Midwest D-CFAR expertise on display at the International AIDS Conference
The 2024 International AIDS Conference was held in Munich, Germany, in July, and representatives from the Midwest D-CFAR were there as facilitators, attendees, and presenters.
Mike Reid from PEPFAR, Greg Millet from amfAR, Solange Baptiste from ITPC Global, and Elvin Geng at the 2024 AIDS Conference in Munich, Germany.
Kneeshe Parkinson presenting at the 2024 International AIDS Conference in Munich, Germany.
Center director Elvin Geng hosted a pre-conference satellite session titled "Implementation research and the HIV response: Taking stock and charting the way forward," which included several engaging speakers with St. Louis connections, including St. Louis City director of health Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, WashU assistant professor of medicine Thomas Odeny, and D-CFAR coordinator Kneeshe Parkinson. Many other HIV and public health researchers, program implementers, and policymakers representing institutions in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the US also offered their perspectives and experiences as part of the full-day event. Attendees heard about lessons learned from various global contexts and explored cutting-edge methods in implementation science while contributing to discussions about how these methods should further evolve to meet public health needs.
The session also served as the official launch for a supplement of the Journal of the International AIDS Society focused on the latest advancements and research in HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, co-edited by Dr. Geng, Eleanor Magongo Namusoke, and Bohdan Nosyk and released in July 2024.
Rachel Presti at the 2024 AIDS Conference in Munich, Germany.
Others from the Midwest D-CFAR and its partner institutions gave presentations as the conference went on, including both co-directors of the Clinical Science Core, Beau Ances and Rachel Presti. Dr. Ances spoke on "Neuroimaging of Aging with HIV," offering valuable insights into how the virus affects brain health over time, while Dr. Presti discussed a first-in-humans clinical trial exploring the use of gene editing technologies to excise HIV DNA out of cells. Dorothy Mangale, a post-doc at WashU, presented a poster of her work examining and classifying reasons for missed viral load measurements among adults living with HIV in western Kenya.
The International AIDS Conference was a valuable time for representatives from the Midwest D-CFAR community to learn from and contribute to discussions of the latest advancements in the HIV field, and to underscore our ongoing commitment to advancing research and treatment through innovative approaches and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Written by April Houston.