Letters from the Director: NIH Symposium at IAS 2019 ‒ Approaches and Opportunities in HIV-related BSSR: A View from the National Institutes of Health

This week, NIH scientists are convening with leading international professionals in the HIV field in Mexico City at the 10^th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science, IAS 2019. With members from more than 180 countries, this is one of the world’s largest gatherings of top scientists, civil society members, policymakers, and other stakeholders working to respond to and end the global HIV pandemic.

The OAR is actively participating in this conference by hosting a behavioral and social sciences symposium on July 23, 2019. The goal of the symposium is to inform and update IAS conference attendees on NIH-supported priorities and opportunities in HIV/AIDS-related behavioral and social sciences research (BSSR). International researchers and NIH AIDS leadership will provide an overview of NIH HIV-related BSSR and insights into future directions of the NIH AIDS Research Program. This symposium supports IAS Conference Track D, “Social, behavioral and implementation science”

Speakers include:

• Maureen M. Goodenow, Ph.D. (Symposium Chair); NIH Associate Director for AIDS Research and Director, Office of AIDS Research, NIH (Bethesda, MD, USA)
• Dianne Rausch, Ph.D.; Director, Division of AIDS Research, NIMH, NIH (Bethesda, MD, USA)
• Heidi Van Rooyen, Ph.D.; Executive Director, Human and Social Development Programme, Human Sciences Research Council (Pretoria, South Africa)
• Redonna K. Chandler, Ph.D.; Director, AIDS Research Program, NIDA, NIH (Bethesda, MD, USA)
• Le Minh Giang, M.D. Ph.D.; Associate Professor, Chair of the Department of Global Health, Hanoi Medical University (Hanoi, Vietnam)
• Rohan Hazra, M.D.; Chief, Maternal and Pediatric Infectious Disease Branch, NICHD, NIH (Bethesda, MD, USA)
• Beatriz Grinsztejn, M.D., Ph.D.; Director, Instituo de Pesquisa Clinica Evandro Chagas HIV/AIDS Clinical Research Centre (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

For additional information on the program, including presentation titles, click here.

Based on current data on the pandemic and the science to prevent, treat, and ultimately cure HIV, the NIH continues to promote and invest in science, guided by the NIH Strategic Plan for HIV and HIV-Related Research and in alignment with the NIH HIV Research Priorities:

• Advance Cross-Cutting Areas of research including the behavioral and social sciences;
• Reduce the Incidence of HIV, which supports the development of safe and effective vaccines, microbicides, and pre-exposure prophylaxis;
• Develop Next-Generation Therapies for HIV with improved safety and ease of use;
• Conduct Research Toward an HIV Cure; and
• Address HIV-Associated Comorbidities, Coinfections, and Complications through research designed to decrease and/or manage these conditions.

As the scientific community continues to pursue new HIV research and innovative applications, this event will serve as a critical platform to share approaches and significant advances in basic, clinical, and operational research that moves science into policy and practice.

Maureen M. Goodenow, Ph.D.
Associate Director for AIDS Research and
Director, Office of AIDS Research
National Institutes of Health