Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise Annual Stakeholder Meeting: “HIV vaccine cannot be ‘business as usual.’”

Marlène Bras has more than 12 years of experience in public health, research and management in the HIV field. She was appointed as Director, HIV Programmes and Advocacy in September 2022 and is also the Executive Editor of the Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS). A basic scientist by training, Marlène has worked across HIV disciplines from basic and clinical sciences to behavioural, epidemiology and implementation sciences.

Marlène joined the IAS in 2014 where she assumed roles of increasing responsibilities. Under her leadership, JIAS tripled its submission rate and established itself as the second-highest ranked of all HIV-specific journals since 2017. Marlène has been in a senior leadership position at the IAS since 2019 and has overseen the implementation science portfolio of the HIV Programmes and Advocacy department since 2021. She is committed to the current focus areas that define the HIV Programmes and Advocacy department portfolio: HIV vaccine and cure research; optimizing treatment and care for infants, children and adolescents in resource-limited settings; stigma-free and person-centred care; and expanding access to HIV prevention, treatment and care services.

Marlène has created and facilitated more than 20 workshops on scientific writing and ethics in publishing in professional fora both in-country (Australia, Canada, France, Ghana, Mexico, the Netherlands, Rwanda and South Africa) and virtually.

She was trained at the Pasteur Institute (France) and holds a PhD in cellular biology from the Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris VI, France).

Vincent is the Senior Medical Director in the Clinical Development Department at IAVI and leads IAVI’s Clinical Development team in Africa. He is responsible for the design of clinical development plans, clinical trial protocols, and safety monitoring plans for clinical trials evaluating biomedical prevention interventions against HIV and other diseases of public health importance. Vincent has 14 years of experience in vaccine clinical development and lifecycle management. He previously worked at GSK and, before that, for the KEMRI/CDC collaboration in Kenya.

He received his MBChB from the University of Nairobi in Kenya, a DTM&H from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the UK, and a Master of Science in vaccinology and pharmaceutical clinical development from the University of Siena in Italy.

Sheila Nina Balinda is an Assistant Professor/Senior Scientist (molecular virologist) at the Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute (MRC/UVRI) and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) Uganda Research Unit. In 2001, she completed her degree in biochemistry at Makerere University in Uganda and was later a Chevening scholar in applied molecular microbiology at Nottingham University, UK, graduating in 2005. In 2011, Sheila attained a doctorate in molecular virology from Makerere University and, soon after, joined the research team at Joint Clinical Research Centre Uganda as project manager for HIV-1 drug resistance studies.

Her postdoctoral research was funded by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) under its Vaccine Immunology Science and Technology for Africa (VISTA) project and she contributed to the initial characterization of HIV-1 transmitted founder viruses of subtypes A, D and A/D in Uganda. She is a recipient of the SANTHE “path-to-independence” and the IAVI/Investigator-Initiated Research (IIR) capacity-building awards in which several Master of Science students are mentored. The IIR award is collaborative with Eunice Ndauti at KEMRI, Kilifi.

Sheila leads a team of Ugandan researchers developing and characterizing a novel adenovector for vaccine development funded by the government of Uganda. She is currently part of the virus surveillance team that will inform priority immunogens for vaccine development and bnAB prevention approaches targeted to specific populations in Africa and India.

Mitchell Warren has spent nearly 30 years devoted to expanding access to HIV prevention. He says he has had the great fortune to work with a wide range of activists and advocates, researchers and scientists, product developers and deliverers, policy makers, community advisory boards and the media from across the globe. This has often been as a translator, helping these often-diverse groups with diverse points of view understand each other better.

In 1993, Mitchell established a condom social marketing project in South Africa, working with PSI and local partners to create the Society for Family Health. This was the first programme to introduce the female condom, as part of the new government’s National Barrier Method Strategy in 1994. In 1999, he joined the Female Health Company (FHC), manufacturer of the female condom; he established robust public-private partnerships to design and implement reproductive health programmes to leverage the introduction of the first female-initiated prevention method.

In 2003, after a decade focused on delivering prevention options that already existed, he expanded his work to include research and development of next-generation prevention. He joined the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) to direct vaccine preparedness and focus on increasing community understanding and national involvement in AIDS vaccine R&D.

Since 2004, Mitchell has been the Executive Director of AVAC, an international non-governmental organization that works to accelerate the ethical development and global delivery of HIV prevention options as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity. Through communications, education, policy analysis, advocacy and a network of global collaborations, it mobilizes and supports efforts to deliver proven HIV prevention tools for immediate impact, demonstrates and rolls out new HIV prevention options, and develops long-term solutions needed to end the epidemic.

He serves and/or has served on numerous boards and advisory committees. He is currently the Co-Chair of the Global HIV Prevention Coalition, a member of the PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board, and President of the TB Alliance Stakeholder Association.

He has also worked closely with the IAS in numerous ways. He served as President of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise and led the transition of the Enterprise into a programme of the IAS in 2018. He helped create the HIVR4P, HIV Research for Prevention Conference, within the Enterprise in 2014, and was Co-Chair of HIVR4P 2020/1 after it was integrated into the IAS conference programme. He served as Track D Co-Chair and a member of the Scientific Programme Committee for the International AIDS Conference in Durban in 2016. He also serves on the IAS Towards an HIV Cure Advisory Board, which has a strong partnership with AVAC on cure research literacy, resource tracking and advocacy.

Mitchell has attended every IAS conference since 1996. He has collaborated with the IAS over two decades and has worked with the wider community of stakeholders for over a quarter century. He believes he brings an important and unique perspective to the IAS Governing Council. He welcomes the opportunity to bring his voice, experience, expertise and perspective to the IAS, its programmes and partnerships, and help fulfil its mission to lead collective action on every front, and with all stakeholders, in the global HIV response.

Roger Tatoud is a professional with over 25 years of expertise in steering the development, management and operations of global research and public health initiatives. His comprehensive skill set spans science, research, operations, finance, fundraising, legal affairs and management for not-for-profit organizations. Roger’s contributions to public and private health initiatives include collaborating with global health research organizations to attain operational excellence and providing vital support to academics, non-profit entities and the pharmaceutical industry across various infectious disease domains. Beyond his professional interests, Roger is a recognized HIV prevention advocate, championing engagement with the public and end-users. He is committed to promoting evidence-based research and facilitating the implementation of effective HIV prevention and treatment tools. In 2021, Roger launched a consultancy service, lending his expertise to international organizations in the fields of vaccines, diagnostics, capacity building and adult education.

Shan Lu is an Emeritus Professor at the Uni of Mass Medical School. He developed the polyvalent DNA/protein HIV vaccine which showed the robust and broadly cross-reactive immune responses in human clinical studies including HVTN124 which sets a new milestone for HIV vaccine development.

Maureen Luba is a Malawian global health practitioner currently serving as Program Manager at Cooper Smith. She helps lead the organization’s efforts around strengthening health information and data systems in Malawi to improve health outcomes, working closely with the government and other stakeholders. She is a passionate and staunch advocate for women’s health and has more than 13 years of experience working on HIV, TB and sexual and reproductive health and rights advocacy.

Maureen serves on several national, regional and global platforms, where she continues to advocate and fight for access to quality health services for underprivileged communities. This includes serving as a board member for the International Partnership for Microbicides. She is currently pursuing a Master of Medical Sciences in Global Health Delivery at Harvard Medical School.