RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., July 27, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----Timothy Mastro, MD, FACP, DTM&H, who joins Family Health International (FHI) on August 1st as Senior Director of Research, will share information on promising research into pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City.

Dr. Mastro's presentation, titled "Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis: Current and Planned Trials," will examine ongoing and upcoming clinical trials that suggest oral doses of certain antiretroviral therapies taken daily may prove effective in protecting people from HIV infection. The successful development of PrEP would be especially useful to women and others who may not be empowered to negotiate consistent condom use with their sexual partners.

Dr. Mastro, who joins FHI from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is one of the leading experts on HIV/AIDS prevention. During his tenure at the CDC, Dr. Mastro oversaw HIV prevention research activities, including a landmark study on mother-to-child HIV transmission, trials of microbicides for women, and the first international HIV vaccine efficacy trial. He has also served as chief of the CDC HIV Vaccine Section and directed CDC's participation in the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). At FHI, Dr. Mastro will support the organization's commitment to continue to expand its global leadership role in public health and development, particularly in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment research and programs.

 WHAT: FHI's
   Dr. Timothy Mastro Presents on "Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis: Current and Planned Trials" WHERE: XVII International AIDS Conference
   Centro Banamex, Mexico City Session Room 9 WHEN: Thursday, August 7, 2008 2:30-4:00 p.m. 

Dr. Mastro's presentation is part of a symposium titled "The Future of Microbicides: from Vaginal ART to PREP," which will examine the road forward for research on female-controlled HIV prevention methods in the face of negative results from some recent clinical trials. Other presentations at the session will include "Future Promising Microbicidal Products: What to Learn from the In Vitro Work," "ART-Containing Vaginal Microbicides in the Clinical Pipeline: A Status of the Studies," and "The Use of Oral and Topical PREP at Population Level: What Are the Issues?"

Other notable FHI presentations at the International AIDS Conference include:

"Meeting the Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of People Living with HIV: Critical to Human Rights and Prevention" by Ms. Rose Wilcher

Sunday, August 3, 2008

3:45-5:45 p.m. in Skills Building Room 5

"Vaccines and Microbicides: Where Do We Go From Here?" by Dr. Lut Van Damme

 Monday, August 4, 2008 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. in
   Session Room 1 

Family Health International

Family Health International (FHI) has been at the forefront of international public health initiatives since 1971. With a staff of 2,200 working in more than 65 countries, FHI leads and supports research and programs that address the most pressing public health needs of the developing world - HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment; reproductive health; malaria; tuberculosis; and avian influenza as well as other chronic and infectious diseases. FHI's work is made possible by close relationships with funding partners, host-country governments, non-governmental organizations, research institutions and universities, community and faith-based groups, and private-sector organizations.

 Contact: Tae Crotty Director of Communications 1-571-225-5819 tcrotty@fhi.org 

SOURCE Family Health International

http://www.fhi.org/ 

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