AADR is requesting funding to facilitate the attendance and active participation of new investigators from low and middle income countries at the 8th World Workshop on Oral Health and Disease in AIDS: Improving Health and Wellbeing (WW8), to be held in Bali, Indonesia, September 13-15, 2019. The purpose of the WW8 is to appraise advances since the last conference in this series, WW7 held in Hyderabad, India (2014) and to prepare the new agenda for scientific advances in the field as well as a focusing of the NIH AIDS portfolio, including but not limited to: 1) reducing the incidence of HIV by supporting research on the development of safe and effective oral prophylactic HIV vaccines; 2) developing the next generation of therapies for oral complications of HIV infection; 3) conducting research toward a cure, specifically understanding oral lymphoid tissue reservoirs for HIV and approaches for eradication; 4) addressing research advances on HIV-associated oral comorbidities, co-infections and complications; 5) assessing advances in cross-cutting research areas, including social sciences and epidemiological data for the rising HIV rates in Indonesia and the developing world. AADR seeks funds to support 14 travel awards of $2,000 each to cover costs for meeting registration, travel, transportation and lodging for four nights for each new oral health investigator selected. Because of fund limitations for new investigators from low and middle income countries to attend scientific meetings such as WW8, funds will mainly support foreign participants from Africa, Asia and Central/South America. It is anticipated that those receiving funds will apply the knowledge acquired at the WW8 back to their country programs, contributing to global HIV/AIDS research, care and education. After an interval of five years, which has seen further enormous changes in the HIV/AIDS epidemic and changing priorities in AIDS research, the WW8 will play a vital role in creating social awareness and enhancing the knowledge and attitudes among oral health care professionals in Indonesia who will be on the front line of diagnosis, much like they were in the 1980s and 1990s in other parts of the world. HIV/AIDS individuals in low and middle income countries continue to face challenges for timely diagnosis and access to treatment. Dissemination and implementation research is needed to improve sharing information, enable evidence-based interventions, and improve health outcomes. Bali, Indonesia is a carefully selected venue for WW8 due to Indonesia's rising HIV infections, social stigma, discrimination, inadequate testing and suboptimal treatment. The goal is that the publication of the conference summary will define the obstacles that impede progress in specific areas of oral HIV/AIDS and will prepare a set of specific recommendations and directions for future research.
The purpose of the WW8 is to appraise advances since the last conference in this series, WW7 held in Hyderabad, India (2014), and that the publication of the conference summary and specific recommendations will define the obstacles that impede progress in specific areas of oral HIV/AIDS. This funding request is to provide support for new investigators to participate in an international meeting that will help to shape the future of HIV/AIDS research. It is anticipated that the new investigators receiving support from the proposed conference grant will take the knowledge acquired at the workshop back to, and apply it in their own programs, thus contributing to HIV/AIDS research, care and education in their own countries, particularly in those where such improvements are most sorely needed.
