Inspiring Annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI)

The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) is an annual event which brings together top basic, translational, and clinical researchers from around the world. This year, over 4,000 participants from more than 50 countries participated, sharing the latest studies, important developments, and best research methods in the ongoing battle against HIV/aids and related infectious diseases. CROI 2015 was held from February 23 to February 26, 2015, in Seattle, Washington, at the Washington State Convention Center.

During the opening session, a touching tribute was paid to Joep Lange, M.D., Ph.D., our founder, a former president of the International AIDS Society and prominent HIV researcher who had been at the forefront of the epidemic since the early days, and his partner Jacqueline van Tongeren, who was communication director of Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD). A film was shown summarizing the remembranceheld on the 14th of October 2014, plus an interview with Joep Lange, as former International AIDS Society (IAS) president. A moment of silence was also held, paying tribute to all the 298 victims of the MH17 crash. The opening is concluded with an inspirational quote by Joep: ‘continue to do the good science.’

The CROI Scientific Committee selected three abstracts from our project,PASER, which monitors HIV drug resistance in adults in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition Sonia Boender (PhD student) and Bernice Hoenderboom (MSc student) were rewarded with an oral presentation, talking about ‘Pretreatment HIV Drug Resistance Increases Regimen Switch in Sub-Saharan Africa‘. Rimke Bijker and Marieke de Pundert (both Mc students) received an invitation for a poster contribution.

CROI is a global model of collaborative science and the premier international venue for bridging basic and clinical investigation into clinical practice in the field of HIV and related viruses. Webcasts, abstracts, electronic posters, and other electronic resources from CROI 2015 are available here for more information.