Immune Activation in Treated HIV Infection: Does It Still Matter?

Peter W. Hunt, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Experimental Medicine
University of California San Francisco, CA



CME VIDEOTop of page

About the Presenter: Top of page

Peter Hunt is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Experimental Medicine at UCSF. His primary research focus is on the inflammatory consequences of HIV infection. His translational research program seeks to understand both the causes and consequences of persistent immune activation both in the presence and the absence of antiretroviral therapy. He collaborates extensively with a multi-disciplinary team of investigators to assess the impact of persistent immune activation on mortality and chronic diseases associated with aging as well as on the persistence of HIV in cellular reservoirs. He also conducts pilot clinical trials of novel immune-based interventions designed to decrease immune activation and recently completed a term as Chair of the Inflammation Committee of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group. Dr. Hunt has also led a translational research program in Mbarara, Uganda, focused on the determinants of immune recovery during suppressive antiretroviral therapy in that setting and has helped develop a large mucosal immunology program at San Francisco General Hospital focused on the impact of HIV on gut-associated lymphoid tissue and the determinants of microbial translocation in HIV infection. In July, 2016, he also started a laboratory to identify the determinants of persistent adaptive immune defects in treated HIV infection, which likely contribute to infectious and neoplastic complications and may also serve as barriers to HIV cure.

Learning Objectives: Top of page

At the completion of this educational session, learners will:
  • Recognize that immune activation persists despite ART-mediated viral suppression in many HIV-infected individuals and that this process predicts the risk of morbidity and mortality.
  • Know the drivers of inflammation that are thought to cause this process and the therapeutic approaches that are currently being investigated.
  • Appreciate the role that lifestyle factors may play in contributing to immune activation.

CME Information: Top of page


This CME activity was approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ on October 9, 2018 and will terminate October 8, 2021.

The target audience is all physicians, NPs and PAs involved or interested in HIV education.

This online video and post-activity evaluation are one hour in length.
  • After you complete the video portion of this educational activity there will be a post-activity evaluation and quiz.
  • You must achieve at least 70% correct to receive your CME certificate.
  • If successful, you will be provided instructions to print your CME certificate at the completion of this activity.
  • Accreditation Statement: Top of page


    This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY) and the Physicians’ Research Network (PRN). MSSNY is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

    The Medical Society of the State of New York designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with extent of their participation in the activity.

    Disclosure Statement: Top of page


    Policies and standards of MSSNY require that speakers and planners for CME activities disclose any relevant financial relationships they may have with commercial interests whose products, devices or services may be discussed in the content of a CME activity.
  • Dr. James Braun (Planner/Course Director) had no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
  • Dr. Peter W. Hunt (Presenter) had the following personal financial relationships in the prior 12 months with manufacturers of the products or services that may be presented in this CME activity: Grant support from Gilead; Consultant to Gilead, and ViiV; Honorarium from Janssen. Dr. Hunt submitted his slides in advance for adequate peer review, and will support his presentation and clinical recommendations with the best available evidence from the medical literature.
  • Financial Support: Top of page

    This PRN CME activity is funded in part by unrestricted educational grants from: Gilead Sciences; Janssen Therapeutics, a division of Janssen Products, LP; and Merck & Co.

    How to Obtain CME Credit: Top of page

    To obtain CME credit for this PRN program, please visit the PRN Courses Page at the Clinical Education Initiative (CEI) web site. PRN and the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY) jointly sponsor PRN enduring materials for CME, and provide them at no cost to the AIDS Institute of the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) for broadcast through the CEI. We thank the NYSDOH for making our CME programs available to a wider audience, and hope you will also browse the many other educational opportunities offered by the CEI.

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