Location:
The Kirby Institute Level 6 Seminar Room Wallace Wurth Building UNSW Australia Sydney NSW 2052
Contact for enquiries
Rata Joseph +61 (0)2 9385 0900 rjoseph@kirby.unsw.edu.au
The Kirby Institute is pleased to present:
Dr Iryna Zablotska-Manos
“Biomedical HIV Prevention Research: Feedback from CROI 2015.”
Co-Presenting with...
Mr Benjamin Bavinton
Abstract:
The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) was held in Seattle on 23-26 February 2015. A major theme of the conference was the new results from several studies on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), that is, HIV-negative individuals taking the antiretroviral drug Truvada® to prevent infection. Three studies – the PROUD Study of daily PrEP in gay men in the UK; the IPERGAY Study of “on-demand” PrEP among gay men in France and Canada; and the Partners Demonstration Project among African heterosexual serodiscordant couples – reported their very anticipated findings as to the efficacy of PrEP and shed new light on the efficacy of intermittent PrEP (IPERGAY), ‘real life’ daily PrEP in homosexual men (PROUD) and in heterosexuals (Partners). These results have already provoked substantial discussion in the field of HIV prevention. Also, some important new results on HIV treatment as prevention research were presented at the conference, and the spotlight in this area of biomedical prevention was on the interim analysis results from Opposites Attract, the study conducted by the Kirby Institute’s own HEPP research team (PI Professor Andrew Grulich). At this seminar, we will present our summary of the most important evidence in the field of HIV biomedical prevention presented at CROI and the highlights of the discussion that followed.
Biography:
Dr Iryna Zablotska-Manos is an epidemiologist and a Senior Research Fellow with the HIV Epidemiology and Prevention Program, the Kirby Institute, working in the field of HIV behavioural and biomedical prevention. One of her specific interests is in HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). She leads the NSW PrEP demonstration study PRELUDE.
Mr Benjamin Bavinton has worked in the field of HIV prevention, policy and research for ten years both in Australia and internationally. He is currently Project Leader of the Opposites Attract Study. He is also completing his PhD at the Kirby Institute under the supervision of Prof Andrew Grulich, A/Prof Garrett Prestage and Dr Iryna Zablotska on biomedical HIV prevention and its impact on homosexual male serodiscordant couples.