Research excellence was again reflected by the breadth and depth of oral and poster research presentations at this year’s conference. Of 403 abstracts submitted, 350 were selected – 48 as oral presentations and 302 as poster presentations – by the Abstract Review Committee, which comprised members from BHIVA and BASHHConferences subcommittees. All selected abstracts are published in HIV Medicine (2010, 11 Suppl 1), and available to download here.

Click here to view the full list of this year's prize winners. Pictured below are the some of the winners.

Margaret Johnson Best Oral Research Presentation
This annual prize is awarded to the presenter of the best oral research presentation at the annual spring conference. This year’s winner, Dr Derval Harte (centre) is pictured with Dr Ian Williams (Chair, BHIVA; left) and Dr Keith Radcliffe (President, BASHH; right). Dr Harte won the prize for her presentation of ‘Recall of men who have sex with men diagnosed with bacterial sexually transmitted infections for retesting: a feasible and effective strategy?’ (Abstract O46).

Best Poster Presentation
This prize is awarded to the presenter of the best poster research presentation at the conference. This year’s winner Dr Bhanu Williams (Imperial College London; centre) is pictured with Dr Ian Williams (Chair, BHIVA; left) and Dr Keith Radcliffe (President, BASHH; right). She won the prize for her presentation of ‘Pregnancy outcomes in women growing up with HIV acquired perinatally or in early childhood’ (Abstract P144).

The Maggie Godley Memorial Prize
This BASHH prize is awarded for the best oral or poster research presentation during the conference presented by a doctor of consultant status who works in a district general non-teaching hospital, in the UK. Dr Gary Brook (Central Middlesex Hospital, London) won the prize for his posters ‘Influence of different version of the Roche Taqman assay on the rates of HIV viral load >50 copies/ml in patients on ART’ (Abstract P61) and ‘The effect of electronic patient records (EPR) on the time taken to treat patients with genital Chlamydia infection’ (Abstract P185).

The Abbott Travelling Scholarships in collaboration with BHIVA and St Stephen’s AIDS Trust
Pictured from left to right are: Dr Anne M Musuva (Kenya), Dr Samuel Elias Kalluva (Tanzania), Dr Ian Williams (Chair, BHIVA), Mr Tayo Erogbogbo (Abbott), Dr Yonghong Zhang (China) and Dr Keith Radcliffe (President, BASHH). Abbott provides scholarships to practising HIV doctors from resource-poor countries to travel to the UK for training purposes and to attend the Annual BHIVA Conference. The objective is to increase the understanding of the treatment and management of HIV and to disseminate this information on returning to their country of origin.

Mediscript Award
Owing to its long association with BHIVA, Mediscript has provided this annual award for the two best oral or poster research presentations during the conference in the fields of social sciences and community-based work. A further annual award is also to be given to the authors of the best paper published in HIV Medicine. The Community Award was given to Mr Roger Pebody (NAM) award for the poster, ‘Using illustrations to develop treatment literacy’ (Abstract P261) and the Social Science Award was given to Miss Nicky Perry for the poster, ‘Growing older and living longer with HIV-1 – a qualitative study’ (Abstract P79). Pictured are Mr Gus Cairns (NAM), who accepted the award on behalf of Mr Pebody, and Miss Perry (Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust), with Dr Ian Williams (Chair, BHIVA; left), and Dr Keith Radcliffe (President, BASHH; right).