DGHI Work to be Highlighted at AIDS 2012 Conference

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Published July 10, 2012, last updated on February 18, 2013 under Research News

Duke University has been leader in HIV/AIDS since the earliest days of its discovery.  This includes extensive vaccine research and contributions to the development of an antiretroviral drug, to discovery of an HIV antibody test and of HIV as the cause of AIDS.  The discoveries of many Duke HIV/AIDS researchers will be on display at the upcoming XIX International AIDS Conference July 22-27 in Washington, D.C. 

Faculty and researchers from the Duke Global Health Institute have nearly 20 abstracts highlighted at the global conference, including research on the effects of HIV infection on children with severe malnutrition, female sex workers and the HIV risk among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. Research on the effectiveness of home-based mental health services, a program to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, and mobile voluntary HIV testing campaigns, will also be presented.

DGHI faculty member Bart Haynes will discuss the HIV vaccine as one of the speakers for a plenary session on “Turning the Tide on Transmission.” He is a leading HIV/AIDS researcher at Duke for his work on vaccine discovery.  DGHI faculty member Christina Meade will also deliver an oral presentation on the links between methamphetamine use and sexual abuse and HIV sexual risk behaviors among bar-goers in Cape Town, South Africa.

Other DGHI faculty members and researchers whose work will be highlighted at the conference include John Bartlett, Sarah Bartz, Sherryl Broverman, Annie Buchanan, Coleen Cunningham, Anya Drabkin, Michael Freemark, Sara LeGrand, Christina Meade, Giovanna Merli, Jan Ostermann, William Pan, Brian Pence,  Eve Puffer, Elizabeth Reddy, Susan Reif, Kathleen Sikkema, Beth Stringfield, Nathan Thielman, Kimberly Walker, Melissa Watt and Kathryn Whetten.

Duke students are often important assets to faculty-led research at DGHI. Co-authors of several HIV/AIDS-related research projects include Dorothy Dow, a graduate of the Duke Master of Science in Global Health; Anya Drabkin, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience; and Aaloke Mody and Richard Waters, both clinicians who conducted global health research during Duke medical school.

Senator Bill Frist, a member of DGHI’s Board of Advisors, will moderate a panel on the historical legacy and future trajectory of US Congressional involvement in addressing the global AIDS epidemic. Frist is former Senate Majority Leader, a practicing physician and widely recognized as a strong advocate in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.


The International AIDS Conference is the leading gathering for people working in the field of HIV, as well as policy makers, person living with HIV and activists dedicated to ending the epidemic. The conference theme “Turning the Tide Together” reflects a defining moment in the 30 years of progress against HIV/AIDS and the momentum and action necessary in the road ahead. The multi-day event is expected to attract more than 20,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries, including 2,000 journalists.

For more information, see the conference program.