MOAX03 Chris Beyrer MD, MPH Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

The HIV vaccine field in 2008 is in a phase of re-evaluation The early halt of the STEP and Phambili trials was a key event for the field Some have called the trials “scientific failures”; But: STEP trial was a well conducted trial that has already resulted in major impacts on the HIV vaccine field; a “Landmark Study” for defining the real hurdles we need to achieve to develop an effective HIV vaccine The failure of the MRK vaccine is a product failure and a set back for the rapid availability of an effective HIV vaccine The trial itself has been a success in defining questions and issues that must be answered for developing an HIV vaccine

Today you will hear about The HIV vaccine research requires basic science, clinical science, epidemiology, molecular epidemiology, behavioral science, community engagement, and political will Today you will hear about HIV vaccines and circumcision HIV vaccine trial adherence among drug using women Molecular epidemiology in Rakai, Uganda Using the internet to recruit MSM for vaccine trials Inter-epitope interference and T-cell immunodominance

The need for an HIV vaccine has not gone away History has taught us that persistence is needed to solve difficult problems Other viral infections (smallpox, polio, measles, rabies) largely controlled by vaccines Two retroviral vaccines exist and have known efficacy (for horse and cat retroviruses) The HIV/AIDS community cannot give up on the HIV vaccine research effort