IRMA LAC

 

IRMA's LAST Global Teleconference of the Year

Modelling the impact of a rectal microbicide used by men who have sex with men in Lima, Peru and Bangalore, India

Dr. Rowena Johnston of amfAR (above left) and Dr. Anna Foss of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (above right) presented on the last IRMA Global Teleconference of the year, Wednesday, December 10, 2008.

Click here for Dr. Foss's slides.

Related info:
Click here for "Shift in condom use following microbicide introduction: Should we be concerned?"
Click here for "Modeling the potential impact of rectal microbicides to reduce HIV transmission in bathhouses."

 

Teleconference Materials - 2008

What’s in a name?
Working with male-male sexualities, masculinities
and genders in South Asia
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Shivananda Khan, Chief Executive, Naz Foundation International, spoke on the socio-cultural frameworks of male-male sexualities in this region and amongst low income populations, and how they are primarily based on gender and penetrative performance rather than sexual orientation and a “gay” identity. Click here for the presentation. Click here for the same presentation with explanatory notes. Both are in PDF format.

Read "Everybody knows, but nobody knows - A review of current literature on HIV and male-male sexualities, behaviours and sexual exploitation in Afghanistan," by Shivananda Khan, released September 2008.

 

IRMA Double Feature - Drug Resistance and Research Registry
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Co-hosted with the Global Campaign for Microbicides.
Lori Heise of the Global Campaign for Microbicides presented: "Intro to Drug Resistance: Implications for ARV-based Prevention." Click here for her presentation.
UCLA’s Leo Colemon presented: "Development, Recruitment, and Utilization of a Microbicide Research Registry." Click here for his presentation.

Click here for the minutes from this call.

 

HIV-related Travel and Immigration
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
(co-sponsored by Gay Men’s Health Crisis)
Speakers included:
Robert Bank, GMHC (click here for his PowerPoint.)
Victoria Nielson, Immigration Equality
Eric Sawyer, UNAIDS
Vishal Trivedi, GMHC

Click here for a copy of the sign-on letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt regarding the HIV-related travel and immigration ban, signed by nearly 200 organizations, including IRMA.

Click here for the presentation, "The United States' Immigration and Travel Ban" by GMHC's Robert Bank. Click here for the minutes from the call.



Women and Anal Sex: Yet Another Reason for Rectal Microbicide Advocacy
Thursday, July 10, 2008

Kate Morrow, PhD, Associate Professor of Research, Centers for Behavioral & Preventive Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and the Miriam Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA discussed formative research exploring women’s anal sex practices and their implications for HIV/STI prevention. Click here for Dr. Morrow's slides. Click here for the notes from the call.

 

Beginning to Cross the Rectal Rubicon
Thursday, May 29, 2008

Dr. Peter Anton presented a summary review of the data presented at M2008 on the first IND-supported rectal microbicide Phase 1 trial (using UC781). The talk highlighted explanations of the various mucosal assays currently in use, the design issues confronted and blinded results, now that the subject portion is complete.Dr. Anton also described the study design of the upcoming rectal microbicide trial using tenofovir (gel vs. oral.) Click here for the presentation slides.

 

Successful Implementation of HIV Prevention Trials in Peru
Thursday, April 24, 2008

Dr. Jorge Sanchez and Dr. Javier Lama discussed clinical trials, including PrEP studies, taking place in Lima, Peru. Steering Committee Member Jerry Galea announced the new sister to IRMA, IRMA-ALC. Click here for the call notes. For. Dr. Sanchez's PowerPoint presentation, "The Peruvian CTU", click here. For Dr. Lama's PowerPoint, "Iniciativa PrEx/PrEP Initiative" click here.

 

Teleconference Materials - 2007


Design of Phase 1 Rectal Microbicide Studies w/ PROVISIONAL update on 1st RM trial
December 13, 2007
Teleconference with Dr. Peter Anton.

IRMA Survey on Lubes Used for Anal Sex: Preliminary Results
November 8, 2007
Teleconference with Marc-Andre LeBlanc and Ryan Murphy.

Starpharma's VivaGel and it's relationship to the concept of rectal microbicides
October 2, 2007
Teleconference with Dr. Jeremy Paull of Starpharma of Melbourne, Australia. Click here for minutes from the call.

Off the Map: How HIV/AIDS Programming is Failing Same-Sex Practicing People in Africa
June 25, 2007
Teleconference with Cary Alan Johnson (click here for his PowerPoint presentation in PDF format), Senior Specialist for Africa at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and the author of this report. Click here for minutes from the call.

Heterosexual Anal Intercourse and the Developing Country HIV Epidemic
May 10, 2007
Teleconference with Dr. Tim Farley of the World Health Organization. Click here for minutes from the call.

Talk Dirty to Me... But Keep the Message Clean and Simple
March 30, 2007
Teleconference featured Steering Committee Member Roy Wadia, Director of Communications for the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control in Vancouver. Click here for the minutes from that call.

amfAR - Funding for Rectal HIV Transmission and Microbicides Research"
March 7, 2007
Teleconference featured the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and described the excting, new research on rectal HIV transmission funded in amfAR’s most recent round.. Projects cover biomedical as well as social and behavioral sciences. Dr. Rowena Johnston, amfAR Vice President of Research, presented. Click here for the minutes from that call.

Male Circumcision
January 19, 2007
Teleconference on male circumcision featured presentations from Dr. Tim Farley (WHO - Geneva) and Dean Peacock (Sonke Gender Justice Project - South Africa.) Click here for minutes from that call.

Addtional male circumcision info of interest

Click here for Male Circumcision: for prevention of HIV transmission: what the new data mean for HIV prevention in the United States by Sullivan, Kilmarx and Peterman writing in PloS Med

Click here for Male Circumcision: Implications for Women as Sexual Partners and Parents by Catherine Hankins for Reproductive Health Matters

Click here for Male Circumcision, In So Many Words by Sofia Gruskin for
Reproductive Health Matters

Click here for The New Evidence on Male Circumcision: An Indian Perspective for
Reproductive Health Matters

Click here for Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention: The Research Evidence and Some Critical Responses - a roundtable for Reproductive Health Matters

Click here for Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention: Research Implications for Policy and Programming WHO/UNAIDS Technical Consultation 6-8 March 2007 for
Reproductive Health Matters

Click here for Delivery of Male Circumcison Services: "Festina Lente" - a roundtable for Reproductive Health Matters

Click here for Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention: Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality by Marge Berer for Reproductive Health Matters

Click here for Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention: Is There Really Enough of the Right Kind of Evidence by Gary Dowsett and Murray Couch for Reproductive Health Matters.

Click here for "Just a snip?": A Social History of Male Circumcision by Peter Aggleton for Reproductive Health Matters.

Click here for the April 9, 2007 statement on adult male circumcision and HIV prevention from the NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden.

Click here for the April 6, 2007 statement on adult male circumcision and HIV prevention from Gay Men's Health Crisis.

WHO and UNAIDS announced recommendations from expert consultation on male circumcision for HIV prevention, March 28, 2007.

*The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition's Clearinghouse page on male circumcision for HIV prevention, a comprehensive information source on male circumcision as an HIV prevention tool.

*The Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project's briefing paper titled "How did cirumcision prevent HIV in clinical trials in Africa... and what does it mean for the United States?"

*Click here for "Male Circumcision and HIVAIDS: Opportunities and Challenges," a fascinating review commissioned by the Ford Foundation.