IAS ANNOUNCES 2015 CIPHER AWARD GRANTEES, COMMITS TO LARGEST-EVER GRANT PROGRAMME IN 2016
$750,000 Awarded to Address Key Paediatric HIV Research Gaps; Record $1.2 Million To Be Awarded Next Year
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (19 July 2015) - As part of its continued commitment to support young and emerging investigators
and address priority research gaps in paediatric HIV, the International AIDS Society (IAS) today announced its 2015 award winners for the IAS
Collaborative Initiative for Paediatric HIV Education and Research (CIPHER) Grant Programme. The
awards were presented at the 8th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2015) in
Vancouver, Canada.
With generous support from ViiV Healthcare, the CIPHER Grant Programme was established in 2012 to
support projects that address priority gaps in paediatric HIV research. This includes addressing
the lack of investment in paediatric researchers from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs),
by prioritizing applicants from those nations. This year, the programme is pleased to award
$750,000 to five early stage investigators – four of whom are from LMICs – to support
innovative research efforts.
The 2015 awardees and respective research topics include:
- Suvaporn Anugulruengkitt (Thailand): Adverse events of 6-week zidovudine/lamivudine/ nevirapine antiretroviral prophylaxis regimen for prevention of HIV mother-to-child transmission among high risk newborns in Thailand
- Heather Bailey (United Kingdom): Characteristics, outcomes and models of service provision for HIV-positive youth in Ukraine
- Jackson Kijumba B. Mukonzo (Uganda): Optimization of paediatric antiretroviral therapy during co-treatment of HIV-associated cancers
- Irene Nyambura Njuguna (Kenya): Financial incentives to increase paediatric HIV testing
- Birkneh Tadesse (Ethiopia): Improving treatment of HIV-infected Ethiopian children through earlier detection of treatment failure
“This year’s CIPHER grantees are all rising leaders in the HIV research field,” said Dr. Chris Beyrer, IAS President. “This year they will explore critical research questions to help improve the lives of the youngest among us living with HIV. IAS is proud to be able to support this year’s researchers, and we are grateful to ViiV Healthcare for their contribution and partnership to help us make a difference in the lives of children living with or at risk for HIV.”
2016 CIPHER Award to Be Largest to Date
IAS also announced that next year it will award a record $1.2 million in CIPHER programme grants,
made possible with a new £1 million grant commitment from ViiV Healthcare that covers the grants
programme and the paediatric cohort collaboration. The application period for the 2016 programme
will open on 1 October 2015, and awards will be announced at the 21st International AIDS
Conference (AIDS 2016), to be held 17-22 July 2016 in Durban, South Africa.
“Paediatric HIV has always been a key focus for ViiV Healthcare, through a comprehensive approach
to treatment, access and community support to ensure that no child living with HIV is left behind,”
said Dominique Limet, Chief Executive Officer at ViiV Healthcare. “We are very proud to be the
founding and key partner of the CIPHER initiative that delivered significant advances in
addressing key gaps in the management of Paediatric HIV since its inception in 2012.”
For more on the CIPHER Program, visit the IAS website.
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About CIPHER
The Collaborative Initiative for Paediatric HIV Education and Research (CIPHER) is a flagship programme of the International AIDS Society (IAS). CIPHER is designed to complement existing global initiatives and create partnerships with other organizations to maximize investment in paediatric HIV research and improve paediatric health outcomes. The main objectives of CIPHER are:
- Promote and invest in targeted research to address knowledge gaps/priority questions to optimize service delivery and clinical management of infants and children in resource-limited settings.
- Convene stakeholders and establish collaboration mechanisms to strengthen communication, knowledge transfer and exchange among paediatric HIV cohorts.
- Advocate and conduct outreach to support evidence-informed clinical, policy and programmatic decision making.
About IAS
Founded in 1988, the International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world's largest association of HIV
professionals, with members from more than 180 countries. IAS members work on all fronts of the
global response to AIDS and include researchers, clinicians, policy and programme planners,
and public health and community practitioners.
About IAS 2015
The 8th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (19-22 July, Vancouver) is the
leading scientific meeting on HIV. IAS 2015 brings together a broad cross section of more than
6,000 HIV professionals from around the world, with a focus on moving science into practice.
IAS 2015: Join the Conversation
Get the latest conference updates and share your thoughts and ideas through the IAS 2015 Social
Media channels.
• We are tweeting – @IAS_conference and @iasociety – and hope many of you will tweet along with us, using #IAS2015 to keep the conversation going.
• Like IAS 2015 on Facebook – and stay in touch with the latest conference updates and developments.
• Check us out on Instagram to see photos as they are happening! https://instagram.com/iasociety/
• Tell us why you're following IAS 2015 and what matters most to you. Join the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention group on LinkedIn. You are welcome to start new discussions and add your comments to existing threads.
Contacts:
Kyle Murphy, +1 778 389 1695
kmurphy@corkeryunlimited.com
Rob Caruano, +1 778 386 3485
rcaruano@corkeryunlimited.com
www.iasociety.org | www.ias2015.org | www.aids2016.org
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International AIDS Society (IAS)
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