HIV Research Update and Preview of CROI 2019 from NIH’s Dr. Carl Dieffenbach (video)

We kicked off our coverage of the 2019 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) today with an interview with Dr. Carl Dieffenbach just hours before the conference opened in Seattle. Dr. Dieffenbach, the Director of the Division of AIDS at NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), spoke with his colleague Anne Rancourt about some of the current issues in the field of HIV research as well as what he is looking forward to learning more about at this year’s conference of HIV researchers from around the globe. Watch their video below.

Presentations at CROI will address a broad range of HIV research across 23 scientific categories. Dr. Dieffenbach indicated that he is particularly looking forward to hearing the latest findings about the following topics:

• New, innovative tools for HIV treatment and prevention
• Advances in ongoing research toward an HIV cure
• Insights into the role of inflammation in HIV persistence and complications
• Developments in point-of-care and home-testing tools for viral load monitoring
• Innovations in, and results from, condensing HIV diagnosis, linkage to care, and initiation of treatment into a single appointment – so-called rapid-start approaches
• Behavioral and social science research findings on the acceptability of new long-acting forms of HIV prevention and treatment such as injectables and implants

More Interviews and HIV Research Highlights to Follow

HIV.gov will be covering the conference all week. Dr. Dieffenbach will be back on Tuesday and Wednesday to share highlights of the research presented. We also will hear from his colleague, NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci. On Thursday we’ll speak with CDC’s Dr. Jonathan Mermin and Dr. Eugene McCray. You can catch the video interviews on HIV.gov’s Facebook page or follow our coverage right here on the blog each day.

About the Conference

Over 4,000 HIV researchers are gathered in Seattle this week for CROI. The conference brings together top basic, translational, and clinical researchers from around the world to share the latest studies, important developments, and best research methods in the ongoing battle against HIV and related infectious diseases. Research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will be presented. Visit the conferenceExit Disclaimer website for abstracts, session descriptions, webcasts, and other materials being released over the course of the coming week.