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 Microbicides 200428-31 March 2004, Hilton London MetropoleThe conference42 million men, women and children worldwide were living with HIV by the end of December 2002 (source: UNAIDS), including five million newly-infected during that year alone. Another 45 million people will become infected between 2002 and 2010, unless the current transmission rates can be vastly reduced. Of the 42 million, 29.4 million live in sub-Saharan Africa and 58% of them are women. Not only are women more susceptible to HIV infection, many are powerless to insist on the use of condoms or other methods of protecting themselves. In this context, and with the knowledge that an effective HIV vaccine is unlikely to be available for several years, the need for an effective topical microbicide grows ever more urgent. 2004 should prove to be a landmark year in the field of microbicide development as the first Phase III trials of novel products are due to start – the next step along the road to making a microbicide available to the millions worldwide in desperate need of protection.The aims of the Microbicides 2004 conference are to:Report novel or innovative work in the microbicides fieldProvide updates on recent microbicides research, divided into three tracks: basic science, clinical science, and behavioural science (including public health and the microbicide marketplace)Provide a forum for the discussion of new developments in microbicide research including ethical, clinical, behavioural and methodological issuesPresent opportunities for knowledge-sharing between microbicide researchers, public-health workers and advocacy organisations.There will be an opening ceremony on the evening of Sunday 28 March at which politicians, policy makers and the international media are expected. The conference will run for a full three days, each of which will contain:Scientific overviews and presentations with plenary sessions, invited lecturers and presentations of original researchWorkshops to review issues unique to microbicides such as trial design and outcome measures, and ethical issues in the clinical trials of microbicidesPoster sessions. Focus on LondonFollowing the successful Microbicides conferences in Washington in 2000 and Antwerp in 2002, March 2004 sees the focus move to London.The venue is the Hilton Metropole Hotel, two minutes by taxi from Paddington station and the Heathrow Express, with a journey time from the airport of 15 minutes. The hotel is in walking distance of Hyde Park and London’s main shopping streets, and close to Imperial College. Accommodation will be available at the venue and other hotels in the vicinity.London in March offers a variety of diversions for out-of-conference relaxation, including sight-seeing and shopping; the arts and the theatre; and pubs, clubs and restaurants to suit every taste. Conference staff will be on hand to help delegates plan their spare time.To book your place or find out more information, e-mail info@microbicides2004.org.uk or telephone the Event Office on +44 (0) 20 7720 4411
About the conference Sponsors and collaborators Advisory board Chair biographies

Conference co-chairs

The conference is co-chaired by Professor Janet Darbyshire OBE, Director of the Medical Research Council’s Clinical Trials Unit, Robin Gorna, UK Department for International Development, and Professor Jonathan Weber, Chairman of the Wright-Fleming Institute, Imperial College.

  • Janet Darbyshire joined the Medical Research Council in 1974 and was the coordinator of clinical trials and epidemiological studies in tuberculosis in the UK and in East and Central Africa until 1989. Subsequently she was responsible for developing the MRC’s programme of clinical trials in HIV infection. Since the formation of the MRC Clinical Trials Unit in 1998, as Director, she is responsible for its programme of trials in cancer & HIV infection and for extending into other disease areas. She is a member of many Trial Steering Committees, Trial Development Committees and Data and Safety Monitoring Committees and has worked closely with the community support groups in HIV infection and, more recently, in cancer.
  • Robin Gorna is currently HIV/AIDS Team Leader for DFID. She has worked in HIV/AIDS since 1986, principally with community-based responses. Robin has a long-standing interest in how AIDS affects women, and has followed microbicide developments since the early days. In 1996 her book Vamps, Virgins and Victims was published. She was Community Chair of the 1998 World AIDS Conference (held in Geneva) and Co-Chair of the 6th International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (Melbourne, 2001). In 2002 she worked with the Health and Development Network’s Microbicides Advocacy Project.
  • Jonathan Weber is currently Jefferiss Professor in Genito-Urinary Medicine & Communicable Diseases at Imperial College School of Medicine, St. Mary’s Hospital. Jonathan began his career at St. Mary’s in 1982, setting up a research cohort of men potentially exposed to the AIDS agent, with support from the Wellcome Trust. From 1985 to 1988 he was a Lecturer in Cell & Molecular Biology at the Institute of Cancer Research and subsequently Senior Lecturer in Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine, Royal Post-graduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital. He has co-authored three books and over 150 peer-reviewed articles published on human retroviruses and STDs. He is chairman of the Wright-Fleming Institute at Imperial College London which brings together 14 research groups from six academic divisions studying virus and bacterial infections in relation to human disease.