Avac Event

Unpacking the New CDC Guidelines on PrEP for HIV Prevention

On May 14, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the US Public Health Service released new clinical guidelines on using daily oral TDF/FTC (also known as Truvada) as PrEP for HIV prevention. This type of guideline is used by the US government to set national norms for health providers. It is the first such national guideline issued anywhere for PrEP use. Representatives from the CDC provided an overview of the guidelines and answer questions about their content and implications. This was followed by a moderated discussion.

Watch the full webinar here.

Avac Event

Pleasure, Protection, Love, Lust, And Listening to Communities: The Future of HIV Prevention is Here

A webinar in memory of HIV prevention pioneer and revolutionary Jeff McConnell. A respected and passionate sociologist, Jeff (who passed away at the age of 49 this past February) was also a gay man living with HIV, and his identity was an important component of the science he conducted. His brilliant, human-touch research on gay men’s sex, sexuality, and various prevention methodologies involving treatment and PrEP was groundbreaking, visionary, and way ahead of most of us.

Influential on a global scale, Jeff’s work has given us powerful insight into social and sexual networks – and love and pleasure – as important, necessary components of HIV prevention efforts. Panelists paid tribute and memorialized Jeff by reminding us of his pivotal contributions to science and sharing anecdotes.

They also discussed where we are today and the future of HIV prevention.

Watch the full flash webinar here.

Avac Event

Are Rectal Douches Ripe for Further Rectal Microbicide Exploration?

Rectal douching is a relatively common behavior across the world. So, should we be thinking seriously about developing a rectal microbicide as a douche? What do we know about rectal douching behavior globally? What are some of the most popular products used and by whom? What are the implications for rectal microbicide research and development? What are the gaps in rectal douche science?

Presenters Marjan Javanbakht and Jerome Galea engaged our participants on each of these questions and discussed recent research.

Avac Event

Shaping the Health of Adolescents in Zimbabwe (SHAZ!): Key findings and recommendations

A webinar discussing the ongoing Shaping the Health of Adolescents in Zimbabwe (SHAZ!) study. 2014 AVAC Fellow Definate Nhamo reviewed key findings from SHAZ! and previewed how she will use them to shape some of her advocacy in her 2014 Fellowship year.

Avac Event

What are the HIV prevention needs of people who use drugs in Eastern Europe?

Hosted jointly by NAM and AVAC, the second webinar in the 2014 series covered harm reduction, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and Hepatitis C prevention in people who use drugs, with news from relevant studies and new initiatives in Europe.

Avac Event

The Latest on Lab Tests, Lubed Monkeys, and Lube-Using Humans

Why should you care if sexual lubricants are safe or not? What do we know, and what do we need to know? What’s happening to move the issue of lube safety forward? What’s not happening? Join IRMA and AVAC and our expert guests who will provide an exciting update on the latest in lubricant safety and help us answer these important questions.

Dr. Ellen Kersh of the CDC will begin the webinar with a discussion of a rectal challenge study done in monkeys using a hyperosmolar lube as a model for HIV risk and rectal lubricant use. Following, Dr. Kevin Rebe of Anova Health Institute will share findings from lube safety experiments he led using common lubes in South Africa, and Dr. Pamina Gorbach of UCLA will present brand new behavioral data a multi-site study at US STD clinics. IRMA’s own Marc-Andre LeBlanc, our resident lube expert, will then provide a current snapshot of lubricant advocacy activities, including ways you can get involved to make progress on the lube safety agenda.

View the full flash webinar here.

Avac Event

PrEP @ 2 years—and still counting women in…

The US Women & PrEP Working Group, SisterLove and AVAC hosted a webinar marking the two-year anniversary of the FDA licensing of Truvada as PrEP in the US. 

This webinar provided an opportunity to share updates and resources in the field and discussed how far we’ve moved in getting women involved in the rollout of PrEP. The webinar reviewed what we know and don’t know about women’s motivations and barriers to consider daily oral PrEP as an intervention. Speakers included Karen Hoover from the US CDC, Judy Auerbach from the University of California at San Francisco, Alan McCord from Project Inform, and moderator, Dazon Dixon Diallo of SisterLove and the US Women & PrEP Working Group.

View the full webinar here.

Avac Event

From the Booty’s Point of View: Using perceptibility data to inform rectal microbicide development

Rectal microbicide development has made strides in recent years, but, as with vaginal microbicides, adherence remains a concern for product developers.

There are two “P” words we have always loved – pleasure and prevention.

Perceptibility is a new strategy for evaluating what products feel like and how they “behave” in the body (in the booty as well!), during insertion, everyday activities, and, of course, during sex. The hope is that, by understanding how product characteristics impact how they are felt and understood by potential users, we can better design products for pleasure and prevention.

In this presention, Kate Morrow explained the third “P” word, perceptibility. She told us why it is so crucial to both pleasure and HIV prevention, how the perceptibility process works, and how it helps create rectal microbicide products that people actually want to use.

View the full webinar here.

Avac Event

2015 AVAC Advocacy Fellowship Informational Call

This webinar provided an overview of the AVAC Advocacy Fellowship and the 2015 application process for aspiring candidates. The Fellowship team at AVAC was joined by current and alumni Fellows to answer questions and discuss their experiences. For more information, visit the Fellowship application page.

Avac Event

Do we need a new paradigm for HIV vaccine development?

The Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative (CHVI) Research and Development Alliance Coordinating Office (ACO) invites you to join us for a webinar entitled “Do we need a new paradigm for HIV vaccine development?” with Dr. José Esparza who will give participants a greater understanding of some of the lessons learned after 30 years of HIV vaccine development.

This webinar will include a brief history of HIV vaccine development, some reflections about why it has been so difficult, and personal recommendations to accelerate the development of an HIV vaccine.

With José Esparza MD, PhD, formerly of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Adjunct Professor, Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine

To register contact [email protected]