IAVI has provided electronic access to its recently updated Vaccine Literacy (VaxLit) Toolkit. The VaxLit Toolkit is a comprehensive set of educational and training materials about AIDS vaccine development and clinical trials, developed in collaboration with a number of IAVI’s partners. All materials can be accessed on the IAVI web site: http://www.iavi.org/working-with-communities/Pages/vaccine-literacy.aspx....

The NIH announced a new initiative to strengthen medical education in Sub-Saharan Africa, in collaboration with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).  The program, called the Medical Education Partnership Initiative, is a joint effort of the Office of the U.S.

The Medical Research Council launched a new scheme to support African Research Leaders. This is a highly prestigious award, jointly funded by the MRC and the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID), for non-clinical and clinical researchers of exceptional ability. The aim of the scheme is to strengthen research leadership and capacity in sub-Saharan Africa, by attracting and retaining researchers of high ability. The scheme will be launched as a pilot in the first instance, aiming to award support for two or three Research Leaders.

For further details please see link below:

The Microbicides Media and Communications Initiative (MMCI), in partnership with Family Health International (FHI) and the Global Campaign for Microbicides (GCM), will launch the Communications Handbook for Clinical Trials, a practical guide developed for site-level microbicide researchers, communicators, advocates and others working on HIV prevention trials in developing countries.  

AmfAR and TAG issued a brief, The Sound Investment: The Multiplier Effect of AIDS Research, which states that in FY2011 and future years, Congress must redress five years of flat funding for NIH by significantly increasing overall NIH appropriations to take advantage of growing scientific opportunity in health research.  The full brief is available below.

In commemoration of the 5th annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 10, 2010, NIAID Director, Dr. Anthony S.

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) announced the appointment of David N. Cook as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Cook will lead the senior management team, oversee IAVI’s operations and work closely with IAVI’s CEO Seth Berkley to drive the organization’s strategy for ensuring the development of an AIDS vaccine.  See below for the full announcement.

The Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative (CHVI) issued a statement on the decision of the Government of Canada and the Gates Foundation not to proceed with the pilot-scale HIV vaccine manufacturing facility in Canada. Visit the CHVI web site for the full statement: http://www.chvi-icvv.gc.ca/index-eng.html.

A team of scientists at Oxford University and Nova Laboratories found a simple and inexpensive way of keeping vaccines stable even at tropical temperatures, researchers report in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

In commemoration of the 10th annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on February 7, 2010, Dr. Anthony S.