The IAS sponsors a number of scientific prizes and awards at IAS 2009 to reward promising young and established researchers who are doing outstanding work in HIV/AIDS research.

IAS/ANRS Young Investigator Award

The US$2,000 IAS/ANRS Young Investigator Award is jointly funded by the IAS and the Agence Nationale de Recherche sur le SIDA (ANRS) to support young researchers who demonstrate innovation, originality, rationale and quality in the field of HIV/AIDS research. To be eligible, the presenting author of an abstract accepted for presentation must be under 35 years of age. Top-scoring eligible abstracts were sent to a panel of senior scientists representing both the ANRS and the IAS, who scored and selected the winners. One prize was awarded in each of the four conference tracks:

Track A: Basic Sciences - Renato Aguiar, Brazil, for his abstract, HIV encapsidates viral genomic RNA and APOBEC3G in mRNA processing bodies.

Track B: Clinical Sciences - Max O’Donnell, USA, for his abstract, High incidence of multidrug resistant and extensively drug resistant tuberculosis among South African health care workers.

Track C: Biomedical Prevention - Ashraf Fawzy, USA, for his abstract, Diarrhea morbidity and mortality increases with weaning prior to 6 months among uninfected infants born to HIV-infected mothers in Zambia.

Track D: Operations Research - Ingrid Bassett, USA, for her abstract, Who starts ART in Durban, South Africa?...not everyone who should.

Young Investigator Prize: Women, Girls and HIV

One prize will be awarded to a female investigator from a low- or middle-income country whose abstract demonstrates excellence in research and/or practice that addresses women, girls and gender issues related to HIV/AIDS. The US$2,000 prize is jointly funded IAS, the IAS Industry Liaison Forum, and UNAIDS, and supported by the International Center for Research on Women and the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS.

This prize serves to highlight the challenges faced by women and girls in this epidemic and to encourage young women investigators from low-/middle-income countries to pursue research in this area. The prize recipient was selected by a review committee from eligible abstracts submitted to and accepted for presentation at IAS 2009.

This year’s recipient is Dr. Linnet N. Masese, Kenya, for her abstract, A prospective cohort study of the effect of antiretroviral therapy on sexual risk behaviour in a high-risk cohort of Kenyan women.

IAS TB/HIV Research Prize

The aim of the new US$2,000 IAS prize on TB/HIV research is to generate interest and stimulate research on basic, clinical and operations research in TB/HIV prevention, care and treatment. The IAS TB/HIV Research Prize is an incentive for young and established researchers to investigate pertinent research questions that affect TB/HIV co-infection and operational effectiveness of core TB/HIV collaborative services.

The winning abstract was selected through a rigorous process of blind submission and peer-review, and the top scoring TB/HIV abstracts were further reviewed by a steering committee of TB and HIV experts.

The award will be made to Dr. Clare van Halsema, United Kingdom, for her abstract, Good tuberculosis treatment outcomes and no evidence of increased drug resistance in individuals previously exposed to isoniazid preventive therapy in a population with high HIV prevalence.