Summary of UCSF and CFAR/ARI Partner Abstracts at AIDS 2026

Dear HIV Research Community,

HIV investigators from UCSF and our affiliates/partners across the CFAR/ARI have an impressive showing at AIDS 2026 this year! For us to support each other and to be aware of the great work being done at our institutions, we have listed presentations led by investigators at UCSF or partner organizations below. Please try and go to each other’s oral and poster talks to see the great science first-hand.

 

Note: If we've missed your abstract, contact cesar.cadabes@ucsf.edu and we will update the listing on our CFAR website

 

Great work UCSF!

 

Thank you,

CFAR and ARI

Sunday, July 26, 2026

Pre-conference Sessions

 

8:00-9:00 | 205

PC0303 Treatment at a Crossroads – Crisis, Power and the State of the Movement

• Panel discussion: Treatment at a Crossroads…The Reality Check

Panelist: Michael Reid

 

11:30-13:00 | 204

PC0303 Basic science and translational clinical studies on HIV cure

• CARD8 and TACKs: Implications for treatment and cure

Presenter: Peter Hunt

 

14:00-15:00 | 202

PC0104 Session 4: Maintaining the momentum: From scientific innovation to real-world choice

• Panel discussion: Maintaining the momentum for scientific innovation and translating it into real-world choice

Panelist: Michael Reid

Monday July 27, 2026

Satellite Presentation

 

15:00-16:30 | 103

SAT57 Immune based strategies for HIV prevention and treatment

• Where do monoclonal bnAbs fit into the HIV prevention landscape

Presenter: Hyman Scott

 

Global Village

 

11:45-12:45 | Film Screening

GVFS08 The Last Gift: Jim's Courage, Our Hope

Presenter: Patricia Defechereux

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Satellite Presentation

 

12:00-13:00 | 201

SAT26 SAT26 Bridging the implementation gap: Practical insights to strengthen HIV prevention access for key populations

• Stigma-responsive, community-led delivery models for existing and emerging prevention options: What’s working, what’s needed, what’s next

Presenter: Ramya Kumar

 

13:30-14:30 | 203

SAT34 AI and HIV: Who owns the future of public health?

Moderator: Michael Reid

 

Symposiums

 

10:30-11:30 | 103

SY19 Track A: Basic and translational science - NAbs for cure: Hope or hype?

Panelist: Steve Deeks

 

15:00-16:00 | 101A

SY05 Cross-track - Beyond pills: The future of long-acting and curative therapies

• Long-acting therapy

Presenter: Monica Gandhi

 

Oral Sessions

 

10:30-11:30 | 202

Track C: Epidemiology and prevention science - From insecurity to inequity: Examining structural drivers of HIV outcomes

• Early impact of funding withdrawal on HIV care and treatment programs in East Africa

Presenter: Hong-Ha Truong

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Oral Sessions

 

15:00-16:00 | 202

OAB14 Track B: Clinical science - ARTistic strategies 2: The long game

• Randomized, active-controlled, phase 2b study evaluating efficacy and safety of switch to islatravir (ISL) 2 mg with ulonivirine (ULO) 200 mg once weekly in virologically suppressed adults living with HIV-1

Presenter:  Annie Luetkemeyer

 

OAD21 Track D: Social and behavioural sciences - When stigmas intersect: Advancing HIV stigma research and practice

• Persistent internalised HIV stigma among persons living with HIV in Jamaica and implications for engagement in care in the context of shifting funding priorities

Presenter: Sharlene Jarrett

 

Global Village

 

15:40-16:40 | Global Village Stage

GVMS04 ZERO: Our truth. Our power. A live cultural experience

Presenter: Patricia Defechereux

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Satellite Presentations

 

18:00-19:30 | 205

SAT24 Treatment interruption and resumption, learning from HIV cure trials

• Cell-intrinsic silencers of the active HIV reservoir

Presenter: Nadia Roan

 

Oral Sessions

 

10:30-11:30 | 201

OAC22 Track C: Epidemiology and prevention science - Digital innovation in HIV: From clicks to care

• Community insights on acceptability of location-enabled devices to improve retention among people who inject drugs in Oakland and San Francisco, California

Presenter: Lila Sheira

 

10:30-11:30 | 103

OAF25 Track F: Political science, laws, ethics, policies and human rights - People in crisis: Conflict, migration and sustaining HIV care

• Impact of armed conflict on HIV testing services, positivity rates, and treatment services in Sudan 2022 - 2024

Presenter: Amira Adam

 

14:30-16:30 | 101C

WS18 Track C: Epidemiology and prevention science

• WORKSHOP: New frontiers for anal cancer prevention in people living with HIV: Who is at risk and what we can do about it

Facilitator: Joel Palefsky

 

16:30-17:30 | 203

OAF32 Track F: Political science, laws, ethics, policies and human rights - Criminalized, but still we rise

• HIV criminalization law enforcement associated with increased stigma among sexual minority men living with HIV in the United States

Presenter: Kevin Sassaman

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Symposiums

 

10:30-11:30 | 204

SY28 Track A: Basic and translational science - Unlocking HIV control: Host-virus genetics, immunity and the path to a cure

Understanding the active viral reservoir

Presenter: Nadia Roan

 

12:00-13:00 | 201

SY29 Track F: Political science, laws, ethics, policies and human rights - Rebuilding trust and financing in a fractured world

Moderator: Michael Reid

 

Oral Sessions

 

10:30-11:30 | 203

OAF35 Track F: Political science, laws, ethics, policies and human rights - The cost of cuts: Human and systems impacts on the HIV response

• No access, no support: the toll of funding suspension on HIV prevention care among trans women in Janakpur, Nepal

Presenter: Glenda Baguso

 

12:00-13:00 | 203

OAA38 Track A: Basic and translational science - Reservoir dynamics and latency disruption

• Spatial sequestration of colonic HIV reservoirs from CD8+ T cells fueled by self-sustained immune circuitry and tertiary lymphoid structure formation

Presenter: Julia Prigann

 

13:30-14:30 | 201

Track D: Social and behavioural sciences - Unshakable care: Protecting LGBTQ+ health in hostile climates

Moderator: Erin Wilson

 

• Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, mental health, and ART non-adherence among sexual minority men, trans women, and gender-diverse people living with HIV in Ghana: A mediation analysis

Presenter: Akua Gyamerah

Sheri Lippman

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

PE-A4 Track A: Basic and translational science - Understanding and targeting persistent HIV reservoirs

• CD4+ T and HIV reservoir cells exhibit distinct features in upper and lower mucosa of ART-suppressed women with HIV

Presenter: Xiaoyu Luo

 

• Plasma-derived extracellular vesicle phenotypes associate with HIV reservoir size

Presenter: Erika Marques de Menezes

 

PE-A5 Track A: Basic and translational science - Novel treatment and prevention strategies, vaccines and immunotherapies

• Development and delivery of HIV-specific epigenome editors for long-term viral silencing

Presenter: Francisco Zapatero Belinchón

 

PE-B3 Track B: Clinical science: Diagnostic and monitoring tools

• Evaluating a point-of-care urine test for ART adherence in HIV-positive youth in Zambia

Presenter: Monica Gandhi

 

 

PE-B6 Track B: Clinical science: Antiretroviral therapies and clinical issues in adults

• Expected hair concentrations of long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine with on-time injections: real-world studies allow for pharmacokinetic interpretations in the clinic

Presenter: Hideaki Okochi

 

PE-C1 Track C: Epidemiology and prevention science - Epidemiology of HIV

• How gender-affirming vaginoplasty relates to sexual risk behaviors among trans women in San Francisco

Presenter: Glenda Baguso

 

• High prevalence of transactional sex among adolescents in Kenya

Presenter: Hong-Ha Truong

 

PE-C6 Track C: Epidemiology and prevention science - Population-specific interventions for HIV prevention

• Low PrEP uptake among women engaged in sex work: patterns, barriers, and opportunities for intervention

Presenter: Gueslyn Velasquez

 

• Understanding preferences for PrEP technologies and implementation programming among young female sex workers in Zanzibar: a discrete choice experiment

Presenter: Lila Sheira

 

PE-C9 Track C: Epidemiology and prevention science - Monitoring the epidemiology, impact and prevention of new or resurgent pathogens

• Challenges and lessons from Mpox response in Puerto Rico: provider perspectives on diagnosis, management, and preparedness

Presenter: Edda Santiago-Rodríguez

 

PE-D1 Track D: Social and behavioural sciences - Social and/or behavioural science theories, frameworks, concepts and methods

• Economic empowerment for HIV prevention: development of a scale for adolescent girls and young women in Kenya

Presenter: Margaret Gichane

 

PE-D2 Track D: Social and behavioural sciences - Social and behavioural aspects and approaches to HIV prevention and living with HIV

• Why aren’t people who inject drugs using PrEP? Barriers and opportunities to improve uptake

Presenter: Paavani Lella

 

• Provider perspectives regarding out-of-clinic delivery of long acting injectable antiretroviral therapy (LAI ART): a qualitative exploration across six southern U.S. sites

Presenter: Morgan Philbin

 

• From savings to safety: how financial empowerment reduces alcohol use and high-risk sexual behaviors among young Kenyan men - qualitative evidence from a randomized trialS

Presenter: Carol Camlin

 

• Anticipated external stigma and associations with treatment interruption among men living with HIV in Malawi: a mixed-methods secondary analysis

Presenter: Charisse AHMED

 

• Exploring barriers and facilitators to pharmacy-based HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis

Presenter: Jerika Lam

Jennifer Cocohoba

 

• Feasibility and acceptability of PrEP options for trans women and travestis: perspectives from community and health systems stakeholders

Presenter: Gustavo Saggese

Sheri Lippman

 

 

PE-D3 Track D: Social and behavioural sciences - Social, cultural, political, legal, environmental and structural determinants of health in different contexts

• Climate variability, water insecurity, and HIV treatment outcomes in Ghana

Presenter: Jerry John Ouner

 

• Digital contact, real acceptance: Results from a social media campaign to dismantle stigma toward trans women in Nepal

Presenter: Erin Wilson

 

• Structural vulnerability, sociality, and quality of life among older transgender women: matriarch study findings

Presenter: Sonya Lily Grant Arreola

 

• Exploring the intersection of stigma, disclosure and support in a women-only HIV cure-related trial with analytical treatment interruption in Durban, South Africa

Presenter: Karine Dube

 

PE-D4 Track D: Social and behavioural sciences - Community leadership and engagement in HIV and STIs 

• An all-Women ATI-inclusive HIV cure-related trial in Durban, South Africa: how participants managed ethical and psychosocial challenges

Presenter: Karine Dube

 

PE-D5 Track D: Social and behavioural sciences - Key populations and other vulnerable populations: Behavioural, social, cultural, structural and multilevel issues, contexts, interventions and behavioural surveillance

• Hybrid Delphi Consensus Recommendations to Enhance Inclusion in HIV Cure-Related Trials

Presenter: John Sauceda

 

• Low PrEP awareness among Latino immigrants in the United States

Presenter: Gueslyn Velasquez

 

• Menopausal stigma among women living with HIV in Siaya, Kenya: a qualitative study

Presenter: Lauren Suchman

 

• Client satisfaction of the C-CARES model: a clinical care program using multi-systems navigation and low-barrier HIV care for PWH leaving jail

Presenter: Angelo Asa Clemenzi-Allen

 

• Associations between civic engagement and HIV testing among LGBTQ+ Californians

Presenter: Xandro Xu

 

• Power struggles among Latino HIV service providers: encountering racism in the workplace and barriers in providing culturally and linguistically appropriate HIV services for Latinos

Presenter: Moctezuma Garcia

 

PE-D6 Track D: Social and behavioural sciences - Mental health and well-being interventions, programmes and models

• The association between psychological distress and suicide ideation among sexual minority men living with HIV in Jamaica: the moderating role of resilient coping and social support resources

Presenter: Orlando Harris

 

• Use of psychedelic medicines for mental health and substance use among youth with HIV in the United States

Presenter: Marie C.D. Stoner

 

PE-D7 Gender, sexuality and sexual cultures: Meanings, identities, norms and interventions in HIV and STIs

• Afterhood: living, aging, and meaning after crisis among older gay men

Presenter: Jesus Ramirez-Valles

 

• Ageing in diversity: experiences of LGBTQ+ people living with HIV aged 50+ in Québec

Presenter: Hatem Laroussi

 

PE-E2 Track E: Implementation science, economics, systems and synergies - Implementation research to scale up prevention

• Geospatial location-allocation analysis reveals three distribution locations to maximize HIV prevention service reach for persons who inject drugs engaging in sex trade in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico

Presenter: Natasha Ludwig-Barron

 

• Best practices for the successful scale-up of long-acting injectable antiretrovirals for HIV treatment: a qualitative study across six sites in the Southern United States

Presenter: Morgan Philbin

 

• A comparative effectiveness trial of two mHealth technologies to support PrEP use among MSM and transgender people in the US

Presenter: Albert Liu

 

• Discrimination and early PrEP discontinuation among women in sex work in Zambia: implications for long-acting PrEP rollout

Presenter: Ramya Kumar

 

PE-E3 Track E: Implementation science, economics, systems and synergies - Implementation research to scale up treatment

• Timeliness of long-acting ART injections: a repeated measures analysis by injection administration location and housing status

Presenter: Chesa Cox

 

PE-E4 Track E: Implementation science, economics, systems and synergies - Global and national financing, economic evaluation and sustainability

• US public insurance option improves HIV care continuum outcomes for men and women of diverse ages: 50-state difference-in-differences analysis

Presenter: Ryan Whitacre

 

PE-E6 Track E: Implementation science, economics, systems and synergies - Costing, cost effectiveness and affordability

• Cost-effectiveness of integration of tobacco cessation services into HIV care: results from a cluster-randomised trial in Kisumu, Kenya

Presenter: Elly Wandago Assurah

 

PE-E9 Track E: Implementation science, economics, systems and synergies - Integration of HIV services with other health and support services

• Integration of tobacco cessation into routine HIV care in Kenya: results from the InTOUCH cluster-randomized trial

Presenter: Starley Shade

Purba Chatterjee2

Stella Bialous

 

• Conversations at the point of care: a qualitative study of provider–healthcare client interactions and tobacco cessation in HIV clinics Kisumu County, Western Kenya

Presenter: Isaac Mukoko

Purba Chatterjee

Stella Bialous

 

• Cost-effectiveness of integration of tobacco cessation services into HIV care: results from a cluster-randomised trial in Kisumu, Kenya

Presenter: Elly Assurah

Stella Bialous

 

• Implementation of integrated tobacco cessation support in Kenyan HIV clinics: a mixed-methods evaluation

Presenter: Francesca Odhiambo

Stella Bialous

 

• Adverse events during tobacco dependence treatment and cessation outcomes among people living with HIV in Western Kenya

Presenter: Francesca Odhiambo

Stella Bialous

 

• Integrating tobacco cessation into HIV care: sustained improvements in provider practices 12 months after web-based training in Kenyan Ministry of Health clinics (In-ToUCH trial)

Presenter: Eric Juma

Purba Chatterjee

Craig Cohen

Starley Shade

Stella Bialous

 

PE-F5 Track F: Political science, laws, ethics, policies and human rights – Ethics and HIV

 

• Epistemic violence and resilient oblivion: public health's pathologization of Black and Latina transgender women in HIV research sustains structural violence and health inequity

Presenter: Luz Venegas

 

PE-F5 Track F: Political science, laws, ethics, policies and human rights - Policy development, implementation and analysis

• The impact of removing insurance pre-approval on access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in California, U.S.

Presenter: Megan Heise

 

• Aligning bilateral health compacts with the Kigali Declaration: a comparative analysis of three U.S. health MOUs in Africa

Presenter: Jirair Ratevosian

Judith Auerbach

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