Grant: O.G: STBBI Res.: Beyond HIV/AIDS/Hep. C- STBBI other than HIV/hep. C (general)

The microbiome is the community of microorganisms (such as fungi, bacteria and viruses) that exists in a particular environment. We are interested in studying the vaginal and penile microbiomes, how they influence each other in sexual partners, and how they may influence acquisition and clearance of infections with human papillomaviruses (HPV). In particular, we are interested in the role that bacteria which cause bacterial vaginosis in women play in the risk of HPV infection in men and women. This research will use next generation sequencing methods to test vaginal and penile samples from heterosexual partners of the HITCH cohort study, in order to characterize which bacteria are present in the vaginal and penile microbiomes of study participants. We will assess how the microbiome composition changes over time in both partners to see if there is evidence of interactions between the penile and vaginal microbiomes of sex partners, and if there are penile bacteria which increase the risk of bacterial vaginosis in a sex partner. We will then look at whether there are specific bacteria or other features of the microbiome which are linked to HPV transmission between partners, and clearance of HPV infection by the immune system. We expect this research to lead to novel biological insights into how vaginal and penile microbiomes interact to affect the risk of HPV in sex partners. This research could help identify novel interventions for treating and manipulating the vaginal or penile microbiome to reduce the risk of acquiring HPV, help clear HPV infections, and prevent recurrence of bacterial vaginosis.