Online video interviews between researchers and activists
1 October 2012. Related: Conference reports, Antiretrovirals, Treatment access, HIV prevention and transmission, Cure-related research, Other news, World AIDS 19 Washington 2012.
Simon Collins, HIV i-Base
The US activist Fred Schaich has for many years persuaded leading researchers and other activists attending key medical meetings to step away from the main meeting and spend 10-20 minutes being interviewed for short web cast videos.
The informal discussions complement the main programme and more than 15 interviews have been posted online.
Selected highlights include:
- Daniel Douek, Senior Investigator at the US NIH discusses cure research and the development of therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines for HIV with activist Jeff Taylor.
http://www.ifarablog.org/2012/07/ias-2012-daniel-douek.html - Jens Lundgren, from the University of Copenhagen talks about the early associations between elevated biomarkers such as IL-6, D-dimer and increased risk of serious complications in the SMART and ESPRIT studies, and why these results while exciting are not yet ready for clinical use. Also, earlier testing and the currently ongoing START study, which will produce randomised data to inform the decision on when to start ART.
http://www.ifarablog.org/2012/07/ias-2012-jens-lundgren.html - Judith Aberg, Chair of the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) discusses the ways in which the organisation educates the US Congress about science that drives the benefits of ART and the differences between increased health complications associated with HIV and ageing and the differences between this and the common sound-bite of “premature ageing”.
http://www.ifarablog.org/2012/07/ias-2012-judith-aberg.html - Myron Cohen discusses treatment as prevention, a future with new and easy-to-take drugs, the potential for a “virtual cure”, and patient treatment, and reflects on how clinical practice is never fixed – developing over decades of research.
http://www.ifarablog.org/2012/07/ias-2012-myron-cohen.html - Antu Dey from Novartis vaccine devleopment programme in Massachusetts, discusses HIV vaccine development, human vs. animal trials, monoclonal antibodies, and prevention.
http://www.ifarablog.org/2012/07/ias-2012-antu-dey.html - Sheila Tlou, Director, Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa, UNAIDS, discusses her long and distinguished history in HIV in Eastern and Southern Africa and expectations for expanding treatment access by 2015.
http://www.ifarablog.org/2012/07/ias-2012-sheila-tlou.html - Enid Vasquez on Treatment as Prevention, difficulties for sex workers to attend the IAS meeting, new drugs and PrEP.
http://www.ifarablog.org/2012/08/ias-2012-enid-vasquez.html