UAB-led consortium awarded more than $13 million in funding to combat syphilis epidemic

William Geisler, M.D., professor in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine's Division of Infectious Diseases.
Photography: Nik LaymanA University of Alabama at Birmingham-led consortium will receive more than $13 million in funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to combat the growing syphilis epidemic in the United States. The funding ¾ which is anticipated to total more than $13 million over several years ¾ will be put toward two projects that are led by UAB researchers Barbara Van Der Pol, Ph.D., and William Geisler, M.D., professors in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine's Division of Infectious Diseases.

More than $5.5 million of the contract will be put toward assessing the impact of providing a biomedical intervention called DoxyPEP, which provides the antibiotic doxycycline to help avoid infection in men who may have been exposed to syphilis.

"Syphilis remains highly prevalent in at-risk men," Geisler said. "While DoxyPEP has shown to lower the frequency of new syphilis infections, there have been significant barriers and challenges in implementing DoxyPEP into clinical practice. This research will directly address some of these barriers and challenges to implementing this intervention in areas with high rates of syphilis."

This project will involve developing and implementing training materials to support service delivery through selected health care centers in five states with high rates of syphilis. The project will focus on providing services to underserved areas. UAB will partner with the Fenway Institute, Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, Tulane University and University of Cincinnati for this project.

"While current CDC guidelines recommend DoxyPEP, many primary care providers do not have clear guidance on how to provide this as part of their routine practice," said Van Der Pol, the director of the UAB STD Diagnostics Laboratory. "This project will help primary care providers to identify the best way to incorporate DoxyPEP in their practice."

More than $7.7 million will be put toward offering reproductive-age women access to innovative rapid syphilis testing to help reduce the potential for congenital syphilis, which is increasing across the United States.

"With congenital syphilis rates on the rise in the U.S., there has been a great need for innovative strategies to test women at risk for syphilis," Geisler said. "This research will be conducted by a collaborative partnership among multiple institutions that will use a point-of-care syphilis test to identify syphilis in women who have no or limited access to syphilis testing and connect them to treatment and follow-up care."

Barbara Van Der Pol, Ph.D., professor in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine's Division of Infectious Diseases.
Photography: Steve WoodThis project will involve working within community settings in Alabama, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Services will be provided through work in collaboration with tribal nations and community health workers and via harm reduction and outreach organizations. UAB is partnering with the National Association of City and County Health Officers, Cardea, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the Raven Collective, and Magee Women's Research Institute to conduct this research related to the implementation of new testing technologies for syphilis control.

"This project is directly aimed at reducing congenital syphilis in areas with the highest rates of disease," Van Der Pol said. "Finding cases in women of reproductive age and demonstrating the usefulness and ease of adopting rapid tests will substantially increase our ability to reduce syphilis among women who may become pregnant."

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection that can cause serious health problems without treatment. Babies can also get syphilis through exposure to mother's blood during pregnancy. According to a report from the CDC, syphilis cases increased in the United States by nearly 80 percent to more than 207,000 between 2018 and 2022. Congenital syphilis cases increased by nearly 183 percent to more than 3,700 between 2018 and 2022.

Funds are provided for the purpose described in Division H, Title II of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law No. 117-103), as part of the MHAF program described in Assistance Listing 93.899.