Teleconferences 2010: UP NEXT
CHARMed - An update on the Combination HIV Antiretroviral Rectal Microbicide programTuesday, September 14, 2010
10am eastern
Please send an email to rectalmicro@gmail.com and request an invitation to this call.
Join Ian McGowan, Principal Investigator, to learn about the status of CHARM - the Combination HIV Antitretroviral Rectal Microbicide Program - a 5-YEAR, $11 million project funded by the NIH. The purpose of CHARM is to develop rectal-specific anitretroviral microbicides. Candidates include tenofovir, UC781, and a combination of tenofovir and UC781. Learn more in Section 2 of IRMA's report "From Promise to Product: Advancing Rectal Microbicide Research and Advocacy."
Special thanks to AVAC for hosting the call!
The Basics of Drug Development Science – Nothing to be scared of!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
10am eastern
More details will be available closer to the call date.
Enhance your advocacy skills and bone up on some of the basics. Jim Turpin of the Microbicide Research Branch at the National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will explain the basic science of drug discovery – the research that happens before we move on to Phase I safety testing in people. Many of us find basic science confusing, daunting, and scary. Jim will show us that it doesn’t have to be any of those things, and is in fact, fascinating!
Special thanks to AVAC for hosting the call!
Teleconference Materials - 2010
Lube: Slippery when wet, but is it safe?
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Click here for an MP3 recording of the call.
It's been LUBE MANIA post-Microbicides 2010, where we heard a lot of interesting new data about the safety of sexual lubricants. Since, there has been a TON of media. Click here for a sample of the coverage, both good and hyperbolic.
So, what does it all mean?
IRMA and AVAC held this global teleconference to help make sense of it all with the folks who presented these new data - Charlene Dezzutti (University of Pittsburgh), Pamina Gorbach (UCLA) and from the Population Council, Othell Begay and Jose Romero. IRMA's Secretary and Resident Lube Expert, Marc-André LeBlanc discussed advocacy activities. The group tried to answer the following questions:
* What did the new studies released at Microbicides 2010 tell us about lube safety?
* What are the implications of these results for HIV/STI prevention messaging?
* What further research should take place to address unanswered questions?
* What are the key advocacy points we should pursue?
* Why does this matter to rectal microbicide advocates?
Special thanks to AVAC for hosting the call!
Let's Take Sexy Back! Sex Can Feel Good, and Be Safe Too...
Tuesday, May 11 , 2010
While most safer sex and HIV prevention programmes are negative and disease-focused, The Pleasure Project is different: they take a positive, liberating and sexy approach to safer sex. Think of it as sex education ... with the emphasis on 'sex'. Join IRMA and The Pleasure Project's Anne Philpott for a global teleconference to take sexy back in our prevention work. Visit the Pleasure Project here.
Download Anne's slides here. Click here for an MP3 audio recording of the call (large file.)
Click here for the Global Mapping of Pleasure report Anne talked about.
Check out another site on pleasure - Sex is Fun.
Special thanks to AVAC for hosting the call!
Find the Joy in Stats
April 15, 2010
Do terms like Statistical Significance and P-values leave you scratching your head? Do you wonder what an Odds Ratio is, and what it means when it is Adjusted? How about Confidence Intervals?
Walt Senterfitt was our guide through this maze. He runs the IRB for the LA County Department of Public Health, overseeing research ethics, mentoring young researchers and trying to shift more of public health work toward social determinants and structural interventions. Currently, he is the Board co-chair and resident "gray beard" of CHAMP (the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project).
Click here for Walt's PowerPoint slides. Click here for an MP3 audio recording of the call (large file - give yourself a few minutes, it's definitely worth the wait!)
Please check out this great resource from AVAC - Advocates’ Guide to Statistical Terms.
Special thanks to AVAC for hosting the call!
The anal canal: an important transition zone for rectal microbicide development
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Dr. Ross Cranston will discuss the normal anal canal, anal pathology, receptive anal intercourse and anal pathology, the anal canal in the context of HIV, and the potential importance of the anal canal in the context of microbicide development. Click here for Ross's slides. Click here for an MP3 recording of the call.
Special thanks to AVAC for hosting the call!
Epidemiology of HIV Among MSM in Africa: Implications for rectal microbicides
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
IRMA's first call of 2010. Chris Beyrer MD, MPH, Professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, presented on the sobering HIV data among MSM in Africa and discussed serious challenges such as the lack of access to water-based lubricants. Click here for his slides. Click here for an MP3 audio recording of the call. Click here for the open access article on PLoS ONE "HIV Prevalence, Risks for HIV Infection, and Human Rights among Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in Malawi, Namibia, and Botswana" of which Chris was a co-author.
Special thanks to AVAC for hosting the call!
Teleconference Materials - 2009
Efficacy and Effectiveness - What is Good Enough? Who decides?
Friday, December 4, 2009
IRMA, the Global Campaign for Microbicides and the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and our panel of distinguished speakers (below) had a discussion about efficacy and effectiveness of new prevention technologies – PrEP, male circumcision, vaccines, and microbicides. We tried to address some of the following questions: What is acceptable to communities in both the developing and developed world? What about behaviour change? How do we balance public health impact vs. the needs of the individual? We didn't answer all of these – but we did start the discussion. Please stay tuned for a Part 2 with a policy maker, a regulator, and a funder.
Featured speakers* included Gus Cairns, Editor, HIV Treatment Update NAM Publications (Aidsmap); Dr Sheila Harvey MDP301 Trial Coordinator, Mwanza, Tanzania; and Dr. Roger Tatoud, Senior Programme Manager, International HIV Clinical Trial Research Management Office, Imperial College London. Representatives from AVAC and GCM also madecomments.
*Click presenters name for their slides. Click here for an MP3 audio recording of the call. Click here for the MDP 301: PRO 2000 Advocates’ Brief developed by the Global Campaign for Microbicides.
Special thanks to AVAC for hosting the call!
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Implications of anal intercourse and rectal use of products in vaginal microbicide trials
Friday, October 16 , 2009
Overview: What types of data are being collected on AI and rectal use of products among trial participants, and why is it important to collect? (Dr. Ian McGowan, University of Pittsburgh, Microbicide Trials Network) Click here for Ian's slides - Implications of Anal Intercourse and Rectal use of Products in Vaginal Microbicide Trials.Click here for an MP3 audio recording of Ian's segment.
Case study: What data have been collected in the HPTN035 trial testing PRO 2000? What we expect the data could tell us about the trial results, rectal use of PRO 2000 and AI in the study populations? (Dr. Pamina Gorbach, UCLA). Click here for Pamina's slides - Measuring Anal Intercourse in Microbicide Studies. See related poster - Temporal Relationship of Oral Sex Acts to Receptive Anal Intercourse: Implications for Rectal Microbicide Use. Click here for an MP3 audio recording of Pamina's segment.
Next steps: What we should be going as a field to strengthen trials, validate results, and get desperately needed data? (Ian and Pamina). Click here for an MP3 audio recording of the Q&A portion of the call.
Special thanks to AVAC for hosting the call!
Microbicides: The herstory of a movement
Thursday, June 11, 2009
If you ever wanted to know how the microbicides movement got started from two of the women who were there from the beginning, this is the teleconference for you.
Brought to you by IRMA and the Global Campaign for Microbicides, the discussion covered the story before the headlines and the context of this incredible movement that we're all a part of today. Because if you don't know the past, it's hard to understand the present, let alone advocate for the future! Click here for an MP3 audio recording of the call.
Lori Heise, founding Director of the Global Campaign for Microbicides (left), speaks about her experience over the past 15 years advocating for microbicides, early watershed moments and the field that's emerged worldwide. Anna Forbes, Deputy Directory of the Global Campaign for Microbicides, presents on the role of civil society in Europe and North America over the past decade to build awareness and help raise millions to dramatically increase funding for microbicide research. She also discusses early efforts to get gay men and MSM involved in rectal microbicide advocacy that helped plant the seeds for what is IRMA today.
Understanding the habits and preferences of people having anal sex: Implications for rectal microbicide development
Thursday, May 14, 2009
How often do people use saliva for anal sex? What about vaginal fluid? Would people prefer a rectal microbicide that comes in a gel or a suppository? What do the answers to these questions mean for rectal microbicide development?
Dr. Alex Carballo-Dieguez (Columbia University and IRMA Steering Committee Member, presented his study (click here for the MP3 audio recording) on whether users prefer a rectal microbicide that comes in a gel or a suppository. Dr. Jeff Martin and Dr. Lisa Butler (University of California, San Francisco) presented their study (click here for the MP3 audio recording) on the use of saliva during anal sex among MSM. IRMA's Marc-André LeBlanc gave an overview (click here for the MP3 audio recording)of the findings from IRMA's global web survey on the use of lubricants, saliva and vaginal fluid during anal sex.
Special thanks to AVAC for hosting the call!
IRMA Exclusive: A Preview of New Rectal Microbicide Safety Studies
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Featuring presentations by Medical Research Council’s Dr. Sheena McCormack (UK ), UCLA’s Dr. Peter Anton and Dr. Ian McGowan, University of Pittsburgh. Be among the first to know about upcoming rectal microbicide trials - including rectal safety studies of tenofovir and Pro2000 - from the scientists leading the efforts. Click each presenter's name to access their slides in PDF format.
This teleconference was recorded, and is available in three sections in MP3 format (files are rather large.) Click on the presenter's name to hear their portion of the call. In order, Dr. Ian McGowan, Dr. Sheena McCormack, Dr. Peter Anton. Thanks to IRMA member Bill O'Brien for helping us provide these recordings. Tip: listen to the recordings and follow along with the appropriate slides.
Special thanks to AVAC for hosting the call!
The Female Condom - where the girls – AND boys – are
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Get the skinny on the NEW female condom and discuss its implications for anal sex.
Featuring presentations by Serra Sippel, CHANGE Executive Director and Mitchell Warren, AVAC Executive Director. Click here for Serra's "FC2 Female Condom Update" slides, in PDF format. Click here for Mitchell's slides. And click here for a handy resource on anal sex and female condoms.
Special thanks to AVAC for hosting the call!
Teleconference Archive:
Click here for our archive of older teleconferences not featured on this page
Hot Blog Links
Important links:
See the IRMA blog for even more links than the ones listed below
AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coaltion
The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR)
Chicago Coalition for Microbicides
Global Campaign for Microbicides
The Global Forum on MSM and HIV
International Partnership for Microbicides
U-19 Microbicide Development Program
Member Info
Click here for IRMA membership information.
