Benjamin Young, M.D., Ph.D.
Ben Young, M.D., Ph.D., is a highly regarded HIV physician-researcher who has spent decades at the forefront of efforts to establish better coordinated care for people living with HIV throughout the world. He served as a Q&A expert and writer on TheBody for nearly 20 years, departing in 2018 to ensure no conflicts of interest after taking a senior position with ViiV Healthcare.
Prior to joining ViiV, Young was the senior vice president and chief medical officer of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), one of the world's largest organizations of HIV health care providers, where among his responsibilities, he coordinated educational projects for healthcare providers in Africa and Latin America. He also provided care for people living with HIV at APEX Family Medicine in Denver.
Young is a long-term resident of Colorado's Rocky Mountains, but was raised in New York and San Diego. He began his graduate studies at the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he received a Ph.D. in molecular biology and biochemistry working in the laboratory of Nobel laureate Thomas Cech. He went on to earn his medical doctorate in 1992 from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and completed his post-graduate training in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the University of Colorado.
Young is the author of more than 80 journal articles, reviews and book chapters relating to HIV and its treatment. He is a member of the World Health Organization's HIV Clinical Guideline Development Group and principal investigator with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's HIV Outpatient Study (HOPS), a massive ongoing analysis of the health of HIV-positive people throughout the U.S. A member of the HIV Medicine Association, the International AIDS Society and the American Academy of HIV Medicine, Young is also actively involved in educating health care professionals and community groups throughout the world on HIV-related subjects. He has devoted previous years to training HIV physicians in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where he witnessed a coup d'etat and a polio outbreak.
Latest by Benjamin Young, M.D., Ph.D.
Progress and Gaps in Scaling Up Universal HIV Treatment in Africa
Several key clinical studies highlight the progress made and formidable gaps left to address in meeting the UNAIDS 90-90-90 goals.
Tenofovir Alafenamide (TAF) Shows Better Safety Profile Than Old Tenofovir
We may have finally seen the arrival of tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) at CROI 2015. The new formulation of tenofovir has demonstrated all that can be demonstrated at 48 weeks, in the phase-3 randomized, double-blind, double-dummy clinical trials GS104 ...
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Works: Implementing Science Into HIV Prevention
Results from three big HIV prevention trials were presented in one of the key sessions at CROI 2015.
The French-Canadian IPERGAY study evaluated "on-demand" PrEP, which consisted of two pills of tenofovir/emtricitabine (Truvada), two to 24 hours pri...
A Tenofovir-Sparing Regimen Could Be a Safer Alternative for Starting Treatment
The ACTG A5303 study at CROI 2015 was a double-blind, randomized trial that compared maraviroc (Selzentry, Celsentri), at 150 mg once daily, to tenofovir (TDF, Viread) in 259 treatment-naive patients, both arms with ritonavir (Norvir)-boosted darunav...
Curing Hepatitis C Virus in HIV-Coinfected Patients: Mission Accomplished
"Mission Accomplished," the title given by CROI 2015 organizers for the session on hepatitis C (HCV) treatment, was premonitional. Two big phase-3 studies in HIV/HCV coinfected individuals were presented.
In the ION-4 study, 335 patients received tw...
Gene Therapy Overcomes Vaccines in HIV Prevention
For the HIV cure and eradication session at CROI 2015, once again, the organizers were funny in choosing the title, "Leaky Latency." In general, all reports were bad news for HIV cure. The more we learn, the higher the distance seems to HIV eradicati...
To Russia (and Eastern Europe and Central Asia), With Love: A Blog Entry by Benjamin Young, M.D., Ph.D.
This month, IAPAC is pleased to announce the launch of a Russian language version of myHIVclinic.org. Since its launch, myHIVclinic.org has reached tens of thousands of busy HIV care providers in hundreds of countries in English, Spanish and French....
Best Wishes, Joep -- A Blog Entry by Benjamin Young, M.D., Ph.D.
"Joep's death is too close and so difficult for me to bear," writes Ben Young, M.D., Ph.D. "I met Joep nearly 20 years ago. ... Joep, already a world-famous AIDS physician/researcher from Amsterdam, a doctor-activist. Me, a just out-of-training, st...
Ms. Mississippi Not Cured of HIV. What Next? A Blog Entry by Benjamin Young, M.D., Ph.D.
The not-cured Mississippi child is "another HIV-infected child whose health was failed by the weaknesses in our community and health care systems," writes experienced HIV clinician Benjamin Young, M.D., Ph.D. "Unless we actively insist on doing bette...
Very Early Treatment Benefits and Possible HIV Eradication
From the "Berlin Patient" to the "Mississippi Baby," we're gaining an appreciation for the possible benefits and utility of very early antiretroviral therapy (ART). Several studies at CROI 2014 explored this subject. In a study of HIV infection using...