Track Scope and Objectives
The track category is the general heading under which your abstract will be reviewed and later published in the Conference printed matters if accepted. Please choose the category that best describes the subject of your abstract.
Track A: Biology and Pathogenesis of HIV
This track will encompass aspects of fundamental HIV-1 biology and the host response to HIV-1 infection. Areas of focus will include HIV-1 genetics, evolution, structure and function, the pathogenesis of HIV-1 disease, adaptive and innate immune responses to HIV-1, genetic susceptibility to HIV, and progress in animal models. Preclinical vaccine, microbicide and drug development will be important themes of this track.
Track A Categories
Track A Committee
Track B: Clinical Research, Treatment and Care
A priority for the focus of this track will be innovative research on new diagnostic and monitoring tools and the provision of care in resource-limited settings. There will be a particular emphasis on the outcome evaluation of ARV programmes and models of ARV delivery at national, regional and local level and their impact on and integration with other health services. Approaches to the care, support and treatment of specific populations such as infants, children and adolescents and pregnant women will be also be prioritised. The latest research findings on the diagnosis, natural history and management of HIV infection will also receive high priority and these will include; antiviral therapy, diagnosis and treatment of opportunistic infections, co-infection and other non-AIDS related co-morbidities. Important aspects of antiretroviral therapy will include; new drugs, pharmacokinetics and drug interactions, adherence, adverse events and drug resistance.
Track B Categories
Track B Committee
Track C: Epidemiology, Prevention and Prevention Research
This track will focus on issues related to understanding the epidemic and to the design, implementation and evaluation of HIV prevention interventions and programmes, and discuss approaches to accelerate efforts to reduce new HIV infections and HIV-related mortality. Areas of focus will include methods, both quantitative and qualitative, to assess HIV vulnerability and risk and to better understand and track epidemics, and the application of such methods for improving interventions, programmes and policies for HIV prevention and control.
This track will highlight the evaluation (including impact evaluation) of interventions individually and in combination. The introduction of new prevention approaches, such as male circumcision, and the potential contribution to prevention of other interventions, such as antiretroviral therapy, will be discussed. Best practices in the prevention of HIV for vulnerable populations - especially in resource limited settings - will be emphasized. Of particular interest are analyses of programme approaches to scaling up HIV prevention interventions and programmes and associated assessments of coverage and impact. Sessions in this track will encompass the full continuum of prevention research from socio-behavioural research through intervention trials and evaluation studies. Strategies to increase HIV prevention capacity and sustainability, approaches to translate prevention research into practice and efforts to promote preparedness for new prevention technologies, such as microbicides, will also be discussed.
Track C Categories
Track C Committee
Track D: Social, Behavioural and Economic Science
Within the multiple disciplinary perspectives in the social, behavioural and economic sciences, this track will encompass four core areas along with the crosscutting perspectives common to the whole conference. The first core area will focus on the drivers of the epidemic, including poverty, sexuality, drug use, gender relations and globalization, and how these drivers impact on vulnerability and risk. This first core area is also concerned by the relationships between HIV/AIDS and broader issues such as war, violence and security, intergenerational issues, labour and trade relations, social movements. In its second core area, the track will address the impact of disease and the pandemic with the goal of understanding and mitigating these impacts. The third core area will examine how the fight against the HIV epidemic affects global health, health systems functioning and financing, as well as economic growth and human development and how resources (financial, technical, educational and human) are allocated to and within the fight against the epidemic. This third core area is also concerned with the relationship between HIV/AIDS and global inequalities, social justice, and health disparities (including such groups as women/girls, migrants, indigenous populations and prisoners). In these three core areas, sessions will examine economic, social and political determinants at all levels––individual, family, community, national, and global. The fourth core area will consider advances in HIV-related theory with a particular emphasis on theories of sexuality, gender, equity, as well as social and economic change.
Track D will strongly encourage the submission of abstracts with a variety of
methodological approaches and disciplinary perspectives.
Track D categories
Track D committees
Track E: Policy & Political Sciences
This track invites a wide diversity of approaches to the broad questions of policy, politics and international relations. This can range from questions of globalization, global inequalities, macroeconomic and social policies on the epidemic to on the ground implementation and access, including the relationship between evidence, policy and funding. The track will highlight progress and lessons learned in HIV/AIDS-related policy and advocacy. Among the topics to be debated are the role of advocacy in shaping policy, the central role of human rights and ethics in the response to HIV/AIDS, and the role of law, regulation, and codes of practice. We encourage submissions from those working in international relations, comparative politics and policy evaluation.
Track E categories
Track E committees