Mobeen Rathore, M.D., a professor and assistant chairman of pediatrics and chief of pediatric infectious diseases at the UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville and Wolfson Children’s Hospital, was recently awarded a $2.75 million grant by the National Institutes of Health to study the effects of antiretroviral medications on children exposed to them in utero.
The information gathered during the four-year Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study, funded for 2006 to 2009, will contribute to the study’s long-term goal – to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV infection, Rathore said.
“This is an important study because we have made major strides in preventing mother-to child-transmission of HIV and, fortunately, now have hundreds of children living normal lives,” Rathore said. “Although these children are not HIV-infected, they are exposed to medications during pregnancy that have the potential for long-term side effects, and that’s why it’s essential that we follow and evaluate these children over the long term for any possible problems.”
UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville is part of a nationwide multicenter group conducting the research – the first of its kind to look at potential effects of antiretroviral medications during pregnancy. The Jacksonville study site, which covers north Florida and southeast Georgia, is gearing up now to start screening patients. Nationwide, 1,625 children will be enrolled.