International aids society (IAS) conference on HIV science

About IAS 2023

The IAS hosts three prestigious HIV conferences, one of which is the IAS Conference on HIV Science, which was held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre from 23-26 July 2023.

The conference brought together the international research community to discuss the latest advances in HIV science and included attendance by clinicians, policymakers, scientists, as well as researchers. The four-day conference in Brisbane was attended by over 3,000 international delegates, plus joined by many virtually.

The Brisbane event was the first in-person HIV science conference staged post-COVID, with the most recent held in Mexico in 2019. Whilst the conference is now available as a hybrid event, the majority of delegates chose to attend in-person. Organisers indicated that the return to an in-person format highlighted the many benefits of meeting face-to-face, for delegates to not only learn and hear about the latest science but also engage in invaluable networking and social engagement.

Why Australia

The IAS meetings intentionally move around the world, aiming to showcase different regions and the various challenges they face with regards to HIV.

Hosting a meeting in the Asia Pacific was seen to be very important, with the region being home to over six million people living with HIV and having a very diverse pandemic across countries.

Three key consideration factors affect host destination selection for an IAS event – the human rights record with regards to HIV, the physical capability to host a conference and the third being the financial support provided by the host country and city.

The scientific base in the host destination is also a factor and in Brisbane’s favour was its reputation as a city where there has been significant investment in medical research. A new institute with state-of-the-art facilities at the University of Queensland has enabled the city to attract world-leading researchers involved in many aspects of infectious diseases. Amongst these is Emeritus Professor Ian Frazer AC who is globally-renowned for the discovery of the cervical cancer vaccine.

Conference leaves an important legacy

Through its program, the conference sets the gold standard of HIV science, featuring highly diverse and cutting-edge research. Over 60 symposia and oral sessions featured captivating keynote presentations and expert-led invited-speaker sessions. More than 1,400 abstract presentations included cutting-edge evidence and ranged across the spectrum of science.

The IAS meetings aim to have an impact on the host country in which they are held. For Brisbane and Australia, the conference provided an opportunity to showcase the work of local scientists, enable them to establish new collaborations and potentially identify new opportunities. Most importantly, it forged invaluable partnerships among scientists from around the world.

The conference also served to highlight the issues affecting people with HIV and drew attention to issues which it was believed required attention.

A legacy aspect was the media attention which the event attracted, raising awareness of the challenges faced by local and regional communities in dealing with HIV and assisted to ensure these remain on the public agenda.

Cultural factors a feature of the Brisbane program

HIV infections in First Nations people are a real challenge around the world and with Australia being home to the world’s oldest living Indigenous culture, this issue was intentionally highlighted in the conference program. Organisers indicated that HIV has been well controlled and managed in Australia, due to partnerships with leaders from Indigenous communities and also effective health messaging.

There were a number of presentations on Indigenous issues at the Brisbane conference including a plenary session delivered by Professor James Ward, an infectious diseases epidemiologist and leader in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research who is currently the Director of the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Queensland.

Australia’s cultural connection was highlighted in the conference logo which was inspired by artwork designed by Queensland Indigenous artist Leah Cummins. The artwork story reflected the coming together of many people from many places to converge on Brisbane/ Meeanjin to bring ideas and ways of thinking as a holistic approach to healing, from modern and traditional medicine.

A significant collaborative effort receives accolades

The attraction of the conference to Australia and Brisbane in Queensland was a collaborative bid effort by the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Tourism and Events Queensland and Brisbane Economic Development Agency with support also provided via the Business Events Bid Fund Program managed by Business Events Australia. This conference provided a unique opportunity to showcase Australia’s advances in scientific research and so many Australian industry partners were keen to support.