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Call for papers - COVID-19 and HIV

Guest Editors:
Nada Fadul: University of Nebraska Medical Center, United States
Gengfeng Fu: Jiangsu provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China
Álvaro Francisco Lopes de Sousa: Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Portugal
Alessandra Vergori: National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani IRCCS, Italy
Xueying Yang: Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, United States

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 11 June 2024


BMC Infectious Diseases is calling for submissions to our Collection on COVID-19 and HIV. This Collection welcomes contributions from a broad range of experts in the field, including co-infection rates and clinical outcomes, epidemiological trends and geographical disparities, therapeutic strategies for COVID-19 in individuals with HIV, psychological impact and social determinants of health, and molecular mechanisms of viral interactions.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Nada Fadul: University of Nebraska Medical Center, United States

Nada Fadul is an Assistant Dean, Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of the HIV Program at the Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). She completed her medical degree from the University of Khartoum-Faculty of Medicine in Sudan and subsequently completed her training in the US. Her main research areas are health disparities and implementation science in HIV. She has published in peer-reviewed journals, authored and co-authored several abstracts and book chapters, presented her research at national and international meetings, and mentored several students and trainees. She serves on several committees at the IDSA and HIVMA.

Gengfeng Fu: Jiangsu provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China

Dr Gengfeng Fu obtained his doctor degree at the Life Science School, Nanjing University in China. He joined the Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (JSCDC) in 2006. He is currently the professor and director of the STD/AIDS control and prevention unit at JSCDC. His research focuses on cell immunology and epidemiology of HIV/AIDS and epidemiology of HIV/AIDS and STD. He is the Principal Investigator in the field of immunology and epidemiology of HIV/AIDS at JSCDC.

Álvaro Francisco Lopes de Sousa: Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Portugal

Álvaro Lopes-Sousa obtained his first PhD in Sciences from the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil, and his second PhD in Global Health from the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (IHMT), Lisbon, Portugal. He currently works as a researcher at the Global Health and Tropical Medicine department within IHMT and at Hospital Sírio-Libanês in São Paulo, Brazil. His research focuses on infectious diseases, global health, Global Pathogen Dispersion, and population mobility. Additionally, he serves as an Associate Editor/Editorial Board Member for Frontiers in Public Health, Therapeutic Advances in Infectious Disease, and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Alessandra Vergori: National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani IRCCS, Italy

Dr Alessandra Vergori is a physician specialized in infectious diseases. She graduated with honors in Medicine at the University of Siena, Italy in 2009. In 2015, she received a specialist degree in infectious diseases from the University of Florence, Italy and a sub-specialization degree in International Health and Tropical Medicine from the Institute of Tropical Medicine of Antwerp, Belgium in 2016. Since 2016, she has been working at the HIV/AIDS Unit of the National Institute for Infectious Diseases, L. Spallanzani, IRCCS in Rome, Italy. She has worked on the front line of COVID-19 and Long COVID-19 management at the same Institute since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her research interest focuses on simplification strategies of antiretroviral therapy and coinfections, particularly HIV/COVID19 and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in people living with HIV. 

Xueying Yang: Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, United States

Dr Yang is an Assistant Professor at University of South Carolina (USC) Arnold School of Public Health. Her academic training has provided her with an excellent interdisciplinary background (epidemiology, health promotion, behavioral science, and psychology). She has focused on HIV prevention and treatment research since 2008 and has been working with diverse vulnerable and marginalized populations (e.g., men who have sex with men). In the past several years, she has been actively engaged in using data-science approaches to investigate the intersection of HIV and COVID-19 pandemic-related research. Currently, she serves as PI or Co-I on five NIH (e.g., R21AI170159-01A1 to examine the COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among people with HIV) grants and several internal grants (e.g., ASPIRE).

About the Collection

BMC Infectious Diseases is calling for submissions to our Collection on COVID-19 and HIV.

The global scientific community has faced unprecedented challenges in recent years with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. As researchers strive to understand and combat this novel coronavirus, it is imperative to consider the interactions between COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. In this regard, the intersecting realms of COVID-19 and HIV have garnered significant attention.

Advancing our collective understanding of the intricate relationship between COVID-19 and HIV is of utmost importance for several compelling reasons. The intersection of these two diseases presents unique challenges and opportunities for both research and clinical practice. Through interdisciplinary investigations, we have already witnessed significant advances in our understanding of immune responses, antiviral therapies, and public health interventions, while studies exploring the impact of COVID-19 on individuals with HIV have provided valuable insights into the interplay between viral infections and immune dysfunction.

Continued research in this field holds great promise for further breakthroughs. By unraveling the intricacies of COVID-19 and HIV co-infection, we may gain crucial insights into the long-term consequences of dual infections, refine clinical management strategies, and develop tailored interventions to improve patient outcomes. Additionally, this ongoing exploration may help identify shared vulnerabilities and molecular targets that could be exploited for the development of novel therapeutics and vaccines. Moreover, lessons learned from the collaborative response to these dual epidemics can guide future preparedness efforts for emerging infectious diseases.

This Collection welcomes contributions from a broad range of experts in the field, including infectious disease specialists, virologists, immunologists, epidemiologists, public health practitioners, social scientists, and clinicians. This Collection seeks to address a broad spectrum of topics related to COVID-19 and HIV, including but not limited to:

  • Co-infection rates and clinical outcomes
  • Immune responses and immunological interactions
  • Epidemiological trends and geographical disparities
  • Impact of COVID-19 on HIV testing and diagnostics
  • Therapeutic strategies for COVID-19 in individuals with HIV
  • Psychological impact and social determinants of health
  • Vaccination efficacy and safety in HIV-infected individuals
  • Long-term consequences of dual COVID-19 and HIV infection
  • Public health interventions and health system responses
  • Molecular mechanisms of viral interactions


Image credit: Corona Borealis / stock.adobe.com

  1. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted multiple health services, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing, care, and treatment services, jeopardizing the achievement of the ...

    Authors: David A. Forero-Peña, Fhabián S. Carrión-Nessi, José L. Forero-Peña, Natasha A. Camejo-Ávila, Daniela L. Mendoza-Millán, Óscar D. Omaña-Ávila, Andrea L. Maricuto, Viledy L. Velásquez, Mario D. Mejía-Bernard, Carlis M. Rodriguez-Saavedra, María V. Marcano-Rojas, Yoesmir Contreras, Luis J. Guerra, María F. Alvarado, Martín Carballo, Jocays Caldera…
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:87
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. A surge of more than 80 million Omicron variant infected cases was reported in China less than a month after the "zero COVID" strategy ended on December 7, 2022. In this circumstance, whether people living wit...

    Authors: Yuting Tan, Songjie Wu, Wei Guo, Jie Liu, Fangzhao Ming, Shi Zou, Weiming Tang, Ke Liang and Junjun Yang
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:795
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "COVID-19 and HIV" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.