George Kyei is a physician scientist who is board-certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases. His research centers on finding a cure for HIV.
He is the principal investigator of the HIV Cure Research Infrastructure Study, based at the University of Ghana, which trains African scientists in HIV research and treatment. While also serving as the director of research at the University of Ghana Medical Center, and as associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis, he operates labs at both WashU and in Ghana and shares his time between the two.
A systematic review we are conducting shows that only about 5% of HIV cure studies include African patients or investigators, which is woefully inadequate. The fear is that if we don’t involve Africa in cure research at this stage, we may find a cure that may not be effective for African patients.
George Kyei
Since about 70% of HIV patients live in Africa, and to help increase HIV cure research capacity in Africa, in 2018 Kyei extended his research to Ghana. “Important questions such as how co-infections like malaria, helminths and tuberculosis affect the HIV viral reservoir can only be answered in Africa,” says Kyei. In addition, cure research must consider genetic and immune differences between African patients and those in the U.S. or Europe, and all the unique types of HIV in Africa that do not exist anywhere else.”