Scientists from the European AIDS Vaccine Initiative (EAVI2020) meet in Barcelona to analyze the results of the first year of the consortium

Scientists from 22 institutions in Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States will meet on 10-11th November in Barcelona to assess the first year of the European AIDS Vaccine Initiative project (EAVI2020), a consortium funded by the European Commission with 23 million euros to accelerate the development of an effective AIDS vaccine. IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, IDIBAPS and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III are the only three Spanish members. IrsiCaixa and IDIBAPS participate as part of HIVACAT, the Catalan project for the development of an AIDS vaccine.

The EAVI2020 initiative brings together a multidisciplinary team of molecular biologists, immunologists, virologists, biotechnologists and physicians, providing the knowledge to translate the latest laboratory discoveries to the first clinical trials.

The meeting in Barcelona will be the second one of this vaccine "accelerator" program and will focus on pan-European efforts to boost the development of effective AIDS vaccines. The project aims to obtain a vaccine candidate for a clinical trial in the next 4 years.

Sessions on Community Engagement and Vaccine Training

As part of the event, the consortium has organized a special session on the importance of community inputs to vaccine research. The HIV/AIDS Community Advisory Committee, which includes community representatives and local NGOs, the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise and the Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention (AVAC), will lead the debate on the importance of the engagement of the groups involved.

The Faculty of Medicine of the Universitat de Barcelona will also organize an advanced training session on HIV vaccines and immunology for European doctoral students.