Turning the tide on TB: Harnessing 3HP for prevention

Omar Sued is a medical doctor who graduated from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina and specialized in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires. He has been working in HIV since 1997 in different countries and settings, including public and private hospitals, health centres, prisons and NGOs. He completed a Master’s and a PhD diploma in acute HIV at the Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.

From 2009 to 2012, he worked as HIV Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Pan-American Health Organization Headquarters in Washington DC, US. In this position, he supported countries in the development of national HIV guidelines and monitored use and coverage of antiretroviral treatment. He was part of the Treatment 2.0 and the HIV and Syphilis Elimination initiatives.

He has been part of several WHO guidelines expert groups, including: guidelines on post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV and the use of co-trimoxazole prophylaxis for HIV-related infections among adults, adolescents and children; guidelines for the diagnosis, prevention and management of cryptococcal disease in adults, adolescents and children with HIV; and consolidated guidelines on the use of antiretroviral drugs for treating and preventing HIV. He has authored more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

From 2012 to 2021, he was the Director of the not-for-profit Research Department of Fundación Huésped, with over 150 staff devoted to combining clinical, social and translational research, advocacy and clinical and public health services on infectious diseases, HIV and sexual and reproductive health. The focus is on innovations in HIV care, ART optimization (dual therapy) and trans health. Since his incorporation, the department was admitted to many research networks, including the HIV Prevention Trials Network, the AIDS Malignancies Consortium and the HIV Vaccine Trials Network.

Omar was the 2019-2021 President of the Infectious Diseases Argentinean Society, where he also held the positions of Secretary (2013-2015) and Treasurer (2015-2019). In 2016 and 2021, he was the Chair of the National Infectious Diseases Congress. He was part of the Presidential Experts Committee for COVID-19 Response until his designation as HIV treatment and care advisor for the Americas at the WHO Regional Office for the Americas (Pan American Health Organization) in June 2021.

Omar is an enthusiastic supporter of the IAS Values advocating for prioritizing evidence-based interventions with a focus on human rights for people living with HIV. He has participated significantly at IAS and AIDS Conferences, with 58 posters presented; this included being Assistant Rapporteur at AIDS 2008, AIDS 2012 and IAS 2015, session Co-Chair at AIDS 2018, and Lead Rapporteur at IAS 2019. He won scholarships for AIDS 2016 and IAS 2017 and for the 2017 Towards an HIV Cure Global Fellows Research Academy. He actively participated in IAS Educational Fund meetings (Rio 2017, Buenos Aires 2017, Mexico 2018, Bogota 2019) to discuss HIV prevention and policy implementation for PrEP and PEP.

Dr. Timothy Sterling is an infectious diseases physician-scientist whose work has informed global strategies for tuberculosis (TB) treatment and prevention. He has led or co-led pivotal multi-center clinical trials—such as PREVENT TB and ASTEROID—the former resulted in new CDC and WHO guidelines for M. tuberculosis infection management. As Director of the Vanderbilt Tuberculosis Center and Co-PI of RePORT-Brazil and RePORT-South Africa, he oversees prospective cohort studies that integrate host-pathogen genomics, immunologic profiling, and resistance surveillance and mechanisms. These efforts are further coordinated through his leadership of the RePORT International Coordinating Center, which harmonizes observational TB research across Brazil, India, South Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Uganda.

In parallel, Dr. Sterling is a senior investigator in the IeDEA network of HIV observational cohorts and the TB-Sentinel Research Network, enabling cross-cohort studies of HIV-TB coinfection, treatment toxicity, and long-term outcomes. He has also focused on fluoroquinolone resistance, rifamycin and isoniazid pharmacogenomics, and subclinical/asymptomatic TB.

Dr. Napon Hiranburana is an infectious disease physician at HIV-NAT, Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre, Bangkok. His work focuses on HIV medicine, tuberculosis, and non-communicable comorbidities in people living with HIV. He has led and contributed to multiple international studies on antiretroviral therapy, pharmacogenetics, and opportunistic infections.

Nokwanele Mbewu born in Cala in the Eastern Cape Province a small town in South
Africa. A mother of two daughters, a sister to 12 siblings and an aunt to 28 nieces
and nephews. Academic qualifications; Higher Diploma in Education (HDE),
B.Ed hons (Baccalaureus Educationis) from University of the Western Cape,
Master of Social Work from State University of New York (University at
Albany). She has worked as a supporter, mentor and supervisor for community
health workers conducting home visits for more than 22 years. Currently working in
the community health worker space as a Partnership Manager. Most importantly is a
TB survivor.

A Registered Nurse who graduated from the University of San Carlos of Guatemala, Hibeb Silvestre holds a Master’s degree in Public Health with an emphasis in Epidemiology and a Master’s degree in Public Administration. She currently serves as the Coordinator of the Tuberculosis Program at the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MSPAS).

She has more than ten years of experience in the program, covering strategic roles in technical assistance, TB/HIV coinfection, and strengthening health service networks.

In addition, she represents the government sector as a full member of the Regional Coordinating Mechanism of SE-COMISCA.