Researchers, policymakers to gather at AIDS Vaccine 2012 conference in Boston

"With a completed trial in Thailand that offered evidence a vaccine could be developed to protect people from HIV, emerging science identifying antibodies against HIV, and a current trial testing a novel vaccine combination against the virus potentially producing more information in the next year, this is an exciting time to hold a conference, organizers of AIDS Vaccine 2012 say," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports. "AIDS Vaccine 2012, which begins this Sunday and runs through Wednesday in Boston, will bring together about 1,000 participants, 120 scientists and scholars, discussion of 440 research studies, and speakers that, along with Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, will include researchers known for work in HIV treatment as prevention of transmission, pre-exposure antiretroviral treatment as prevention (PrEP -- or pre-exposure prophylaxis), and topical microbicides," the blog notes (Barton, 9/6).