Clinical Research

Human hair grows at a consistent rate, and each segment stores pharmaceuticals, hormones, nutrients, and toxins circulating in the body over a specific period. Through participation in dozens of HIV treatment and prevention studies, HAL scientists found that hair is a reliable biomarker for compounds that have circulated through the body. Those discoveries catalyzed development of drug adherence and exposure tests, which we continue to expand upon and refine.

Learn more about our research findings and publications.

Charting Drug Uptake in Hair

Patient A's hair contains atazanavir (ATV), an antiretroviral for treating HIV; Patient B's hair does not contain ATV. These chromatograms show the presence of ATV.

Patient A

A chromatogram of patient A's hair, showing the presence of A.T.V.

Patient B

A chromatogram of patient B's hair, showing no presence of A.T.V.