Executive Committee

The Executive Committee (EC), under the direction of Sten Vermund, the HPTN Principal Investigator (PI), as its chair, with the assistance of the NIH Consortium, the EC sets the research priorities of the HPTN and directs its scientific activities.  Through its members serving as liaisons to each Scientific Committee (SC), the EC assures that the specific areas of prevention science addressed by the individual SC/WG are effectively coordinated. 

The Executive Committee:

• sets the overall HPTN research agenda

• reviews SC/WG research plans, including the review and prioritization of concepts

• based on PMG analysis, makes recommendations to NIAID regarding the distribution of resources among the different components of the Network

• through the EC Chair, recommends to NIAID that funds be released for specific protocol implementation

• approves policies and procedures of the HPTN, including the governing structure and membership of standing committees

• establishes key standing Network committees (Science Review Committee, Study Monitoring Committee, Study Operations Group, Performance Evaluation Committee, and Manuscript Review Committee)

The EC, in conjunction with NIH, determines the overall capacity for the HPTN, as well as the capacity of individual CTUs. 

The EC conducts conference calls at least monthly and holds face-to-face meetings at least semi-annually.  A quorum, defined as two-thirds of the voting membership, must be present for key decisions and votes to be taken.