Kimberly Powers

As a child Powers considered becoming as physician.[1] She eventually studied mathematics at Hamilton College and graduated in 1998. After graduating she joined a healthcare consultancy, where she was first introduced to epidemiology.[1] She spent a year at The University of New Mexico where she studied tobacco use in the community.[1] In 2002 she moved to Los Alamos National Laboratory, where she worked as a graduate assistant in the biophysics group.[1] There she developed mathematical models that could describe viral transmission.[1] She was eventually accepted as a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she eared a Master's in Public Health. During her second year at UNC she saw a talk from Myron S. Cohen, and became interest in the use of antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV.[1] She remained at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for her doctoral studies, where she studied the transmission dynamics of HIV in the laboratory of Cohen.[2] During her doctoral research, Cohen realised that Powers would need formal training in epidemiology.[1] She spent one year in the United Kingdom, studying at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Imperial College London.[1] In particular, her research considered acute- and early-stage HIV infection in Lilongwe.[1] She spent weeks at a time visiting a STD clinic in Lilongwe, where she looked to improve patient care as well as track trends in HIV transmission.[1]

In 2010 Powers started a postdoctoral research position at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.[1] She identified that almost 40% of HIV transmission occurred before patients or physicians knew about it, meaning that treatment often started after infection had occurred.[3] People who are unaware about their own HIV infection contribute significantly to the ongoing transmission of virus.[4] She was awarded the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill award for research excellence in 2011.[5]

Powers recognised that population-level prevention of HIV would require regular testing, to detect the virus in its early stages, as well as the provision of antiretroviral drugs.[6] Powers was part of the HPTN 052 clinical trial, and demonstrated that there was a 96% reduction in transmission in couples who had been treated with antiretroviral therapy.[1] She looked to apply this understanding to other populations, including in the US prison community. The proportion of HIV positive Americans in the United States prison system is significant; between 5 and 7 times that of the general population.[7]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Powers looked to understand the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in North Carolina.[8][9] She predicted that by early April cases in North Carolina would reach 4,000.[8] Her prediction was proved correct, even without people in North Carolina having access widespread testing.[8][10] Her mathematical model included estimates of the rate at which people interact, and was adapted to take into account quarantine restrictions and social distancing.[11]

• Powers, Kimberly A; Poole, Charles; Pettifor, Audrey E; Cohen, Myron S (2008-09-01). "Rethinking the heterosexual infectivity of HIV-1: a systematic review and meta-analysis". The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 8 (9): 553–563. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(08)70156-7. ISSN 1473-3099. PMC 2744983. PMID 18684670.[12]
• Pilcher, Christopher D.; Joaki, George; Hoffman, Irving F.; Martinson, Francis E.A.; Mapanje, Clement; Stewart, Paul W.; Powers, Kimberly A.; Galvin, Shannon; Chilongozi, David; Gama, Syze; Price, Matthew A. (2007-08-20). "Amplified transmission of HIV-1: comparison of HIV-1 concentrations in semen and blood during acute and chronic infection". AIDS. 21 (13): 1723–1730. doi:10.1097/QAD.0b013e3281532c82. ISSN 0269-9370. PMC 2673564. PMID 17690570.[13]
• Powers, Kimberly A; Ghani, Azra C; Miller, William C; Hoffman, Irving F; Pettifor, Audrey E; Kamanga, Gift; Martinson, Francis EA; Cohen, Myron S (2011-07-16). "The role of acute and early HIV infection in the spread of HIV and implications for transmission prevention strategies in Lilongwe, Malawi: a modelling study". The Lancet. 378 (9787): 256–268. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60842-8. ISSN 0140-6736. PMC 3274419. PMID 21684591.[3]