? This proposal aims to establish a series of ongoing HIV immunology meeting in Africa. One major objective of the proposed meeting is to disseminate the most recent developments in the field of vaccine immunology as it pertains to HIV infection in Africa. A second objective is to promote interaction and collaboration between African and international HIV scientists with the purpose of developing research proposals to address the HIV epidemic in the context of the health issues relevant to Africa. The focus is to break down possible barriers between local regions and research centers and their respective collaborating or funding institutions. The conference planners are established scientists from Africa and the U.S. in the field of HIV immunology and have worked in Africa for many years. Our first Uganda AIDS Conference (UAC) took place in Kampala in December 2006. The topics discussed included presentations on the current understanding of HIV immunopathogenesis, the interaction of HIV with diseases endemic to Africa, and vaccine development. The speakers in the first UAC conference were faculty scientists from the U.S., U.K., Senegal, South Africa, and Tanazia. The conference hosted a total of 120 participants and included oral abstract presentations by young investigators from Africa as well as from the US. We plan to host the second UAC conference in 2008 with the focus on HIV Vaccine. The program will allow ample time for discussion and exchange of ideas to generate new research hypotheses and proposals. The first conference began a network to promote immunology training and research among investigators from this region. This led to the joined collaboration and organization in the R13 Infectious Disease in Africa (IDA) Symposium in 2007. We now propose to coordinate the UAC and IDA conference series to promote a yearly symposium in Uganda and South Africa in respective alternative year. The objective is to maintain and foster the generation of young research scientists and encourage continued collaborations between regional and international HIV investigators. This symposium will bring together key HIV researchers from Africa together with a panel of US researchers to share important published and ongoing research findings relevant to an AIDS Vaccine in Africa. The ultimate goal is to enhance the scientific agendas and programs that are urgently needed to address the devastating AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. The focus of the 2008 meeting, entitled """"""""AIDS Vaccine in Africa,"""""""" will be to discuss current and future progress in HIV vaccine research, development and clinical studies. The meeting will also foster open discussions of the ongoing studies related to HIV in Africa and to forge new collaborations that will accelerate the current understanding of HIV pathogenesis and prevention in Africa. This forum is also intended to encourage young scientists from Africa and provide them with guidance and information to participate and contribute to the fight against AIDS. ? ? ? ?
