Jennifer Jao, MD, MPH, from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, was selected as Co-Chair of the International Maternal Pediatric and Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT) Network funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Jao will serve alongside Dr. Sharon Nachman in guiding the Network’s critical work to improve the health and well-being of infants, children, and pregnant/postpartum individuals affected by HIV and its co-morbidities worldwide.
Dr. Jao has been involved with the Network as Protocol Co-Chair of IMPAACT P1115, which reported promising findings last year that children born with HIV who started treatment promptly after birth surpassed a year of remission after pausing antiretroviral therapy.
“I am extremely humbled and excited to co-chair the IMPAACT Network as it ends the HIV epidemic in the most strategic populations for our future: infants, children, and pregnant individuals,” said Dr. Jao, Director of the Section on Maternal, Pediatric, and Adolescent HIV Infection at Lurie Children’s and Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “As an infectious disease specialist and Principal Investigator of multiple NIH-funded international and domestic studies, I understand the unique potential of the IMPAACT Network. I very much look forward to learning from and partnering with Dr. Nachman and the current IMPAACT leadership to lead the network into the future.”
Dr. Jao also serves as a member of the IMPAACT Therapeutics Scientific Committee and is one of the Principal Investigators of the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study (PHACS) Network. In addition, she has led multiple studies worldwide of pregnant people living with HIV, and their children, as well as adolescents and youth with perinatally acquired HIV.
Listen to Dr. Jao discuss her research in HIV maternal and child health in the In Pursuit podcast from Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Lurie Children’s.
Dr. Jao is the Susan B. DePree Founders' Board Professor in Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal HIV Infection at Lurie Children’s.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is a nonprofit organization committed to providing access to exceptional care for every child. It is the only independent, research-driven children’s hospital in Illinois and one of less than 35 nationally. This is where the top doctors go to train, practice pediatric medicine, teach, advocate, research and stay up to date on the latest treatments. Exclusively focused on children, all Lurie Children’s resources are devoted to serving their needs. Research at Lurie Children’s is conducted through Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, which is focused on improving child health, transforming pediatric medicine and ensuring healthier futures through the relentless pursuit of knowledge. Lurie Children’s is the pediatric training ground for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. It is ranked as one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report.