Last Gift In the Media

In-Depth: HIV Institute at UC San Diego paves way towards cure
10News San Diego

To Help Researchers Find Out About HIV’s Life After Death, Some People Plan to Donate Their Bodies to Science
TheBody: The HIV/AIDS Resource | April 2021

Dying People Give Last Gift to Help Cure HIV
EurekAlert | January 2020

The Last Gift: Taking Part in HIV Cure Research at the End of Life
PositivelyAware | May 2019

Virus Detectives Test Whole-body Scans in Search of HIV’s Hiding Places
Nature | October 2018

HIV+ Volunteers are Bequeathing their Organs to a New Project
The Economist | June 2018

HIV Survivors Give Their ‘Last Gift’ In A New San Diego Study
KPBS | September 2017

Last Gift Study: End-of-Life HIV Research
infectious Disease Advisor | June 2017

Last Gift Study: Community Perspective on End-of-Life HIV Research
Infectious Disease Advisor | June 2017

Last Gift Research Publications

Integrating Socio-Behavioral, Ethics, Community, and Translational Science Considerations in HIV Cure Research
Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS. In Press.

Motivations, Acceptability and Ethical Considerations for Interventional HIV Cure-Related Research at the End of Life: Perspectives from Long-Term Survivors of HIV in the United States
BMC Medical Ethics. In Press.

Persistent type I interferon signaling within the brain of people with HIV on ART with cognitive impairment
PLoS Pathogens. 2025 Aug 20; 21(8):e1013411. PMID: 40833988.

Relationship between Opioid Use, Depression and Quality of Life among Persons with HIV at End of Life
JAIDS. 2025 Aug 4. PMID: 40757930.

HIV Integration into the PTEN Gene and Its Tumor Microenvironment Implications for Lung Cancer
Current Oncology. 2025 Jul 4; 32(7):389. PMID: 40710199.

“This is How I Give Back”: Long-Term Survivors on Legacy and HIV Cure Research at the End of Life – A Qualitative Inquiry in the United States
Infectious Diseases Reports. 2025 Jul; 17(4): 78. PMID 40700324.

“A Cure Might Help, but It Won’t Erase It All”: Policy Challenges and Priorities for Long-Term Survivors of HIV in the United States
Journal of the International AIDS Society. 2025; 28(7). PMID 40611541.

Awareness and Willingness Regarding Organ Donation among People Living with HIV in Canada
AIDS Care. 2025 May; 37(5): 832-842. PMID 40178941.

Navigating the Dual Role of Physician and Clinician Investigator in End-of-Life Research
AIDS Care. 2025; 37(4): 618 – 25. PMID 39899534.

Quality of Life in People with HIV at the End of Life: Results from the Last Gift Study
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. 2025 Jan 1; 98(1): 82-89. PMID 39361015.

“Sometimes They Exclude Us Because of Our Age – That’s Not Right”: Perceptions of HIV Cure-Related Research among Diverse Long-Term Survivors in the United States
AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. 2025 Apr 23. PMID 40267045.

Anatomical, subset, and HIV-dependent expression of viral sensors and restriction factors
Cell Reports. 2025 Jan 28; 44(1): 115202. PMID 39798087.

Gene expression and chromatin conformation of microglia in virally suppressed people with HIV.
Life Science Alliance. 2024 Jul 26; 7(10): e202402736. PMID 39060113.

People with HIV at the End of Life and their Next-of-Kin/Loved Ones Are Willing to Participate in Interventional HIV Cure-Related Research.
AIDS. 2024 Feb 1; 38(2): 235-243. PMID 37861674.

Perceived Risks and Benefits of Enrolling People with HIV at the End of Life in HIV Cure Research in Southern California, United States.
Journal of Virus Eradication. 2023; 9(2): 100328. PMID 37440872.

A Community-Driven Framework to Prioritize the Use of Donated Human Biological Materials in the Context of HIV Cure-Related Research at the End of Life.
Pathogens and Immunity. 2023; 8(1): 1 – 16. PMID 37252012.

Vulnerability in Biomedical Research: A Historical Reflection and Practical Implications for HIV Cure-Related Research.
AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. 2024 Jan; 40(1): 22-27. PMID 37227023.

Identification of system-level features in HIV migration within a host.
PLoS One. 2023 Sep 26; 18(9): e0291367. PMID 37751407.

Donating One’s Body to HIV Cure Research Through Canadian Medical Assistance in Dying: A Case Study.
Current HIV Research. 2023; 21(4): 264-267. PMID 37670698.

Brain microglia serve as a persistent HIV reservoir despite durable antiretroviral therapy.
Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2023 Jun 15; 133(12): e167417. PMID 37317962.

Lessons for Understanding Central Nervous System HIV Reservoirs from the Last Gift Program
Current HIV/AIDS Reports. 2022 Dec; 19(6): 566-579. PMID 36260191.

Landscape of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Neutralization Susceptibilities Across Tissue Reservoirs.
Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2022 Oct 12; 75(8): 1342-1350. PMID 35234862.

Willingness of Older Canadians with HIV to Participate in HIV Cure Research Near and After the End of Life: A Mixed-Method Study
AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. 2022 Aug; 38(8): 670-682. PMID 35778845.

Lessons learned from the Last Gift study: ethical and practical challenges faced while conducting HIV cure-related research at the end of life 
Journal of Medical Ethics. 2023 May; 49(5): 305-310. PMID 35732421.

Ethical and practical considerations for HIV cure-related research at the end-of-life: a qualitative interview and focus group study in the United States 
BMC Medical Ethics. 2022 Jan 11; 23(1):2. PMID 35012544.

Scale up Rapid Research Autopsies for Tissue Immunology
Nature. 2021 Jul; 595(7867): 352. PMID 34257439.

Ethical and practical considerations for interventional HIV cure-related research at the end-of-life: A qualitative study with key stakeholders in the United States
PLOS One. 2021 Jul 16; 16(7): e0254148. PMID 34270612.

Attitudes and perceptions of next-of-kin/loved ones toward end-of-life HIV cure-related research: A qualitative focus group study in Southern California 
PLOS One. 2021 May 7; 16(5): e0250882. PMID 33961653.

3D Visualization of Immune Cell Populations in HIV-Infected Tissues via Clearing, Immunostaining, Confocal, and Light Sheet Fluorescence Microscopy
Journal of Visualized Experiments. 2021 May 6; (171): 10.3791/62441. PMID 34028448.

Clinical and Rapid Autopsy Staff Members’ Experiences and Perceptions of HIV Reservoir Research at the End of Life
PLOS One. 2020 Nov 18; 15(11): e0242420. PMID 33206710.

Perceptions of Next-of-Kin/Loved Ones About Last Gift Rapid Research Autopsy Study Enrolling People with HIV/AIDS at the End of Life: A Qualitative Interview Study
AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. 2020 Dec; 36(12): 1033-1046. PMID 32449624.

Performing Rapid Autopsy for the Interrogation of HIV Reservoirs
AIDS. 2020 Jun 1; 34(7): 1089-1092. PMID 32287073.

“My Death Will Not [Be] in Vain”: Testimonials from Last Gift Rapid Research Autopsy Study Participants Living with HIV at the End of Life. 
AIDS Research Human Retroviruses. 2020 Dec; 36(12): 1071-1082. PMID 32449625.

HIV Persists Throughout Deep Tissues with Repopulation from Multiple Anatomical Sources
The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2020 Apr 1; 130(4): 1699-1712. PMID 31910162.

Ethical Considerations for HIV Cure-related Research at the End of Life
BMC Medical Ethics. 2018 Oct 20; 19(1): 83. PMID 30342507.

Willingness to Participate in HIV Research at the End of Life
PLOS One. 2018 Jul 23; 13(7): e0199670. PMID 30036365.

Can Research at the End of Life be a Useful Tool to Advance HIV Cure?
AIDS. 2017 Jan 2; 31(1): 1-4. PMID 27755112.