Key messages from AIDS 2026

Kenneth Ngure, MPH, PGDSTI, MSc, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Global Health at the School of Public Health, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya, where he was previously Dean. He is also an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington. Ngure is an internationally recognized public health researcher and implementation scientist with nearly 30 years of leadership and research experience in the biomedical prevention, diagnosis, treatment and service delivery of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in central, eastern, southern and western Africa. He serves on the Expert Committee on Clinical Trials of the Kenyan Pharmacy and Poisons Board, and on both the Behavioral Research Group of the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Network (IMPAACT) and the Office of HIV/AIDS Network Coordination Cross-Network Behavioral Science Consultative Group. He co-chairs the Implementation Science Working Group of the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN), and has served as an investigator on multiple STI studies.

Ngure was a site investigator in the Partners PrEP Study, followed by the Partners PrEP Demonstration Project and the Partners Scale-Up Project. He is a member of the Kenya Ministry of Health’s PrEP Technical Working Group. He co-chaired MTN-034, a multi-country study evaluating the safety, adherence and acceptability of the dapivirine vaginal ring and oral emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate among African adolescent girls and young women. In addition, he has co-led several NIH-funded studies, including the randomized trial evaluating HIV self-testing to support PrEP delivery among men and women in Kenya, and currently leads multinational implementation studies aimed at simplifying and expanding access to HIV and STI prevention through differentiated service delivery models.

Ngure has extensive experience in public health leadership and policy. He has served as Program Director for the Kenyan Chapter of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS and provided technical expertise to WHO, governments and global health partners on HIV and STI prevention policy and implementation. Ngure was recently appointed to the WHO Technical Advisory Group on STIs.

Ngure has made substantial contributions to HIV and STI prevention research, implementation science and mentorship. He has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific publications and 250 conference abstracts and has supervised 49 postgraduate students to completion. n recognition of his contributions to global HIV prevention research and mentorship, he received the Senior Researcher Award at the 2023 International Conference on HIV Treatment, Prevention, and Adherence and was elected a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences in 2024.

Rayner Kay Jin Tan is an Assistant Professor at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, and holds a joint Assistant Professorship with the Centre for Behavioural and Implementation Science Interventions, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. He is also a research associate with the Centre for Family and Population Research, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, at the same university.

Rayner co-leads The Courage Lab, a community of scholars whose work centres lived experience and community engagement to promote health equity and the health of vulnerable communities in Singapore. He is an implementation researcher and applied social scientist with a keen interest in sexualized substance use, intersections of mental health and HIV, LGBTQ+ health, demedicalization and person-centred approaches to HIV prevention and treatment.

Rayner also serves the scientific community through several editorial roles. He is a Deputy Editor at both the Journal of the International AIDS Society and Global LGBTQ+ Health, as well as an Associate Editor at Implementation Science Communications, the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, and the Asia-Pacific Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.

Rayner has extensive experience leading international academic conferences and professional networks, especially in the fields of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, behavioural health and implementation science. He is a member of the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Sexually Transmitted Infections and Communications Director of the International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections. He is Co-Chair of the Asia-Pacific AIDS and Co-Infections Conference and the Local Chair of the International Congress of Behavioral Medicine 2027.

Rayner leads and contributes to several non-profits and professional organizations. He is a board member of Project X serving the needs of sex workers, co-lead at SG Mental Health Matters to spur public engagement in mental health policy making, and Vice President of the Society of Behavioural Health, Singapore. He was previously Chairperson and a director of The Greenhouse Community Services Limited, which offers substance use recovery services for marginalized communities in Singapore. He has served as an advisor for public and non-profit entities, including The Majurity Trust, Real Impact Advisors, Asian Venture Philanthropy Network, the Ministry of Health, Singapore, and the Wellcome Trust.

Gregorio (Greg) Millett is a Vice President at the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and the Director of amfAR’s Public Policy Office in Washington, DC. Greg is a former senior scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as a former Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Domestic Policy Council where he helped author and implement President Barack Obama’s original National HIV/AIDS Strategy.

Greg is a leader in health inequities research. He has published in top medical, public health and policy journals, including JAMA, The Lancet, BMJ, Health Affairs and AJPH. He has presented as a plenary speaker at both IAS conferences and CROI. In early 2020, Greg and his team provided the first national overview of COVID-19’s impact on Black and Latinx communities in the United States. These research findings were widely reported across print and televised media and were utilized in Congressional hearings that aimed to address COVID-19 health inequities.