April 25, 2019 - Recap: ATN Spring 2019 Meeting

Researchers who are part of the ATN met in Washington, DC from April 8-11, 2019 for the biannual Full Meeting for the network. The meeting allows people around the country who conduct current ATN research studies to collaborate, learn, and build professional relationships.

This meeting’s theme was “Overcoming Barriers to HIV Research Among Adolescents,” in reference to the obstacles that researchers face in youth HIV prevention and care.

Kicking off the meeting was a State of the Network presentation from Isa Fernandez (PhD), the ATN Executive Committee chair and Co-Investigator for CARES. Following her presentation, Kenneth Mayer (MD), Principal Investigator, iTech Boston site, and chair of the ATN Scientific Committee, delivered an update on the State of the Science.

With the meeting’s theme in mind, a major part of the event was hearing from youth voices. The ATN-YEAH, or Youth Experts and Advocates for Health, convened for a presentation and panel discussion, followed by a question and answer session.

“ATN-YEAH really enjoyed answering questions from the audience and sharing their views about youth and HIV, and barriers to HIV research with youth,” Angulique Outlaw (PhD) said. Dr. Outlaw is the ATN-YEAH liaison and Associate Professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine. “The group looks forward to continuing to contribute to the research agenda of the ATN.”

Collaboration can also help overcome HIV research barriers, which is why the meeting featured a panel discussion with experts from different research networks around the country.

These panelists represented the Microbicide Trials Network (MTN), the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN), the Health Resources and Services Administration or HRSA (part of the US Department of Health and Human Services), the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Network (IMPAACT), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID).

A popular part of the biannual meetings is moderated round-table sessions set up to allow for researchers to focus on important discussion points in their fields. The topics were:

- Engaging Outside Organizations

- Translating Research into Policy

- Strategies for Disseminating Findings

- Overcoming Limited Funding

- The Modeling Core Presentation

“The ATN spring meeting is a terrific opportunity to learn how research is advancing both within the ATN and across the broader spectrum of HIV/AIDS research,” Lisa LaVange (PhD), Principal Investigator for the ATN Coordinating Center, said.

“The meeting is also a great networking event. It is always fun to catch up with friends and colleagues and hear about their studies, mentoring activities, and other contributions in this important field. I am looking forward to the fall meeting!”

Save the Date

The next ATN biannual meeting will be held in Washington, DC, October 23-24, 2019. See more about ATN events and other upcoming meeting dates here.