Journal of the International AIDS Society Blog

Journal of the International AIDS Society participated at the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria (18-23 July 2010)

In July this year nearly 20.000 delegates travelled from 197 countries to attend the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria. Convened by the International AIDS Society this biennial event brings together scientists, health care workers, activists, community representatives of people living with HIV and AIDS, as well as politicians discussing topics and recent developments in HIV and AIDS. Under the banners of ‘Rights Here, Right Now’ the conference presented an evolving AIDS field, combining scientific evidence with human rights and activism, and attracted several world leaders and advocates committed to the cause. Bill Clinton, in his keynote speech, emphasized the need for innovative funding mechanisms in response to changes in the financial landscape and stagnation in global aid. Annie Lennox presented the Women, Girls and HIV Investigator Prize to Naina Rani Mangalore from India.

The highlight of the conference was the announcement of the promising results from the CAPRISA microbicide trial that showed that an antiretroviral-based vaginal microbicide decreases HIV transmission to women by nearly 40%. One of the principal investigators of the trial and also an editorial board member of the Journal of the International AIDS Society, Quarraisha Abdool Karim, was very pleased with the results: “We now have a product that potentially can alter the epidemic trends ... and save millions of lives”. Prompted by an increasing HIV epidemic among injecting drug users in Eastern Europe, the Vienna Declaration was also launched. The Declaration, that was initiated by the International AIDS Society and partners, calls for an evidence-based drug policy.

Journal of the International AIDS Society organized two workshops at the conference. The workshops were co-facilitated with partners from EASE and ISAJE, were very well attended and highly evaluated. The ‘Publish or Perish’ workshop, which provided an overview of key elements in scientific writing and pre-submission guidelines, was particularly popular. During the workshop, the audience engaged actively with a panel of editors and raised many questions regarding the editorial process. The second workshop focused on publication ethics and scientific integrity, and presentations focused on misconduct in scientific writing, including authorship attribution, conflict of interest declarations and ethics in research with human participants.

The high attendance and positive feedback highlights the need for skills building and training in scientific writing. Preparations are already underway by the Journal of the International AIDS Society for the 6^th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Rome in July 2011.

Posted by Rose-Marie Neuenschwander at 08:33    Comments (0)