Iva Filipovic receives Åke Wiberg Major Grant for HIV and pregnancy research
Iva Filipovic at the Department of Laboratory Medicine receives SEK 4,5 million from Åke Wiberg Foundation for her project on understanding how HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy affect pregnancy and early immune development.
“I’m deeply grateful to the funders, but also to the incredible mentorship I’ve received from Dr. Ujjwal Neogi and support from the Division of Clinical Microbiology and, more broadly, the Department of Laboratory Medicine,” says Iva Filipovic, research specialist at the Department of Laboratory Medicine, KI.
In November, she received a prestigious Vetenskapsrådet Starting Grant in health and medicine, followed by the Jeanssons Stiftelser grant, and finally the Åke Wiberg Major Grant in December.
"I now feel well-positioned to establish my own research group, and I am genuinely excited about the research that will become possible from 2026 onwards. Soon, I plan to start recruiting, and I am really looking forward to training the next generation of researchers in immunology and infectious diseases using advanced high-throughput technologies," says Iva Filipovic.
The project addresses a critical knowledge gap: how chronic HIV infection and its treatment influence the placental microenvironment and early immune programming. While antiretroviral therapy effectively prevents mother-to-child transmission, little is known about its long-term effects on pregnancy and early life health outcomes.
Iva Filipovic’s team will use cutting-edge techniques to study the placenta — an essential but understudied organ in HIV-exposed pregnancies. The ultimate goal is to find early warning signs (biomarkers) to help identify which pregnancies are at higher risk.
Why this research matters
Globally, an estimated 1.2 million women living with HIV give birth each year. Yet, significant gaps remain in understanding how treated, chronic HIV impacts pregnancy and long-term health outcomes. With recent reductions in international HIV funding, there is an urgent need for research that informs more efficient and sustainable approaches to care.
She believes this societal relevance is why Åke Wiberg Foundation chose to support her project.
“Our goal is to understand the underlying mechanisms and find biomarkers that help predict risks earlier and guide more targeted treatments—improving health for mothers and children.”