Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

The proposed activity will support the 23rd International Workshop on HIV and Hepatitis Observational Databases (IWHOD), to be held in Athens, Greece, from 28th - 30th March 2019. IWHOD has been on-going annually since the mid-1990s. The objective of this workshop is to bring together junior and senior researchers from both developed and developing countries working on cohorts of patients with HIV or hepatitis to present their latest findings and work in progress, and allow open discussions on common issues of cohort methodology, techniques and statistics. This conference aims at pursuing new findings and facilitating scientific debates of methods, results, and clinical and epidemiological implications of the global HIV epidemic. We are once again aiming to include attendees representing cohort studies from all regions. IWHOD contributes to the improvement of personal health and health delivery systems as it leads to the production and dissemination of outstanding research at national and global levels. Since 2013, more than 200 manuscripts have resulted from work presented and shared at this premier meeting. The program of the Workshop is based on abstract selection by an international Scientific Committee. The program comprises of six 90-minute sessions, made up of 5-6 papers each, and allowing time for discussion and debate, or a plenary presentation by an expert in the relevant field. Sessions are dedicated to specialist areas including patient management, co-morbidities, and methodology. The ultimate goal of the meeting is to foster evidence-based research in HIV and hepatitis that will address the significant gaps in our current understanding and foster collaborative initiatives. By bringing together the top national and international researchers and emerging young talent we help build capacity for HIV and hepatitis research locally and globally with the ultimate aim of preventing new infections and improving the lives of persons living with HIV.