HIV CURE SYMPOSIUM

in collaboration with the 2000HIV consortium

22-25 September, Ghent, Belgium

Program


The program offers multiple perspectives on the HIV cure field, showcasing exciting recent research findings with potential for clinical translation. 

The conference sessions will present the latest research and foster discussion on:

• The establishment of the HIV reservoir

• The adaptive and innate immune responses associated with HIV control

• The molecular characteristics of the viral reservoirs 

• The development of new therapies


SUNDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2024
OPENING HIV CURE AND 2000HIV SYMPOSIUM
Chaired by: Linos Vandekerckhove and Sarah Gerlo
18.00 - 18.30Opening ceremony
Linos Vandekerckhove, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
18.30 - 19.00Plenary I: HIV cure research: current status and future directions
Ole Søgaard, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
19.00-19.30Plenary II: 2000HIV study
André Van der Ven, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
19.30-20.30Perspectives on HIV cure
Simon Collins, HIV i-Base, London, United Kingdom
Charlotte Vanden Bulcke, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
Nehme Darwiche, Brussels, Belgium
20.30 - 21.30Opening reception

MONDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2024
PLENARY III
Chaired by: Brad Jones and Sarah Palmer
08.30 - 09.10Plenary III: How systems immunology can help to decipher human diseases
Joachim L. Schultze, DZNE, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
SESSION 1 – ‘VIRAL INTEGRATION’: CHROMOSOMAL ARCHITECTURE
Chaired by: Brad Jones and Sarah Palmer
09.10 - 09.35HIV targeted integration in the context of the 3D genome organization
Monsef Benkirane, Research Director CNRS, Montpellier, France
09.35 - 10.00Integration site selection, genomic features of integration sites and impact of viral expression
Angela Ciuffi, CHUV, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland
10.00 - 10.25Establishment of the viral reservoir during early infection
Linos Vandekerckhove, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
10.25 - 10.55Break
SESSION 2 – COMPOSITION AND EVOLUTION OF THE VIRAL RESERVOIR
Chaired by: Monsef Benkirane and Jolien Vermeire
11.00 - 11.25Composition of the reservoir in the 2000HIV study: clinical data and biomarker analysis
Mareva Delporte and Kavita Mehta, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
11.25 - 11.50Immune selection of proviral DNA by CTL responses
Brad Jones, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, United States
11.50 - 12.15HIV expression in infected T cell clones
Mary Kearney, National Institue for Medical Research, Australia
12.15-12.40Understanding the viro-immunological mechanisms contributing to HIV control during an
analytical treatment interruption

Sarah Palmer, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney,
Sydney, Australia
12.40 - 14.00Lunch
SESSION 3 – REACTIVATION OF THE VIRAL RESERVOIR
Chaired by: Mary Kearny and Marion Pardons
14.00 - 14.25Reactivation of the viral reservoir through nanoparticle-delivered Tat mRNA
Daniel Claiborne, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, United States
14.25 - 14.50Role of immune homeostasis in reaching a low reservoir
Ashish Sharma, Emory University, Atlanta, United States
14.50 - 15.40Block and lock versus shock and kill
Carine Van Lint, ULB and Frauke Christ, KUL, Leuven, Belgium
15.40 - 16.10Break
SESSION 4– INSPIRATIONAL SESSION
Chaired by: André Van der Ven
16.15 - 17.00Satellite Session: ViiV Healthcare’s remission & cure program: a strategic scientific focus
Andrew Zolopa, Richard Dunham, Allan Tenorio, ViiV Healthcare, United States
17.00 - 17.45Plenary IV: Cues from the metabolome immune modulation and response to immunotherapies
Rafick Sékaly, Emory University, Atlanta, United States
18.00 - 20.00Poster session and poster contest with wining and dining
TUESDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2024
PLENARY V
Chaired by: Rogier Sanders and Sarah Gerlo
08.30 - 09.10Plenary V: TBD
Dan Littman, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Maryland, United States
SESSION 5 – CELL AND IMMUNE BASED THERAPY TO ELIMINATE THE RESERVOIR (PART 1)
Chaired by: Rogier Sanders and Sarah Gerlo
09.10 - 09.35The kitchen sink study
Michael Peluso, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital University of California,
San Francisco, United States
09.35 - 10.00Increasing longevity of CAR T cells after infusion
Wojciech Witkowski, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
10.00 - 10.25Stem cell-derived CAR T cells show greater persistence, trafficking, and viral control
compared to ex vivo transduced CAR T cells

Christopher Peterson, Clinical Research Divisino, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle,
United States
10.25 - 10.55Break
SESSION 6 – MODULATION OF INNATE IMMUNITY (PART1)
Chaired by: Rafick Sékaly and Jan van Lunzen
11.00 - 11.25The impact of infections and vaccination on aging of the immune system
Mihai Netea, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
11.25 - 11.50Integrative omics reveal the genetic and molecular landscape of immune responses
and comorbidities in people living with HIV

Javier Botey Bataller, CiiM, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
11.50 - 12.15Exploring the potential of innate immune memory to achieve HIV control
Jéssica dos Santos, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
12.15 - 12.40Impact of food intake on immune system and inflammation
Quirijn de Mast, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
12.40 - 14.00Lunch
SESSION 7 – MODULATION OF INNATE IMMUNITY (PART 2)
Chaired by: Dan Littman and Mihai Netea
14.00 - 14.25Persistent inflammation in people treated during acute infection
Sarah Gerlo, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
14.25 - 14.50Unravelling molecular signatures and causal factors underlying latent
cytomegalovirus infection among PLHIVs

Yang Li, CiiM, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Hannover, Germany
14.50 - 15.15Residual viremia and cardiovascular disease
Twan Otten, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
15.15 - 15.40Microbiome and HIV
Jingyuan Yang-Fu, University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands
15.40 - 16.10Break
SESSION 8 – CELL AND IMMUNE BASED THERAPY TO ELIMINATE THE RESERVOIR (PART 2)
Chaired by: Wojciech Witkowski and Michael Peluso
16.15 - 16.40Assessing immunogenicity barriers of the HIV-1 envelope trimer
Rogier Sanders, Amsterdamumc, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
16.40 - 17.05Beyond T-cell based therapeutic vaccines
Beatriz Mothe, IrsiCaixa, Badalona, Spain
17.05 - 17.30Implementing gene therapy studies in Africa
Cissy Kityo, Joint Clinical Research Center, Kampala, Uganda
19.00 - 22.00Speakers dinner
WEDNESDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 2024
PLENARY VI
Chaired by: Carine Van Lint & Jolien Van Cleemput
08.30 - 09.10Plenary VI: The impact of the diet-microbiota axis on immunity and cancer therapy
Nicola Gagliani, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg Center for Translational
Immunology (HCTI), Hamburg, Germany
SESSION 9 – HIV PERSISTENCE IN TISSUES
Chaired by: Carine Van Lint & Jolien Van Cleemput
09.10 - 09.35Towards understanding the in-situ interplay between HIV and host
Constantinos Petrovas, University Hospital of Lausanne, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland
09.35 - 10.00Phenotypic and virological characterization of the HIV-1 reservoir in matched blood and tissues
Marion Pardons, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
10.00 - 10.30Break
10.35 - 11.00Role of tissue NK cells in HIV persistence
Maria Buzon, Infectious Disease Department, Vall d´Hebron Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
11.00 - 11.25IFN and TGF-β epigenetic re-programing of trained immunity and virological control in SIV
Susan Pereira, Emory University, Atlanta, United States
11.25 - 12.00Future perspectives towards cure
Jan van Lunzen, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
12.00 - 12.15Price for best poster presentations & closing remarks
Linos Vandekerckhove, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium