Miami CFAR Gears Up for Innovative HIV/AIDS Symposium
Prominent HIV/AIDS researchers from across the country will discuss current therapies and community engagement at this year’s Miami CFAR symposium.
Symposium Information and Registration
- Go to the Miami CFAR website
- To register for the Miami CFAR Symposium, click here
- For any questions about the event, email Rosie Plog.
Breakthrough discussions in HIV/AIDS will again be front and center as the Miami Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) will host its annual symposium on February 23 at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay.
The event draws prominent researchers from specialties like pathology and infectious diseases. Located in Miami-Dade County, an epicenter of HIV/AIDS, Miami CFAR has been at the forefront of combating the epidemic, contributing to discoveries of cardiovascular risk in HIV and the link between COVID and HIV and earning multimillion-dollar research grants.
“Even with current treatments, there are still issues with the disease that haven’t been resolved,” acknowledged Savita Pahwa, M.D., professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and director of Miami CFAR. “We hope that by attending this event, our participants will get an enriched understanding of the latest developments and foster networking connections to support further collaborative projects in eradicating HIV/AIDS.”
Outsmarting the HIV Virus
This year’s symposium will focus on HIV cure strategies from varied approaches that attempt to solve the virus’ evasive nature. HIV can remain dormant in cells and invisible to the immune system and drugs as it integrates with the nucleus. A key goal among HIV researchers is to outsmart the virus.
“It is because of the challenges associated with HIV/AIDS that we host events such as the Miami CFAR Symposium,” Dr. Pahwa said. “Here we bring together basic and clinical science researchers along with those in clinical practice and the community to gain from advances in knowledge so everyone can benefit.”
Improving HIV Therapy Accessibility
This year’s symposium will feature an emphasis on community HIV/AIDS education so newer prevention and treatment options are understood and can be implemented.
“It’s one thing to conduct lab research and make discoveries about new advances and therapies, but you’ve got to get a receptive patient population who understands them and wants to try them out,” Dr. Pahwa said. “We are strategizing to pay attention to the community better than we have done in prior symposia.”
Nine national HIV experts will lead these crucial discussions, exploring the session’s “Cure” theme to discuss health barriers, affordable care and the engagement of minority communities.
The symposium will also feature a research poster session for early-career investigators and “Miami Stories,” with three dynamic speakers discussing current research and community engagement:
- Jose Martinez-Navio, Ph.D., Miller School research assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine
- Tyler Bartholomew, Ph.D., Miller School assistant professor of public health sciences
- Epidemiologist Mariano Kanamori, Ph.D., Miller School associate professor of public health sciences
Tags: AIDS, Dr. Savita Pahwa, HIV, HIV/AIDS research, Miami Center for AIDS Research