AIDS 2022 rapporteurs

Santiago Perez Patrigeon is an infectious disease physician with a clinical fellowship in HIV and AIDS and a PhD in HIV immunology from Institut Pasteur in Paris, France. Their main interest is translational research on infectious immune-pathogenesis, mainly HIV cure, as well as clinical trials. They are an IAS HIV Cure Academy alumnus since 2018. Since the start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Santiago has participated in randomized clinical trials investigating new antivirals and monoclonal antibody therapies to treat COVID-19. Their aim is to pursue these clinical trials, as well as HIV translational research strengthening collaboration between Canada and Mexico.

Alexandra Martin-Onraët is an infectious diseases practitioner and has a Master’s in Public Health in Developing Countries from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (2015). She currently works in the National Institute of Cancer in Mexico City and is the President of the HIV Committee of the Mexican Association of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology. She is part of the AIDS Malignancy Consortium and a member of the National System of Research. Her main areas of interest have been infectious complications in immunosuppressed people, HIV and cancer, and women living with HIV, among others. 

Antonio Camiro is a clinical researcher with six years of experience in HIV research. He was part of the scientific team of the HIV clinic in the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán in Mexico City, and worked on several projects on HIV epidemiology and immunopathogenesis in collaboration with other organizations, including the Fundación Huésped in Argentina and the University of Modena in Italy. He is a Doctor of Medicine with a Master’s in Medical Sciences and is currently undergoing the last year of the internal medicine residency at the Centro Médico ABC in Mexico City. 

Saskia Janssen is a consultant in infectious diseases and internal medicine, trained at the Amsterdam University Medical Centers. She was caught by the magnitude of the HIV and TB epidemics early in her career during a clinical internship in Blantyre, Malawi. During her PhD research, Saskia worked in various settings, including the central African country, Gabon, and Cape Town, South Africa. After completing her specialist training and practising at a large teaching hospital in the Netherlands, Saskia moved back to Cape Town in December 2021 to continue the work she is passionate about: clinical HIV and TB research, aimed at improving care of healthcare system clients.  

Yusuf Hassan Wada is a pharmacist and currently works as an executive assistant at the Society for Family Health. He is an IAS Youth Ambassador/Young Leader and a fellow/alumnus of the IAS/AVAC, Advocacy-for-Cure Academy (Towards an HIV Cure). He also serves as a member of the Pediatric Adolescent Virus Elimination – Community Advisory Board (PAVE-CAB) and representative of PAVE on the National Institutes of Health’s Martin Delaney Collaboratory (Cross-MDC CAB) for HIV Cure Research. He has published research papers, presented at local and international conferences and written for many blogs.   

Iskandar Azwa is an Associate Professor of infectious diseases at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, the current Honorary Secretary of the Malaysian AIDS Council, and the Clinical Lead for the HIV service in the Infectious Diseases Unit at the University of Malaya. His research interests include HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) implementation among key populations, evaluation of newer HIV treatment strategies and HIV resistance. He is the site principal investigator for several key international HIV clinical trials, including START, D2EFT and Treat Asia HIV Observational Database (TAHOD). Iskandar has been a driving force in advancing PrEP research in Malaysia and increasing community access to HIV prevention biomedical interventions and implementation of de-medicalized models of service delivery of HIV care and prevention.

Christopher Akolo, MD, MSc, FWACP, is an internal medicine/infectious disease specialist with over 27 years of clinical experience, including over 21 years’ experience in implementation of HIV prevention, care and treatment programmes in resource-limited settings and provision of HIV services to key populations, especially men who have sex with men and female sex workers. He is currently a Technical Director under the FHI 360-led Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) project, funded by PEPFAR/USAID and is based in Washington, DC. He holds a medical degree and an MSc in Global Health Science from Oxford University, UK. 

Keerti Gedela is a consultant physician and researcher at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, specializing in HIV/sexual health. She has a Master’s in Tropical Medicine & International Health and is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and a lecturer at Imperial College. Keerti has worked as an infectious diseases physician, researcher and lecturer in southern Africa, India, Brazil and Indonesia. This has included serving in technical and leadership roles in diverse healthcare settings within implementation research, programme development, clinical care and education. She leads MRC and Wellcome-funded research within UK-Indonesian multi-disciplinary partnerships. Her work focuses on clinical/social science research and public engagement to drive equitable, innovative healthcare. 

Roman Shrestha is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut. He completed his doctorate at the University of Connecticut and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Yale School of Medicine. His research has primarily centred on interventions and implementation science at the interface of HIV and substance use with a focus on HIV prevention and treatment issues. His work emphasizes the design, delivery and placement of biomedical and behavioural interventions for optimal use in various settings. More recently, his research has included the development, adaptation and testing of mobile technology (mHealth) apps to improve treatment outcomes in key populations, including people who inject drugs, sexually diverse groups (such as men who have sex with men and trans women), and migrant workers. He has conducted research in a range of settings, including community and healthcare, addiction treatment and criminal justice settings, domestically and internationally. 

Stephane Wen-Wei Ku completed his medical degree at National Taiwan University and his internal medicine and infectious diseases specialist training at Taipei Veterans General Hospital. He is currently working as Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Taipei City Hospital Renai Branch and a clinical researcher with TREAT Asia at Taipei Veterans General Hospital. His research interests include HIV/STI, chemsex and sexual well–being of the LGBTQ community. He has been actively involved in PrEP implementation in Taiwan and currently serves as a board member of the Taiwan AIDS Society and HIV Education And Research Taiwan (HEART).  

Renata Sanders is an Associate Professor of adolescent medicine, pediatrics and internal medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her expertise includes adolescent sexually transmitted infections and HIV, caring for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and questioning young people, and transition to adult care. She has a joint appointment in Infectious Diseases in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Departments of Epidemiology and Health, Behavior and Society. She currently serves on the IAS Governing Council, IAS Stigma Advisory Board, CIPHER Grant Committee and AIDS 2022 Track D Committee.

Adedotun Ogunbajo is a Yerby postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He holds a PhD in behavioural and social health sciences from Brown University and an MPH in social and behavioural sciences from Yale University. His research is broadly focused on the intersection of structural factors and sexual health outcomes among racial and sexual minority communities in the United States and various sub-Saharan African countries. 

Lauren Bailey is the Multi-month Dispensing (MMD) and Differentiated Service Delivery (DSD) Advisor at USAID’s Office of HIV/AIDS in Washington, DC. She has over a decade’s experience providing technical and programmatic support to global HIV programmes in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. Lauren is a co-lead of PEPFAR’s Continuity of Treatment Community of Practice and a member of the IAS Global DSD Research Collaborative. She holds a Master’s in Social and Behavioral Science from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Arts in international development from the Ohio State University. 

Michelle is a project officer with Global Affairs Canada, working on advancing the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of women and adolescent girls. In this role, she supports the department’s SRHR policy, programming and partnerships that Canada engages with, including the International AIDS Society. She has a background in international development, global public health and African studies. 

Neo Mohlabane is a senior research specialist in the Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES) at the Human Sciences Research Council. She holds a Master’s of Public Health and a Doctorate in Gender Studies from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. With research experience spanning more than seven years, she has filled the role of project manager for several projects, including the national HIV prevalence and behavioural survey. Her research interests lie in the areas of violence against women and girls, African femininities, adolescent and youth sexualities, and intersectionality. Neo has written research reports, journal articles, books and book chapters, as well as presented research findings at different research forums. 

Thomas Odeny is a physician-epidemiologist with research and clinical interests in implementation science in the response to HIV and cancer, treatment of cancer in people living with HIV, and global oncology. He previously led delivery of high-quality HIV prevention, care and treatment services in high HIV-prevalence regions in Kenya. Thomas has trained, lived and practiced medicine and epidemiology in Kenya and the US. He is keen to find new ways of expanding awareness, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and palliation of HIV and cancer globally. He is especially passionate about leveraging what we have learned in implementation science for HIV and applying it to cancer care.

Beryne Odeny is a medical doctor with an MPH in Global Health. She is a PhD candidate in implementation science (University of Washington) and is experienced in the use of quasi-experimental research designs to analyse population-level data. She has 15 years of experience in global health, working with researchers across the globe on HIV/TB, maternal-child health and adolescent health. She is also an author and passionate advocate for health equity. In her role as associate editor at PLOS Medicine, she supports open–access publishing to promote rapid and equitable dissemination of scientific breakthroughs and discoveries. 

Moiana Uetela has a medical degree from Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique, and a Master’s in Health Sciences from Fiocruz, Brazil, and is a PhD candidate in global health – implementation science, at the University of Washington, USA. She joined the Mozambique Ministry of Health in 2009 where she initially worked as a healthcare service provider and then as a physician in clinical trials of HIV vaccines in the country’s National Institute of Health (INS). In 2016, she joined the National Health Observatory team as the coordinator of the HIV cluster. Her research focuses on HIV service delivery in Mozambique. 

Ferdinand Mukumbang is an Assistant Professor at the School of Global Health, School of Medicine at the University of Washington. He is a global health scientist specializing in health policy and systems research with a specific focus on implementation sciences. He has worked on HIV programming research since 2014 among various populations and interest groups. He is currently focused on HIV treatment and management transition protocols for adolescents living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Kombatende Sikombe currently works in the Research department at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ). Kombatende conducts research in implementation science of HIV programmes, primary care and public health. He is currently working on the recently completed Leveraging Person–Centred Public Health to Improve HIV Outcomes in Zambia study. This study trained healthcare workers to be more client-centred and provided facilities with data on client experience to guide quality improvement efforts that were used to improve engagement in care. Previously, Kombatende led the Better Information for Health in Zambia study that investigated clients’ reasons for disengagement, switching clinics and stopping HIV care. He is currently pursuing a PhD with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. His research interests include approaches to assess the quality of HIV care and fidelity to viral load monitoring guidelines.  

Teddy Cook has over 15 years’ experience in community health and non-government sectors. He joined ACON, Australia’s largest HIV and LGBTQ community health organization, in 2012 and is currently acting Director, Community Health, overseeing Clinical and Client Services, LGBTQ+ Community Health Programs, Pride Training and Trans Health Equity. Teddy specializes in trans health and rights, community development, health promotion and programme delivery. He is the Vice President of the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health and Adjunct Lecturer at the Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales. Teddy joins ACON’s senior leadership team as a proud queer man of trans experience.

Alegra Wolter is a trans physician with five years of diverse leadership in medicine, community advocacy, health technology, education and research. She works as the head of partnerships engagement at Docquity Indonesia, general practitioner at Angsamerah Clinic and chairwoman of Suara Kita’s advisory board. She has an eye for developing inclusive, sustainable health empowerment programmes focusing on LGBTIQ+ health and rights. Her community work focuses on multiple mental and sexual health campaigns, particularly within the spectrum of SOGIESC, HIV and women’s health. Her work, story and activism have been featured by various organizations (including UNAIDS, USAID, APTN, FHI-360, Rutgers, HIVOS, Indonesian HIV+ Networks, GWL-INA and Sanggar Swara), universities (University of Melbourne, Monash University, Atma Jaya, Jakarta Theological Seminary and Universitas Lampung), embassies (US, France, UK and Norway), government institutions (MoH, BPJS Kesehatan and Bappenas), companies (Docquity and Google APAC) and media platforms (BBC, DW News, Jakarta Post and Tempo Magazine). 

Paul Kidd is a person living with HIV who has lived experience of sex work, drug use and hepatitis C. He lives and works on the traditional lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung and Wurindjeri peoples in Australia. He is an activist and lawyer with a focus on HIV criminalization and legal and human rights issues affecting people living with HIV and key populations. He is Vice-President of Thorne Harbour Health (Melbourne) and Secretary of the HIV Justice Network (Amsterdam). Paul holds an honours degree in law from La Trobe University and is completing postgraduate studies in criminal law at Monash University. 

S Wilson (Will) Cole (formerly Beckham) is an LGBTQ health expert and trans man. He is transitioning from his role as a research scientist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US, where he has been since 2009 as a student, postdoctoral fellow and faculty. His new role is as Director of Research Projects at the Trevor Project, an international non-profit serving the needs of LGBTQ young people. His work focuses on the HIV prevention and treatment needs of underserved, marginalized populations, such as trans and gender–diverse people, sexual minorities and sex workers. 

Stefan Baral is the Director of the Key Populations Program at the Center for Public Health and Human Rights and a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Stefan completed his training at the University of Toronto in Community Medicine as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and in family medicine with the Canadian Council of Family Physicians. He provides care in the shelter system in Toronto. Stefan has focused on trying to understand why people continue to be at risk for acquiring and transmitting HIV with a focus on the interactions of structural and network-level determinants with individual-level proximal risks for HIV acquisition.