Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2008)
Institut Pasteur, Paris, France

HIV 40 years later, where are we going?

Much progress has been made in the development of tools to prevent, diagnose and treat HIV infection. However, we still do not have a vaccine and antiretroviral treatments are not curative as HIV persists in many compartments of the body. Implementation of these tools at large scale worldwide remains a critical challenge as well as the sustainability of life-long therapies. Development of an effective vaccine and of novel HIV therapeutic strategies, which both required more basic and translational science, are an absolute necessity to end the HIV epidemic. The past four decades of HIV/AIDS science are a good example of a broad comprehensive and collective response to an emerging human threat in the spirit of Louis Pasteur. This must even be developed further by extending transdisciplinary partnerships for enhancing the global response to HIV and emerging pandemics.

Distinguished University Professor Georgetown
University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine
McCourt School of Public Policy Former Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health

Introductory lecture: 40 Years of HIV Science: Much Accomplished, Much To Do