CIRA Talk

OVERVIEW

IAS 2025, the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science, was held on July 13-17, 2025, in Kigali, Rwanda and virtually. The conference was attended by 4,000 individuals and took place at the intersection of incredible scientific breakthroughs and challenges created by funding cuts that threatens to reverse decades of progress in the HIV response. Among the 4,000 individual attendees, CIRA affiliates and collaborators shared their contributions to advancing HIV evidence-based research and programs in 1 Symposium, 3 Oral Abstract Sessions, 9 Poster Exhibitions, and 19 E-Posters (click here to download the list of IAS 2025 abstracts by CIRA affiliates).

Join us in a virtual CIRA Talk on IAS 2025 highlights featuring CIRA-affiliated researchers and collaborators from diverse HIV research areas including epidemiology, social and behavioral, and clinical research. Each panelist will share a brief recap and reflections on their research presented at the conference, and exciting IAS 2025 sessions they attended that are promising, innovative, and relevant to their respective work.

PANELISTS

Alexandra Deac, MSc

Research Assistant, Institute for Connected Communities, University of East London

Alexandra has a background in global mental health, with a focus on psychosocial health and mental health determinants. She is particularly interested in improving the synergy between research and practice through engaging in bottom-up, participatory research approaches directly applicable to enhancing current service delivery. At ICC, Alexandra is focusing on the interface between digital media, cyberpsychology and its intersection physical and mental health. Alexandra is passionate for collaborating with vulnerable communities in resource-scarce settings (with a particular focus on crises) and strives to demonstrate a commitment to improving health and mental health outcomes. More from University of East London.

IAS 2025 abstract: "Bridging gaps in HIV prevention in high-risk prison environment: a bespoke psychosocial intervention achieved a breakthrough in Kyrgyzstan"

Julia Rozanova, PhD

Associate Research Scientist in Medicine (AIDS), Yale School of Medicine

Lecturer in Global Mental Health, King’s College London, United Kingdom

Julia Rozanova received her PhD in Sociology and subsequently trained in Social Gerontology and Implementation Science, completing a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Frederick Altice at Yale School of Medicine. With Yale colleague Sheela Shenoi and colleagues from the European Institute on Public Health Policy in Kyiv, she has conducted research at the intersection of HIV, addiction, and aging in Ukraine since 2017. More from Yale School of Medicine.

IAS 2025 abstract: "Sexual health and perceptions of "time left" among older people with HIV in Ukraine: implications for HIV care"

Katelyn Sileo, PhD, MPH

Associate Professor, Connell School of Nursing, Boston College

Katelyn (Katy) Sileo, PhD, MPH, is an associate professor at the Connell School of Nursing and faculty in the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good. She is trained in global public health, with a geographic focus on sub–Saharan Africa. Her research aims to understand and intervene on multilevel determinants of sexual and reproductive health inequities, with a particular interest in the intersection of gender norms and health outcomes in global settings. Her current work focuses on using community-engaged and mixed methods to develop and evaluate gender transformative behavioral and health system interventions to improve HIV and family planning outcomes in Uganda. More from Boston College.

IAS 2025 abstract: ""Men behave like babies:" the role of gender norms in shaping relationships between HIV care providers and men living with HIV in Uganda"

Donna Spiegelman, ScD

Susan Dwight Bliss Professor of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health

Donna Spiegelman was appointed the Susan Dwight Bliss Professor of Biostatistics at the Yale School of Public Health in 2018; she is also Professor of Statistics and Data Science at Yale University. Dr. Spiegelman founded and directs the Yale Center for Methods in Implementation and Prevention Science (CMIPS) and she also leads the Global Oncology program at Yale Cancer Center. As one of the few people in the world with a joint doctorate in biostatistics and epidemiology, she can freely speak the languages of both disciplines and switches between these two professional cultures, playing the role of interlocutor for each. She is interested in problems arising in epidemiology that require resolution, at least in part, through biostatistics. More from Yale School of Public Health.

IAS 2025 session: "Innovative study designs [Learn-As-you-GO clinical trial model]"

MODERATOR

Luke Davis, MD, MS

Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) and of Medicine (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine), Yale School of Public Health, Yale School of Medicine

Luke Davis is a pulmonary and critical care physician and clinical epidemiologist using implementation science to find, treat, and prevent tuberculosis (TB) and HIV, two of the leading cause of death due to infection worldwide. He teaches and mentors students and directs a graduate program on implementation science at the Yale School of Public Health. He is also involved in several international research training programs focused on implementation science. He is a Yale Medicine physician, and attends in the Medical Intensive Care Unit and the Winchester TB Clinic at Yale-New Haven Hospital, caring for patients and their families and teaching medical students, residents, and fellows. More from Yale School of Public Health.