HOPE T32 Training Grant Program: HIV and Other Pathogens with Epidemic Potential
About the Program
The HOPE T32 Training Program prepares the next generation of scientific leaders to address HIV and other pathogens with epidemic potential. Built on a strong foundation in HIV research, the program has evolved to meet emerging public health challenges by integrating multidisciplinary approaches across basic, translational, clinical, behavioral, and data sciences.
Our mission is to train independent investigators who will advance the understanding, prevention, treatment, and cure of HIV and emerging infections, ultimately improving population health in the U.S. and globally. Trainees are immersed in a dynamic research environment and are supported through a highly personalized training experience that combines rigorous scientific inquiry, structured mentorship, and targeted career development.
The program is guided by four core goals.
- Research Training: The program aims to provide hands-on, multidisciplinary research training in HIV and emerging infections.
- Didactic Education: The program aims to deliver a flexible curriculum tailored to each trainee’s scientific interests and career trajectory.
- Communication & Networking: The program aims to build strong communication skills and foster local, national, and international collaborations.
- Career Advancement: The program aims to support the transition to independent research careers in academia, government, or industry.
A defining strength of the program is its team-based mentoring model, in which each trainee is supported by a primary mentor and a multidisciplinary mentoring team. This structure ensures exposure to diverse perspectives and expertise, while promoting innovation and collaboration.
The program also prioritizes well-being and professional development, incorporating structured support for mentorship, resilience, and work-life balance, alongside intensive training in grant writing, leadership, and career planning.
With a strong track record of trainee success and a forward-looking vision, the HOPE T32 program equips scientists with the skills, experience, and network needed to lead the next generation of research in HIV and emerging infectious diseases.
Success Metrics
Over the past 15 years, the HOPE T32 program has supported 41 trainees, with 40 (98%) remaining in research or research-related careers. Trainees have produced nearly 400 peer-reviewed publications, secured 67 competitive grants, and led or contributed to research awards worth more than $40 million. These strong indicators of success reflect the program’s positive impact on developing the next generation of scientific leaders.
Our trainees go on to lead impactful careers across academia, clinical research, and public health. For example, Katie Riggs, D.O. (Assistant Professor, UC San Diego) is performing research on the impact of HIV and other pathogens on the brain and immune system and has received research and career development awards. Her research and clinical insights have earned national recognition, including twice receiving the Young Investigator Award at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. She has co-authored 28 peer-reviewed publications.
Stephen Rawlings, M.D., Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Tufts University) is an Assistant Professor at Tufts University, Maine Medical Center, and serves as the medical director of the largest HIV clinic in Maine. Dr. Rawlings has played a crucial role in expanding HIV surveillance, scaling up PrEP access, and building provider capacity to deliver HIV care in Portland and rural Maine. He also established a monthly Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) program, a national telementoring initiative. He has co-authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications.
Elizabeth Hastie, M.D. (Assistant Professor, UC San Diego) is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego and a physician-scientist whose research focuses on the immunologic drivers of HIV persistence, with particular emphasis on sex hormones, innate immunity, and transgender health. Her work has been supported by multiple competitive career development awards, including the NIH K23 Career Development Award, the amfAR Mathilde Krim Fellowship, and the California HIV/AIDS Research Program (CHRP) Early-Stage Investigator Award. Her clinical and translational research has received national recognition, including an oral presentation at IDWeek 2024 highlighting real-world outcomes of long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy, with findings subsequently published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Dr. Hastie has received the IDWeek Trainee Society Choice Award, two CROI New Investigator Scholarships (2024 and 2025), and the UC San Diego Center for AIDS Research Rising Star Award. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and is building an independent research program aimed at advancing equitable, mechanism-informed HIV care.
Judy Lobo, PhD (Assistant Adjunct Professor, Psychiatry, UC San Diego) received a K01 CDA to study brain aging in PWH. In 2025, she was selected as a scholar for the National Center of Leadership in Academic medicine She has co-authored 24 peer-revied publications. The mentoring and research training she received while at the program helped to advance to an appointment as an Assistant Professor at UC San Diego in 2024 and provided a network of collaborators that she continues to work with.
Kevin Kuehn, PhD, (Assistant Adjunct Professor, Psychiatry, UC San Diego) received a K23 from NIMH, along with funding from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to implement interventions aimed at reducing suicide incidence among PWH. His exceptional work led to his appointment as an Assistant Professor at UC San Diego in 2025. He has authored 22 peer-reviewed publications which have appeared in leading journals.
Areas of Research Focus & Inquiry
Our program aligns with NIH and Office of AIDS Research priorities and extends these to focus on emerging infections with epidemic potential. Trainees engage in multidisciplinary research across the five key areas.
1. Next-Generation Therapies and Cure
Research focuses on understanding mechanisms of viral persistence, resistance, and immune control, and on developing innovative therapeutic and cure strategies. This includes studies of viral reservoirs in tissues, immune-based interventions, and translational approaches to eradication.
2. HIV-Associated Comorbidities, Coinfections, and Complications
Trainees investigate the complex health challenges faced by people with HIV, including cardiovascular, metabolic, neuropsychiatric, and malignant conditions. Research also examines the role of coinfections (e.g., CMV) and aging-related processes that affect long-term health outcomes.
3. Reducing Incidence of HIV and Emerging Infections
This area focuses on transmission dynamics using methods like molecular epidemiology, behavioral science, and network modeling, and then translating these insights into effective prevention and implementation strategies to reduce disease spread.
4. Epidemic Preparedness and Emerging Infections
The program expands beyond HIV to include pathogens with epidemic potential. Trainees contribute to research on outbreak response, vaccine and therapeutic development, transmission patterns, and public health strategies to mitigate current and future threats.
5. Cross-Cutting Approaches: Behavioral, Implementation, and Data Science
Trainees leverage interdisciplinary methods to enhance research impact, including behavioral and social sciences, implementation science, and advanced data analytics (e.g., bioinformatics, modeling). These approaches strengthen rigor, scalability, and translation into real-world settings.
Faculty
HOPE T32 Executive Committee
Scott Letendre, M.D. is a Professor in Residence (Medicine and Psychiatry) who has substantial mentoring experience in NIH-funded research and training programs. He assumed the Co-Program Director (PD) position with Dr. Gianella in 2021. Together, they have expanded the program and launched new trainees into research careers. He leads two training programs, participates in three others, has published >400 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and is a graduate of this T32 program.
Dr. Letendre is an Infectious Disease-trained physician-scientist who has developed an internationally recognized research program of translational research of the brain health complications of chronic infections, particularly HIV, with focuses on clinical translation, diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, and antiretroviral therapy pharmacokinetics in cerebrospinal fluid. Dr. Letendre is the Contact Principal Investigator (PI) of the CNS HIV AntiRetroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER) project, Contact PD of the Sustained Training on Aging and HIV Research (STAHR) R25 training program, past Chair of the ACTG Neurology Collaborative Science Group, founding co-Chair of the International Workshop on HIV & Aging, and past Chair of the UC San Diego’s Institutional Biosafety Committee. He provides clinical care to people with HIV at UC San Diego’s Owen Clinic.
Sara Gianella, M.D. is a Professor of Medicine at UC San Diego and a leader in translational virology, with over 200 peer-reviewed publications spanning viral dynamics, immunology, and HIV persistence. She serves as Director of the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Advanced Technology Core, the San Diego ACTG Virology Specialty Laboratory, and the Biological Mechanisms Core at the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center (HNRC).
Dr. Gianella is deeply committed to mentorship and the development of the next generation of physician-scientists and translational researchers. As Vice Chair for Faculty Development and Mentoring in the Department of Medicine, she leads multiple structured mentoring initiatives, including formal mentor-mentee programs, peer-mentoring models, and grant-focused coaching programs. She also directs grant development efforts through programs such as the IGNITE Mentoring Academy and long-standing mock study section reviews, which have contributed to research and career development award success among trainees. Her mentoring philosophy emphasizes individualized career development, team science, and creating supportive environments where trainees can thrive both professionally and personally. She has mentored numerous fellows, postdoctoral scholars, and junior faculty who have successfully transitioned to independent research careers. Scientifically, Dr. Gianella’s work focuses on HIV persistence in tissues, viral reservoirs, and the immunologic mechanisms that sustain chronic infection. She co-directs the Last Gift rapid autopsy program, an innovative and widely recognized platform that enables deep tissue-based investigation of HIV reservoirs and has become a cornerstone for multidisciplinary training and collaboration. Through her leadership in NIH-funded research and national clinical trials within the ACTG, she provides trainees with access to cutting-edge methods, rich clinical cohorts, and impactful translational research opportunities.Sinem Beyhan, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the UC San Diego Division of ID&GPH and Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI). Dr. Beyhan has expertise in bacterial and fungal pathogenesis and genomics and has published over 40 manuscripts. She is also a faculty member of the Pandemic Response to Emerging Pathogens, Antimicrobial Resistance and Equity (PREPARE) Center. Dr. Beyhan is an emerging leader in fungal pathogenesis research, especially on Histoplasma, Coccidioides, and Candida auris, which can cause life-threatening infections. She serves as a project leader for two large collaborative research centers: (1) UCLA-UC San Diego Coccidioidomycosis Collaborative Research Center, which focuses on identifying fungal and host factors that contribute to disease outcomes and (2) the Centers for Disease Control JCVI Prevention Epicenter, which aims to understand the transmission patterns of hospital-acquired Candida auris infections and develop transmission prevention strategies. Dr. Beyhan has 16 years of experience working with pathogens under BSL-3 containment. Her commitment to research with high-containment pathogens provides non-overlapping research projects to postdoctoral researchers. Dr. Beyhan is a dedicated mentor and is committed to training and mentoring trainees ranging from undergraduates to postdoctoral scholars. Her postdoctoral trainees all successfully transitioned to positions as independent scientists. In addition to her mentoring experience, Dr. Beyhan has leadership roles as a course co-director for the Microbiology and Foundations of Medicine courses in the School of Medicine. Dr. Beyhan strives to hone her mentorship and leadership skills through the leadership training offered by the HOPE T32 program.
Maile Karris, M.D. is the Division Wellness Director and an Associate Professor of Medicine the Divisions of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health (ID&GPH) and Geriatrics & Gerontology. She participates in clinical, translational and implementation science HIV research at the AntiViral Research Center and through the CFAR. She currently serves as the Co-Director of the CFAR Clinical Investigations Core, Co-Investigator for NA-ACCORD at UC San Diego, Vice Chair of Underrepresented Populations Committee of the Advancing Clinical Trials Globally (ACTG) network, and Co-Chair of the HIV and Aging Working Group (ACTG). Dr. Karris is trained in methods of compassionate communication and trauma-informed mentorship and engages with trainees that may benefit from additional support to create a safe, supportive, and healthy research environment. The Wellness Committee oversees aspects of wellness, including emotional well-being, work-life balance, wellness hurdles, mentoring relationships, and monitors the “wellness temperature” within the program. Her emphasis is on promoting balance and mental health as well as equipping trainees with objective tools, guidance, and leadership skills to support and sustain a lifelong career in academia.
Martina Sartori, J.D. is the program coordinator supported by the Division of ID&GPH to assist the PDs and trainees. Dr. Sartori has four years of program management experience. She is familiar with all aspects of the HOPE T32 and supports the Executive Committee with a variety of tasks, including recruitment, maintaining trainee records, tracking trainee career progress, and liaising with NIH and UC San Diego administrators for budget management, fiscal reporting, and other program-related duties.
Mentors
A defining strength of the program is its structured, team-based mentoring model, in which each trainee is supported by a primary mentor and a multidisciplinary mentoring team, including experienced and early-career faculty to provide complementary expertise and perspectives. Additional mentors may be selected based on the trainee’s research and career goals.
The program categorizes mentors into three groups. Primary (or Core) Mentors lead the trainee’s research and overall development. Team Mentors provide specialized, complementary expertise across disciplines. Early Career Mentors provide near-peer guidance and contribute to a dynamic, evolving mentorship pipeline.
View our searchable Mentor Database
Internal and External Advisory Board
The internal and external advisors provide strategic guidance, scientific oversight, and mentorship to ensure the rigor, feasibility, and impact of the proposed research, while supporting career development and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.
Internal Advisors
- Joachim Ix, M.D., Ph.D. - Professor; Chief of Nephrology; Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs, Department of Medicine
- Maile Karris, M.D. - Professor, Department of Medicine
- Victor Nizet, M.D. - Distinguished Professor; Vice Chair for Basic Research, Department of Pediatrics
- Atul Malhotra, M.D. - Professor; Vice Chair of Research, Department of Medicine
- Natasha Martin, Ph.D. - Professor, Department of Medicine
- Timothy Wilkin, M.D., M.P.H. - Professor; Chief, Division of ID&GPH, Department of Medicine
External Advisors
- Katharine Bar, M.D., Ph.D. — Associate Professor; Director, CFAR Virus and Reservoirs Technology Core, University of Pennsylvania
- David Boulware, M.D., M.P.H. — Professor of Medicine; Program Director, T32AI055433, University of Minnesota
- Monica Gandhi, M.D., M.P.H. — Professor of Medicine; Director, HIV Clinic; Program Director, R25AI154589, University of California, San Francisco
- Peter Hunt, M.D. — Professor of Medicine; Director, CFAR Basic and Translational Science Core, University of California, San Francisco
Eligibility
HOPE T32 trainees are expected to commit at least two years to the program, during which they will conduct their research in close collaboration with their mentoring team. A third year of support is available in exceptional circumstances, for trainees who demonstrate a strong and promising research trajectory, have submitted a Career Development Award (CDA) application that received a competitive score with constructive feedback encouraging resubmission, and have the support of their mentor and program leadership.
Trainees receive hands-on career guidance and structured mentorship through the Research Review Committee and the Wellness Committee, ensuring scientific progress and professional development. In addition, trainees participate in Research Unplugged seminars, career development workshops, Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training, networking events and other seminars relevant to their field. Many trainees also enroll in formal graduate-level coursework to further strengthen their scientific and methodological expertise.
Please note that T32 funds do not fully cover the UC San Diego postdoctoral salary and benefits. The remaining balance must be supported by the trainee’s research mentor and typically ranges from $10,000 to $70,000, depending on the trainee’s degree and level of experience.
Candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and hold a doctoral degree (e.g., M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent).
Application Instructions
To apply, please submit the following materials to Martina Sartori (Program Coordinator) at msartori@health.ucsd.edu:
- Current Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Three Letters of Recommendation, including:
- Current or most recent mentor
- Graduate degree mentor (if applicable)
- At least one additional supporter or collaborator
- Statement of Prior Research Accomplishments (1 page)
- Example of a First-Author Manuscript (if available)
- Statement of Research Interests and Career Goals that emphasizes alignment with the key areas of the HOPE program (1 page)
We encourage prospective applicants to reach out to potential mentors and program leadership in advance to discuss alignment with the program and training opportunities.
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