HIV and NCDs: Innovations in prevention, treatment and policy

Bruno Spire is a researcher living with HIV and a senior scientist at the French National Institute for Medical Research (INSERM). Since 1988, he has been a member of AIDES, the main non-governmental HIV organization in France, serving as President from 2007 to 2015 and being elected Honorary President in 2016. AIDES has 450 staff members, 800 volunteers and a budget of EUR 40 million. Bruno is also the Treasurer of COALITION PLUS, a community-based organization (CBO) that draws together 15 large CBOs from across the world. He trained as a medical doctor in Paris, obtaining his MD in 1985.

Bruno graduated with a PhD in virology in 1990, working in the Françoise Barré-Sinoussi team involved in the discovery of HIV. He participated in the characterization of HIV reverse transcriptase, described the first methods of inactivation of HIV and focused his research on molecular virology by studying the HIV Vif protein. In 1998, he turned his interest in research into public health issues associated with HIV and AIDS in order to reconcile the objectives of scientists and activists. Since 1988, he has been involved in numerous multidisciplinary studies (principally ANRS cohort studies) on adherence, quality of life, treatment preferences and behaviours that increase vulnerability of people living with HIV and key populations.

Currently, Bruno leads a research team at INSERM that focuses on HIV community-based research. The philosophy of this approach is to do research with people and not only for people. He has been a principal investigator or co-investigator in several community-based research projects on key populations investigating HIV lay testing, safer injection education by peers and PrEP-associated behaviours and perceptions. His research is mainly based on multidisciplinary projects that strengthen ties between academic science and activism. His research projects are based in France and also in West Africa and Cambodia, where he serves as the North Trial Coordinator of the French ANRS Cambodian research site.

Dr Helen Bygrave is a primary health care physician based in London. She has previously worked with Medecins sans Frontieres supporting HIV /TB programmes for 20 years and for the last ten years has supported the International AIDs society's work on differentiated service delivery, focusing on supporting national DSD guidance development with Ministries of Health.

Dr. Gad Murenzi (MD, MPH, MMed) is the Director of Clinical Research at Goodlife Access and Managing Director of Goodlife Ivuriro in Kigali, Rwanda where he is responsible for leading all scientific and clinical research activities and healthcare delivery. Previously, he was Director of the Einstein-Rwanda Research and Capacity Building Program where he was responsible for research and capacity building. His research interests and expertise include HIV, cancer (mainly HPV related cancers) and other NCDs. Dr. Murenzi is a colposcopist, high resolution anoscopy (HRA) provider and an anatomic pathologist. He is also a PhD scholar at the University of Rwanda studying cervical cancer prevention among women with HIV.

Dr. Etheldreda Nakimuli-Mpungu is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry, at the Medical Research Council in Uganda. She founded the WHO-recognized SEEK-GSP mental health program. Her research which examines the mechanisms of action of Group Support Psychotherapy is supported by the Wellcome Trust Mental Health Data Prize Africa.

She is the recipient of the Elsevier Foundation Award, the Presidential National Independence Medal of Honor, the 2020 BBC 100 Women, and the 2021 Makerere University Outstanding Social Innovation in Health Award. She received medical and doctoral training from Makerere and Johns Hopkins Universities. She is a member of the World Federation of Psychotherapy Council

Yves Miel Hugo Zuñiga is a Policy and Advocacy Advisor on health systems at United for Global Mental Health, working at the intersection of mental health and health systems strengthening. With nearly a decade in advocacy, he advances integration of mental health into HIV, TB, and NCD programmes, especially for young people. He led the three-year Elton John AIDS Foundation grant which supported different communities in over 30 countries. Yves also chairs the board of #MentalHealthPH, a youth-led organisation he co-founded in the Philippines. An MBA candidate at the University of Western Australia, he is an Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity and works to strengthen financing, evidence, and lived-experience-led advocacy in global mental health.