HIVR4P 2023, the 5th HIV Research for Prevention Conference, Lima, Peru, and virtually, 22-26 October 2023

Ias, Washington D.C. DC

Investigators

Abstract

Project Summary UNAIDS set ambitious prevention goals and targets for HIV incidence reductions for 2020. We were not on a trajectory for success for those goals before the COVID-19 pandemic, and are at risk of further expansion of HIV epidemics. Declines in surveillance capacity also threaten our ability to assess HIV epidemic trajectories in many settings of risk. We face daunting challenges of ongoing transmission, and of growing gaps and disparities in primary prevention. Yet the existing and expanding toolkit for biomedical prevention of HIV infection has never had as much diversity, and as many high efficacy options, as today. Adolescents and younger adults in African settings and in key populations globally continue to bear the greatest burdens of HIV incidence, and to have the greatest challenges using and benefitting from biomedical HIV prevention advances. This population will be at the center of HIVR4P 2023. A particular focus will also be made on people who inject drugs or who use substances in sexual settings and have been understudied and underserved in HIV prevention. In the field of HIV vaccines, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted new threats in terms of vaccines hesitancy. It is time now to investigate and report on new ways to addressing hesitancy and to understanding barriers to the uptake of novel HIV vaccines, prevention technologies and approaches. HIVR4P 2023, the 5th HIV Research for Prevention Conference taking place from 22 to 26 October 2023 in Lima, Peru, will be an opportunity for the HIV prevention community to hear, debate and weigh new scientific evidence, and to assess the increasingly complex prevention landscape and the next generation of research questions, including those for HIV vaccines, and the interactions of vaccines with non-vaccine prevention modalities. Lima was chosen as the host city to highlight scientific excellence in prevention research in the Latin American region while also drawing attention to the spiraling vulnerabilities and epidemics in the region. To facilitate everyone’s access to the conference regardless of their ability or willingness to travel, and recognizing that potential obstacles - including access to COVID-19 vaccines - might prevent key stakeholders particularly from countries with a high burden of HIV from travelling internationally, HIVR4P 2023 will be a fully hybrid conference. It will connect the two audiences both in Lima, which will provide a compelling venue for HIVR4P 2023 as a leading center of HIV prevention science, and online via the virtual conference platform. Specific aims for HIVR4P 2023 are to: 1. Convene the world’s experts in HIV prevention and related fields to advance scientific knowledge, present new research findings, and enhance global scientific and community collaborations 2. Advance HIV prevention technologies and implementation approaches that are tailored to the needs of those most at risk including adolescents and young adults, men who have sex with men, people who use drugs, sex workers, and transgender people globally, and women and girls in high-burden settings 3. Refine HIV prevention research agendas to reflect identified opportunities and knowledge gaps, including: Next generation HIV vaccines and bNAbs; hesitancy and misinformation; smarter delivery systems for small molecules, including longer-acting PrEP, depo formulation and multi-purpose technologies 4. Assess the state of the art of HIV vaccine research in light of the remarkable success of the COVID-19 vaccine enterprise, including the role of non-vaccine interventions in the next generation of HIV vaccine efficacy trials. The scientific program will consist of five thematic areas: basic science; PrEP and ARV-based prevention; Vaccines and bNAbs clinical trials; other prevention modalities and cross-cutting issues; applied and implementation science. The scientific program is developed by a multi-disciplinary international Organizing Committee. Cross-cutting aspects will be highlighted in plenary talks that also connect the science with community and leadership perspectives. Additionally, bridging sessions are designed to cut across the different thematic areas to provide opportunities for multi-disciplinary, multi-perspective dialogues, often using interactive formats. The participation of young researchers, basic scientists and researchers in related fields will be strengthened by active solicitation of relevant science and the provision of specific financial support, in addition to remote-access options. Key science from the conference will be disseminated and discussed in regional contexts following HIVR4P 2023.