Despite enormous strides in HIV/AIDS research, the long-term effects of newer treatments for pregnant women remain critically understudied. At Johns Hopkins Medicine, Ahizechukwu Eke is working to shift that paradigm, now backed by a prestigious NIH award to support his research.

Eke recently won an NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, a highly selective honor that advances groundbreaking projects from innovative researchers working outside traditional barriers. With the $3.5 million, five-year grant, Eke will investigate the metabolic effects of antiretroviral treatments (ARTs) commonly prescribed to pregnant women with HIV. While ARTs have revolutionized HIV treatment, they also carry long-term health risks including metabolic and cardiovascular disease.

“This is an unexplored area because pregnant women are usually excluded from clinical trials," says Eke, the director of research at the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Johns Hopkins. “We’re addressing gaps in knowledge to ensure women can take these life-saving medications without fear of future complications."

By collecting blood samples from approximately 600 pregnant women living with HIV across diverse populations, Eke and his team will analyze lipid and glucose levels to identify patterns of metabolic disease. Subsequently, the use of advanced techniques like integrated proteomics and metabolomics profiling will help shed light on how ARTs — chiefly dolutegravir-based regimens — impact maternal and fetal health.

“We hope what we learn will offer a pathway to think about drugs that would slow down or prevent metabolic disease in women who are prone,” he says.

In addition to working with Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Eke is partnering with three institutions in Nigeria: the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching University.

This research builds on Eke’s previous NIH-funded studies, which established benchmarks for ART adherence and explored pharmacokinetics in pregnancy. His ultimate goal is to develop safer, tailored treatments for pregnant women with HIV.

“Receiving this award is a call to action,” Eke says. “It’s a validation of the work we’ve done and the ideas we’re pursuing, and it reaffirms our commitment to think differently and to chase after knowledge that can improve human lives.”

For more information on Eke's research, visit his Johns Hopkins profile.