NIAID to convene HIV Vaccine Summit

Watch live via webcast

What: On Tuesday, March 25, 2008, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, will host an HIV Vaccine Summit in Bethesda, Md. as an important step in the ongoing process to examine the current direction of HIV vaccine research. Through interactive panel discussions, NIAID and the scientific community will explore

• The optimal balance between vaccine discovery research and development studies designed to advance promising vaccine candidates into clinical trials
  
  
• How to optimize and utilize non-human primate models to support vaccine research
  
  
• How best to integrate clinical research with vaccine discovery efforts
  
  

Based on the panel discussions, NIAID is seeking specific recommendations on the types of research to foster and how to attract novel vaccine research ideas.

Media registration to attend the summit in-person has closed; however, media are invited to watch the summit during a live Webcast.

When: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. EST

Where: To view the online NIAID HIV Vaccine Webcast, go to: http://hivsummit.dgimeetingsupport.com. The “View Webcast” link will be live on March 25.

Contact: For more information, contact the NIAID Office of Communications at (301) 402-1663, .

NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health. NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria and illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. NIAID also supports research on basic immunology, transplantation and immune-related disorders, including autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergies.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)—The Nation's Medical Research Agency—includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.