With the enrollment of the phase 1b trial WHV138 recently launched, Worcester HIV Vaccine (WHV) has invited three highly experienced experts in HIV vaccine clinical studies to form a Safety Monitoring Board (SMB). The SMB will be advisory to the WHV138 Program and will be responsible for the continued safety of the study participants and the validity as well as scientific merit of the trial. The following three HIV vaccine experts constitute the trial’s SMB and will share their expertise and professional opinion during the conduct of this trial.
Dr. Marnie Elizaga is the chair of the SMB. She is a board-certified infectious disease specialist who served as the protocol team leader and medical monitor for numerous early phase clinical trials at the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN). She is currently an independent consultant.
The Co-chair, Dr. Michael Keefer, is a board-certified infectious disease specialist with 30 years of experience in the field of preventative HIV vaccines. He currently is the Interim Chief of Infectious Diseases at the University of Rochester and the Principal Investigator of their HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Unit, which works with the HVTN and AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG). His wealth of knowledge will be a great contribution to the SMB.
Dr. Yunda Huang is a faculty statistician and Co-Principal Investigator of the HVTN Statistical and Data Management Center within the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and has provided statistical leadership for numerous HIV vaccine clinical trials. Her expertise as a biostatistician is highly valuable to the WHV138 trial.
