as well as concentrations of PrEP medications,” Patel said. “So this should be a tool that clinicians can use to leverage conversations with individuals who may have that fear or that apprehension that there's a drug interaction. There likely is not. And thankfully, we're able to measure hormone concentrations to see if there are changes. The hormone doses can be adjusted.”

In addition, to the transgender community, Patel talks about others who are missing out on the ability to be counseled on PrEP.

“I think people who live in care deserts don't necessarily have access to providers who can prescribe PrEP. I think people who don't have health insurance, also are at a disadvantage when trying to get PrEP,” Patel said. “There's just a lack of awareness among people who are eligible for PrEP and providers who could prescribe PrEP services.”

To overcome some of these barriers, he advocates for telemedicine and community pharmacists.

UC San Diego has been instrumental in being able to be one of the first sites that's been able to launch the long-acting injectable PrEP, lenacapavir.

Patel believes this can be hugely beneficial to people, especially those who struggle with compliance.

“I think this is ideal for individuals who struggle with taking pills…Coming to a clinic every two months is hard for people who live far away from a clinic setting, or who have typical 9 to 5 jobs. I think lenacapavir will change things for people who may struggle with coming to a clinic that frequently,” he said.

In the next episode, UC San Diego's Jacinda Abdul-Mutakabbir, PharmD, discusses the pharmacy school's offerings.

References
1. Commitment to Education. UC San Diego. Accessed September 26, 2025.
https://hiv.ucsd.edu/about/commitment.html
2. Fast Facts: HIV and Transgender People. CDC. Updated March 28, 2024. Accessed September 26, 2025.
https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/data-research/facts-stats/transgender-people.html