International Microbicides Conference to take place from April 15-18

From Discovery to Delivery -- M2012 is the key conference for scientists, scholars, advocates and donors to present and discuss cutting edge developments in HIV prevention

The biennial International Microbicides Conference is the premier gathering for those working on new approaches to HIV prevention and this year's conference in Sydney, Australia will place a strong emphasis on the role of community in both research and implementation of scientific findings. The conference will take place from April 15-18 at the Sydney Exhibition and Conference Centre located on the Darling Harbour waterfront.

Eighteen months ago, when the conference last convened in Pittsburgh, there was no evidence that topical microbicides or oral pre-exposure prophylaxis could prevent HIV infection. Since then, a number of trials have offered hope despite some disappointment, illustrating just how dynamic HIV prevention research is, thus the theme "From Discovery to Delivery." Attendees will hear from the leading experts in the HIV prevention field from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. The program will also feature pre-conference workshops, symposia, debates and skills-building sessions.

Plenary speakers and topics include:

• Professor Salim Abdool Karim, Pro Vice Chancellor (Research) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Director of CAPRISA - Centre for the AIDS Program of Research, South Africa - "CAPRISA 004 two years on: Lessons and implications"
• Professor Helen Rees, Executive Director, Reproductive Health Research Unit, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa - "Contraception and HIV"
• Dr. Connie Celum, Professor of Global Health and Medicine at University of Washington, USA - "State of the evidence from trials, what we know and what we still need to know"
• Dr. Peter Cherutich, Head of HIV Prevention, National AIDS/STD Control Programme, Kenya - "Implementing an effective HIV prevention strategy on a national scale"
• Dr. Carl Dieffenbach, Director, Division of AIDS, National Institute of Allergic and Infectious Diseases - "The future of microbicides and PrEP in the broader context of HIV prevention research"
• Professor Richard Hayes, Professor of Epidemiology & International Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK - "A vision for the future of prevention trials in HIV"
• Dr. Betsy Herold, Professor, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA - "The basic science of HIV transmission, and implications for the design of effective topical microbicides and oral chemoprophylaxis"
• Ms Milly Katana (MPH, MA, MBA), Public Health Specialist, John Snow Incorporated, Uganda - "Making access a reality for all those in need"
• Dr Joseph Romano, NWJ Group, USA - "The barriers and incentives in the pathway to developing a usable new technology for HIV prevention"
• Dr Frits van Griensven, US Centers for Disease Control, Thailand - "The role of new prevention technologies in concentrated HIV epidemics"
• Dr Debrework Zewdie, Deputy Executive Director, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Switzerland - "Who pays? Global resourcing for new HIV prevention technology"

To view the full program, please go to: http://microbicides2012.org/default2.asp?active_page_id=207

Delegates and journalists are invited to attend any of the following symposia which will be held during the conference:

• Hormonal contraception and HIV transmission
• Multiple Prevention Technologies (MPTs)
• What's love got to do with it: pleasure and biomedical prevention
• Beyond the trial: how do microbicides fit into the lives of women
• What is needed to make PrEP an effective prevention strategy in MSM
• Biology of mucosal transmission
• The vaginal microbiome, bacterial vaginosis and innate immunity
• PK/PD animal models
• Good participatory practice in trials
• Non-ARV microbicides
• Measuring adherence in microbicide and PrEP trials
• Biomedical prevention in concentrated HIV epidemics
• Standard of care in future trials.
• New developments in delivery technology
• Rectal microbicides
• Making sense of the PrEP trial results
• Criminalisation and its intersection with HIV risk behavior

Delegates and journalists are also invited to attend the pre conference workshops held on Sunday, 15 April:

• The Mucosal Biology of Sexually Transmitted Infection: Translating Basic Science Into Novel HIV Interventions
• Building our Knowledge and Capacity for Effective Advocacy Around HIV Prevention Research and Implementation

The M2012 Advocates' Corner is an interactive, participatory area where delegates representing community, advocacy, and civil society can come to exchange ideas, network, build solidarity, relax, and socialize. The International Rectal Microbicides Advocates (IRMA) will coordinate this effort, along with AVAC, New HIV Vaccine and Microbicide Advocacy Society (NHVMAS), Global Campaign for Microbicides (GCM) and the African Microbicides Advocacy Group (AMAG). Highlights of the advocacy effort at M2012 will include a reception featuring the release of the Project ARM - Africa for Rectal Microbicides strategy report - and to honor this year's winner of the Omolulu Falobi Award.