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HPTN Prevention Science
 The HPTN research agenda
currently focuses on four research
areas -- antiretroviral therapies,
behavioral
interventions, STD control, and
substance use
-- with work
in each area led by a dedicated Scientific Committee made up of experts
in the field. These scientific committees, as the scientific foundation of the Network, are responsible for refining and updating the research agenda,
setting priorities within each technical area, crafting research concept
plans and protocols, monitoring protocol development,
overseeing study implementation, and ensuring timely publication of
results. Membership includes CTU scientific and community
representatives.
In addition to the four current research
areas, the HPTN research agenda formerly included
microbicide and
perinatal prevention
strategies. These two research areas have been assumed by the
Microbicide Trials
Network (MTN) and
International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT),
respectively. Microbicide and perinatal studies developed under the
HPTN are still included on this website.
Models have demonstrated how multiple, mutually
reinforcing HIV prevention strategies will have the greatest impact on slowing
HIV spread. Because HIV is transmitted through different routes in different
populations at different time intervals, the epidemic represents a cumulative
collection of heterogenous mini-epidemics. Conceptually, at the population
level, multiple prevention strategies are as essential to reducing HIV
transmission as combination treatment approaches are at the individual level to
improving HIV prognosis. The HPTN responds to the crucial need for careful
evaluation of the most effective non-vaccine HIV prevention approaches that have
the greatest impact on slowing viral spread worldwide.
The
Domestic Prevention Working Group
oversees the network's domestic prevention research portfolio, develops
relevant bridging studies, and enhances collaboration with other research
groups and with public health agencies.
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