This year's autumn conference included parallel sessions with the Children's HIV Association and was preceded by the Fifth Annual Conference for the Management of HIV / Hepatitis Co-infection, which this year was in collaboration with BASL and BVHG. Delegate feedback reported that the programme was varied, with many interesting presentations and relevant to delegate's professional and educational needs. In total 603 delegates attended the conference. This number included 9 BHIVA scholarship winners and over 50 community registration places.

'Another great conference'

'A well balanced programme and interesting speakers'

'A must for all practising HIV medicine'

Prof Jane Anderson, Chair, BHIVA

Dr Annemiek de Ruiter, Conference Local Host

Dr David Asboe, Conference Subcommittee Chair

Conference Programme

The conference programme covered a wide range of topics relevant to HIV, with a focus on HIV/hepatitis co-infection, PrEP, disclosure of HIV and lectures on best practice management of patients living with HIV. The BHIVA Foundation Lecture explored 'Intimate partner violence and HIV.' The BHIVA Guidelines Session looked at 'Treatment of HIV-1-infected adults with antiretroviral therapy' and 'HIV transmission, the law and the work of the clinical team'. Our international speakers included Professor Stefan Zeuzem, Dr Curtis Cooper, Professor Sharon Lewin, Professor Stanislas Pol, Dr Paddy Mallon, Professor Ian McGowan and Dr Audrey Pettifor.

Professor Sharon Lewin, Australia

Professor Ian McGowan, USA

Dr Audrey Pettifor, USA

Acknowledgements and Thank You's

During the conference a formal thank you was made by the Chair of the British HIV Association to the full BHIVA Conference Subcommittee. In addition the below Committee Members were presented with gifts of appreciation:

Dr Annemiek de Ruiter with Professor Jane Anderson and Conference Subcommittee Vice Chair Dr Alastair Miller (on behalf of Dr David Asboe)

Professor Jane Anderson with Dr Andrew Freedman

Events

As usual, a drinks reception was held on the Thursday evening of conference and this event was well attended and enjoyed by all.

Prizes and Awards

There were a number of awards presented at this year's Autumn Conference; the BMS Exchange Scholarships in collaboration with BHIVA and SAHIVCS, the Gilead / BHIVA SpR Research Award, the Brian Gazzard Lectureship in HIV Medicine, and the Inaugural BHIVA Don Jeffries Research Award.

BMS Exchange Scholarships in collaboration with BHIVA and SAHIVCS

BMS supported 4 exchange scholarships and the scholarship programme included a placement for 2 BHIVA Members at Hospitals in Botswana for two weeks. In addition, the South African HIV Clinicians Society (SAHIVCS) selected two clinicians to come to the UK to take part in clinical attachments for two weeks in hospitals in London and Leicester.

BMS representative Mr Brett Marett and Professor Jane Anderson present Dr Navin Venkataratnam (on behalf of Dr Amandip Sahota), Dr Virginia Letsatsi-Modise and Dr Tafireyi Marukutira with a certificate in recognition of their scholarship.

BHIVA winning scholars
Dr Mitesh Desai, St Thomas' Hospital, London
Dr Amandip Sahota, Leicester Royal Infirmary

SAHIVCS winning scholars
Dr Virginia Letsatsi-Modise, Princess Marina Hospital, Gaborone, Botswana
Dr Tafireyi Marukutira, Botswana-Baylor Children's Clinical Centre of Excellence, Gaborone

Gilead / BHIVA Specialist Registrar Research Award

Dr Keith Aizen (Gilead Sciences) (left) and Professor Jane Anderson (centre) present Dr Olubanke Davies (right) with the BHIVA / Gilead SpR Research Award for 2012.

This prize has been set up to provide financial support for an HIV-related research project undertaken by a doctor at the Specialist Registrar (SpR) grade as part of professional training. Trainees in all medical specialties are required to undertake a period of research as an integral part of their higher professional training. However, funding such research is not always easy. Research proposals are invited for submission and reviewed by a BHIVA-appointed panel. The winning submission is awarded up to £2,000 to facilitate their high-quality research.

Dr Olubanke Davies, a specialist registrar at St Thomas' Hospital, London was presented the award in 2012 towards her research submission entitled 'The impact of rectal Gonorrhoea and Chlamydia on HIV infectiousness and onward transmission risk'.

Brian Gazzard Lectureship in HIV Medicine

Professor Jane Anderson (right) presents Dr Paddy Mallon (left) with a commemorative trophy bowl and engraved pen in recognition of his Lectureship Award.

The lectureship was set up by BHIVA in honour of its Founding Chair, Professor Brian Gazzard, and is now in its 8th year. The lecture is selected to be presented from a short list of proposed topics and eminent speakers put forward for consideration by the BHIVA Conferences Subcommittee.

This annual prize was awarded to Dr Paddy Mallon, Consultant at Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin, for his presentation 'Does ageing really matter in HIV'.

The Inaugural BHIVA Don Jeffries Research Award

Mrs Mary Jeffries (left) and Professor Jane Anderson (centre) present Dr John Frater (right) with a commemorative trophy in recognition of his Research Award.

In 2012, as a memorial to Professor Donald Jeffries OBE, the BHIVA Education and Scientific Subcommittee instituted an award for the top-scoring project in the BHIVA Research Awards applications. This award has been set up in perpetuity, to honour Professor Jeffries' unerring support of the British HIV Association.

This prize was awarded to Dr John Frater, Research Fellow/Honorary Consultant at Oxford University, for his research project 'Use of Immunocapture and Next Generation Sequencing to Identify the Cellular Origin of Rebound Viraemia following Therapy Cessation in Primary HIV Infection'.