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IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention 2015

Conference Blog Series

Several members of the AVAC team attended the meeting of the International AIDS Society in Vancouver which just completed. Along the way we presented our “take” on key conference events.

We invite you to learn more about:

Also, the Executive Director of AVAC, Mitchell Warren, spoke for this video about the HIV prevention research presented at IAS 2015.

Conference Interviews

Watch Access HIV’s one-on-one interviews with key researchers and advocates from IAS 2015 here.

Tweets about IAS 2015


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International AIDS Conference 2016

This year the International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016), a biennial gathering for those working in the field of HIV, including policy makers, persons living with HIV and other individuals committed to ending the epidemic, is being held in Durban, South Africa.

Dispatches from Durban

AVAC posted live updates from Durban on Twitter and Facebook. We also offer more in-depth daily updates. See below, or join our Advocates’ Network and receive timely email updates from the field.

Daily Updates

AVAC Staffer Micheal Ighodaro’s Plenary Speech

“The people who talk about leaving no one behind ask people like me to be polite, to stay calm, to grieve quietly, while my brothers and sisters are dying or imprisoned. Our bodies are seen as an abomination or deserving of HIV—and you still want to know the source of my rage. I cannot decorate this pain for you, I cannot make a beautiful homage, and I cannot invoke hope and prayers. I cannot smile. I need to see action now, today…”

Micheal Ighodaro, Plenary Speech, July 20, International AIDS Conference 2016. Watch.

Prevention at AIDS2016

Research Literacy Networking Zone

AVAC, in partnership with IRMA, NHVMAS, TAG, WACI Health and WRHI, is excited to host the first-ever Research Literacy Networking Zone (Booth 606 in the Global Village) at AIDS 2016. The RLNZ brings together conference delegates and local community members to network and discuss ongoing and planned HIV prevention, cure research and the rollout of new interventions. Click here for all the details!

AIDS 2016 Roadmap

AVAC prepared a full roadmap highlighting sessions throughout the conference—available as a PDF and an Excel spreadsheet, sortable by prevention option and more.

#AIDS2016

Check out the conference on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. The Programme-at-a-Glance identifies sessions focused on specific issues such as cure, vaccines, key populations and more.

Go to FHI 360, at Crowd 360, for the official source of live coverage of AIDS 2016 on social media. News reports and scientific analysis are available from NAM and Clinical Care Options.

AVAC @ AIDS 2016

For a full accounting of what AVAC is up to in Durban (pre-conference activities, satellite sessions, abstracts, workshops, etc.), download this PDF.

Satellite Sessions

Monday, July 18

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2015 Update on the Rectal Microbicide Pipeline: New Agents, New Formulations

The field has spent several intense years studying tenofovir gel as a rectal microbicide, and we all look forward to the results (due early 2016) of the world’s first Phase II rectal microbicide trial MTN 017 which tested a reduced glycerin formulation of tenofovir gel.

But there is a lot more going on than tenofovir gel!

In this webinar, hosted by IRMA and AVAC, we looked at new rectal agents in development, including the antiretroviral drug Dapivirine and Griffithsin, a potent, anti-HIV protein derived from red algae. We also discussed plans for developing new microbicide formulations like rectal douches.

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New Frontiers in HIV Prevention, Treatment and Cure: An advocate’s webinar on passive immunization

This webinar focused on “passive immunization”—a scientific term for an expanding area of research that’s highly relevant to treatment, prevention and cure work. There are trials in humans happening in many regions of the world—and data are beginning to come in that advocates need to understand, analyze and consider.

The webinar featured Dr. Sarah Schlesinger (Rockefeller University) who provided an overview of recent developments across the field including new published data.

Dr. Schlesinger’s slides are below as well slides presented by AVAC’s Executive Director, Mitchell Warren, with passive immunization information featured in an issue of Px Wire.

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PrEP Summit: A Skills Building Conference for Frontline Workers

Registration for the PrEP Summit: A Skills Building Conference for Frontline Workers is free and is open to all frontline workers in the New York City metro area. Join us on Wednesday, May 27th from 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM to learn from leading experts about how to increase your skills in integrating PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) and PEP (Post Exposure Prophylaxis) into your services. Breakfast and lunch will be provided for all registered participants. A certificate of attendance will be given at the end of the summit.

The goal of the PrEP Summit: A Skills Building Conference for Frontline Workers was to increase PrEP and PEP awareness and knowledge among frontline HIV prevention workers who serve high-risk populations such as MSM (including young MSM), transgender women, Black and Latino men and women in New York City. PrEP and PEP, in combination with interactive client-centered counseling, can be highly effective tools for HIV prevention. Attendees of the summit increased their understanding of PrEP and PEP use and current research and learned to implement methods to integrate PrEP and PEP information into existing HIV testing and outreach programs.

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GHTC Product, Research and Development Webinar

To achieve the ambitious goal of health and well-being for all, the world needs better and more accessible medicines and health technologies. However, incentivizing R&D for new tools to combat diseases primarily impacting the world’s poorest and ensuring these tools can be made available at affordable prices remains a persistent challenge for the global community.

How best to tackle this challenge and increase the development of and access to affordable, practical technologies for diseases impacting low- and middle-income nations is a hotly debated issue among global health advocates and economists. The World Health Organization is expected to revisit these issues at the 2016 World Health Assembly as member states consider proposals which could include the introduction of new mechanisms for funding R&D and approaches to technology transfer, patents, and licensing.

GHTC and COHRED discussed in a webinar approaches to achieving access to new products, and how those approaches can impact the R&D process. The discussion included multiple perspectives on the topic and a Q&A with the panelists..

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Vaccines in Vivo: Advances in AIDS Vaccine Research

On May 18, advocates around the world observed HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD)—an annual commemoration of the need for and commitment to the ongoing search for a vaccine. AVAC convened a webinar—Vaccines in Vivo: Advances in AIDS Vaccine Research—and updated a number of materials, including our “HVAD Toolkit” for those interested in easy-to-digest research updates.

This year brought the launch of long-awaited initiation of clinical trials building on positive results from the RV144 “Thai” trial. This effort is led by the Pox-Protein Public-Private Partnership (P5), including the the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, who joined the webinar to provide a status update of their current vaccine research and development program. We also featured Janssen, part of Johnson & Johnson, to provide an overview of the research program they are moving forward that focuses on a cross-clade vaccine product.

In this webinar we discussed:

  • When and where the P5 trials are taking place?
  • What questions will be asked in the P5 “licensure track” trials—designed to bring a product to market, and what will the “research” track address? [Click here for AVAC’s explanation of the dual tracks.]
  • The pipeline beyond the P5 trials—including the candidate Janssen is developing
  • The role for advocates in southern Africa and around the world in terms of keeping AIDS vaccine research on track

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Hormonal Contraception and HIV: Understanding the Evidence

A special presentation and discussion of new research on the relationship between hormonal contraception and HIV was hosted by CHANGE (Center for Health and Gender Equity). This interactive webinar brought together researchers, policy experts and advocates to discuss applications for this research in ensuring that all women and girls have access to the most effective family planning, reproductive health and HIV prevention information and services.

See presentation slides:

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Vaccine-O-Licious

Join Project ACHIEVE, Ballroom Throwbacks, Impulse Group NYC, AVAC, and Columbia University Medical Center on Monday, May 18th for the 11th annual Vaccine-O-Licious – #VOL2015 with a special Q&A and Meet and Greet with the cast from Triangle Web Series.

Get your free tickets here

Vaccine-O-Licious is an annual event designed to spread the word about HIV Vaccine Awareness Day.The event brought together a variety of performers uniting through dance and song.Peppermint hosted this exciting evening of entertainment, with a little education too!

Address: Santos Party House, 96 Lafayette St, New York, NY, 10013

Doors Open: 6:30 PM

Special Q&A with the cast of Triangle Web Series at 7 PM

Show Time: 7:30 PM

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CUREiculum Webinar: Measuring the HIV Reservoir

One of the major barriers to finding a cure for HIV is the ability to count how much latent virus persists inside the cells of a person living with HIV who is on effective treatment. Drs. Janet and Robert Siliciano shared the current challenges & strategies to measuring the latent HIV reservoir.