Meetings & Events

Meetings
Sponsored Events and Activities
OAR Director’s Scientific Briefings
Other Events and Activities
Past Events

Meetings

The Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council (OARAC) provides advice to the OAR Director on the planning, coordination, and evaluation of research and other HIV/AIDS activities conducted or supported by the NIH. The OARAC also advises the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Director of NIH, and the Director of OAR on HIV/AIDS research programs and the development and annual review of the comprehensive NIH Strategic Plan for HIV and HIV-Related Research.

Upcoming OARAC Meetings

Sponsored Events and Activities

NIH OAR-ORWH Women & HIV Symposium: Considerations from Across the Lifespan
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of AIDS Research (OAR) and Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) are co-sponsoring a symposium at the 13th International Workshop on HIV & Women 2023 on Saturday, February 18 at 1:30 p.m. PT/4:30 p.m. ET. This symposium launches a new collaboration between NIH OAR and ORWH to advance HIV research for cisgender women, transgender women, and people assigned female at birth.

NIH OAR 2023 Workshop for Early Career Investigators in HIV
On April 24, 2023, the NIH OAR, in collaboration with NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices that have HIV/AIDS research budgets, will host a workshop for Early Career Investigators who focus on HIV research. Early Career Investigators are defined as scientists within ten years from their terminal degree who are in the process of applying for an independent grant; those who have applied but have not yet been successful; and recently awarded grantees (within two years). Undergraduate and graduate students are also encouraged to attend to learn early on about the professional path of an NIH-funded researcher.

World AIDS Day
Read about past and upcoming World AIDS Day events sponsored by OAR. Held annually on December 1, World AIDS Day is an international health observance allowing people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show support for people living with HIV, and remember those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. On December 1, 2022, from 1:00pm to 2:30pm: Join federal leaders, distinguished guests, and the broader HIV research community for a live virtual discussion, broadcast on NIH VideoCast to honor World AIDS Day 2022, Progress and Promise in HIV Research.

NIH OAR Session at 2022 U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS
NIH OAR is pleased to join the U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA) from October 8-11 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. OAR activities include a presentation from Maureen M. Goodenow, Ph.D., Associate Director for AIDS Research and Director of the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR), and NIH colleagues on Sunday, October 9 about the NIH HIV research program and the role of the NIH Office of AIDS Research. In a listening session that follows, attendees will be asked to provide input on HIV research priorities. Additional OAR activities include two additional listening sessions with the local community and a site visit to an NIH-funded pre-clinical research center. Spanish-speaking NIH OAR staff will be available to facilitate discussions in both Spanish and English.

2022 DEBUT Challenge Winners Announced
On August 26, 2022, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the winners of the 11th annual Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) Challenge. Every year, five components of the NIH and VentureWell, a non-profit higher education network, offer prizes to student teams that design technology solutions to address unmet health care needs. The 2022 NIH OAR Prize for HIV/AIDS was awarded to the project, “Point-Of-Care Automated Stainer for Tuberculosis Diagnostics (POCAS: TB),” from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. POCAS: TB can perform acid-fast sputum smear microscopy stains to identify tuberculosis. It uses components of a standard 3D printer to reproduce the stain procedures in a timely and consistent manner, offering low- and middle-income countries a faster and cheaper way to test for one of the leading causes of death among people with HIV.

AIDS 2022
A satellite session, co-organized by NIMH and NIH OAR staff, to launch a special issue of the American Journal of Public Health highlighting innovative theory and research on HIV-related intersectional stigma and discrimination

A satellite session on implementation science tied to a special issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes

Other Events and Activities

Virtual NIH Grants Conference & PreCon Events, August 2022 – February 2023

Navigating Early Career Funding Opportunities, September 15, 2022

Past Events

Early Career Investigators Workshop
On April 25, 2022, the NIH OAR, in conjunction with several NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices, hosted a workshop for Early Career Investigators who focus on HIV and AIDS research. Students, postdoctoral fellows, and new investigators were invited to attend. Due to the high demand, NIH is planning a second workshop in 2023. Presentations from this session are available by emailing OARinfo@nih.gov.

NIH World AIDS Day 2021 Virtual Event: The Role of Research in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy
The Role of Research in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy
Wednesday, December 1, 2021, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET
The year 2021 marked 40 years since the first reports of the syndrome of diseases later defined as AIDS. Since that time, groundbreaking research has helped turn a once-fatal disease, with effective treatment, into a manageable chronic condition. The National HIV/AIDS Strategy for 2022 to 2025 highlighted the important role of research in continued progress toward ending the HIV pandemic and improving the health of people living with or significantly affected by HIV. These efforts will require robust research collaboration among private, public, and community entities to prevent new HIV infections, accelerate new therapies, and achieve HIV cure. The World AIDS Day event featured compelling discussions about the next chapter of high-impact HIV research, the types of multisectoral and interdisciplinary partnerships necessary for success, and the integral role of community stakeholders.

NIH Recognizes the First Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Related to AIDS
On June 5th, the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) will join colleagues around the world to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the landmark CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) that first recognized the disease later named AIDS, and is seeking your support to promote this momentous occasion. Forty years ago, on June 5, 1981, the MMWR reported five cases of persons in Los Angeles, California, who were ill with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, catalyzing a global effort that led to the identification of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Over these past 40 years, much of the progress to guide the response to HIV has emerged from research funded by the NIH – and helped turn a once-fatal disease into the manageable chronic illness that it is today. OAR is conducting a communications campaign that will continue through NIH’s World AIDS Day commemoration on December 1, 2021. To learn more and get involved, visit OAR’s 40 Years of Progress: It’s Time to End the HIV Epidemic webpage.

2021 DEBUT Challenge Announces Winners
On August 25, 2021, the annual Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) Challenge, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and VentureWell, announced eight winning college teams and five honorable mentions that designed innovative healthcare technologies to address significant clinical problems. The prizes, worth $115,000 in total, went to teams from universities across the country. The NIH National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) led the DEBUT Challenge and was joined by three additional NIH institutes, including OAR, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). For the past three years OAR has supported a $15,000 award for a winning entry that demonstrated engineering-based technology solutions to current HIV/AIDS prevention and/or health care problems.) The Texas A&M University team won the OAR DEBUT Challenge prize for its 3D-printed point-of-care device designed for early diagnosis of HIV. Prizes will be presented during the annual Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) conference conducted October 6-9, 2021. To learn more, see DEBUT Challenge Awards Prizes to Future Bioengineers.

2021 DEBUT Challenge
The OAR is pleased to announce our participation in the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and VentureWell 2021 DEBUT Challenge. The DEBUT Challenge will provide over $100,000 in cash prizes to undergraduate student teams that develop innovative technology solutions to unmet needs in healthcare. For the third consecutive year, OAR will support a $15,000 award to the winning entry that demonstrates engineering-based technology solutions to current HIV/AIDS prevention and/or health care problems. The submissions are due June 1, 2021, 11:59 PM EDT. To learn more, see the NBIB Announcement of Requirements and Registration for Debut 2021 or the VentureWell Guidelines.

NIH Webinar Series: Moving from Hepatitis Discovery to Elimination
NIH and the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination launched the NIH Webinar Series: Moving from Hepatitis Discovery to Elimination to highlight ongoing research that can benefit elimination efforts, support translation of research into implementation, and identify additional research needs. Save the Date: Thursday, May 13th, from 3-4:30 pm, the OAR and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities host “Leaving No One Behind: Research to Uncover and Address Health Disparities in Hepatitis Burden of Disease and Care.”

HIV in Rural America
On March 18, 2021, Dr. Maureen M. Goodenow participated in the HIV in Rural America webinar, which featured a conversation based on research presented in The Lancet’s Special Issue: HIV in the USA. The event was hosted by the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute. To learn more, view the webinar recording and slides.

World AIDS Day 2020 – Science and Community: Working Together to Prepare for the Unexpected
On December 1, 2020, the OAR hosted the virtual NIH World AIDS Day Observance Science and Community: Working Together to Prepare for the Unexpected, with a focus on building the capacity of current and future generations of HIV researchers and advocates. To learn more and view the event, see World AIDS Day 2020.

HIV, COVID-19 and Health Disparities
A Director’s Scientific Briefing on HIV, COVID-19 and Health Disparities was conducted on September 22, 2020. The seminar was comprised of three invited speakers who presented from different perspectives on the intersection of HIV, COVID-19, and health disparities. A Q&A followed the presentations.

This page last reviewed on February 7, 2023