Breakthroughs Amid Crisis

A glance at the program for the upcoming 13th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2025) and anyone can see that science is delivering—long-acting injectables for HIV treatment and PrEP, AI’s promise to revolutionize research and healthcare, and further progress toward a cure. Yet other sessions are trying to grapple with the thorniest of questions: How do we sustain such successes in HIV biomedical science, prevention, treatment, and care in the face of devastating funding cuts?

Taking place in Kigali, Rwanda, and virtually, July 13–17, the conference will address this new reality head-on—delivering on the potential of robust scientific innovation in the face of diminishing resources. From cure science to mental health studies and public policy analyses, amfAR will navigate the changed landscape of—as one session aptly puts it—“breakthroughs amid crisis.”

Here are some highlights across the more than 30 amfAR-related symposia, presentations, poster exhibitions, and pre-conference sessions.

Advancing HIV Cure Science

Plenary speaker and amfAR grantee Dr. Xu Yu of the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard, will discuss novel approaches to measure and test HIV cure strategies by looking at the main barrier to eradicating or controlling the virus: the HIV reservoir.

Current and recent grantees Drs. Sharon Lewin, Ole Søgaard, Mathias Lichterfeld, and Elena Herrera-Carrillo, as well as Dr. Lishomwa Ndhlovu, chair of amfAR’s Scientific Advisory Committee, will present the latest findings on HIV cure science, from gene-editing therapies to metabolic targeting as a way to silence the HIV reservoir, and more.

Responding to HIV in the Face of Funding Losses

Greg Millett, MPH, amfAR VP and director of public policy, along with Agnes Chetty of the World Health Organization (WHO), will co-facilitate a symposium titled, “Are integration and equity at odds?” The discussion will examine how addressing different, and often-siloed healthcare-based responses to HIV might be combined in an era of funding decreases.

Addressing the Health Needs of Women Living with HIV

Drawing on data from 12 PEPFAR focus countries, Dr. Jennifer Sherwood, amfAR director of research, public policy, will present research on how increasing cervical cancer screening for women living with HIV improves health outcomes. Co-authors include Brian Honermann, amfAR deputy director of public policy, Asal Sayas, director of government affairs, Elise Lankiewicz, policy associate, and Greg Millett, as well as Dr. Annette Sohn, amfAR VP and director of TREAT Asia.

Drawing on insights from healthcare providers in Malaysia, Dr. Anjanna Kukreja, of Universiti Malaya, Malaysia, will share research on the mental health needs of women living with HIV in outpatient care. Dr. Kukreja, a network investigator within amfAR’s TREAT Asia program and a Fellow in CHIMERA, TREAT Asia’s mental health researcher mentorship program, conducted the research with Dr. Jeremy Ross, TREAT Asia’s director of research, and others.

Working Toward Health Equity

TREAT Asia investigator Tanabodee Payuha, of the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation in Thailand, is the lead author of two e-posters that address the needs of transgender people impacted by HIV. Finally, TREAT Asia investigator Dr. Ivan Marbaniang, of BJ Medical College, will present research on food insecurity, discrimination, and health-related quality of life among people living with HIV in Pune, India. A trainee in the Fogarty-IeDEA Mentorship program organized by amfAR and the Kirby Institute, Smita Nimkar, of BJ Medical College, is a co-author.

Click here for a full list of presentations and posters by current and recent amfAR grantees, TREAT Asia staff and network investigators, and public policy staff.

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