News Archive
20th Annual ASHM Conference
Post date: 26 August 2008
The 20th Annual ASHM Conference will be held from Wednesday 17 to Saturday 20 September 2008 at the Perth Convention Centre in Western Australia. It will be held back-to-back with the Australasian Sexual Health Conference (15 - 17 September) with a crossover day on Wednesday 17 September.
Invited international speakers at this year’s conference include Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Gita Ramjee, Sarah Rowland-Jones, Bruno Spire, Robin Wood, Pietro Vernazza, David Wilson
and Roy Gulick. The Australian contingent includes Paul Gorry, Martyn French, and Chris Burrell. All invited speaker biographies can be viewed on the conference website www.ashm.org.au/ashm08/.
Gita Ramjee, (Director, HIV Prevention Research Unit, Medical Research Council, Durban, South Africa) and Sarah Rowland-Jones (the MRC Human Immunology Unit in Oxford ) will kick-off the event with plenary sessions at the ASHM opening ceremony. Gita will address delegates on HIV prevention research, the set backs in the past year and current options of abstinence, being faithful and condomizing (male and female), behavioural change and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. Sarah will talk about protective immunity against HIV infection.
The ASHM conference is Australia’s premier conference in the HIV, hepatitis and related diseases sector. It brings together the range of disciplines involved in HIV and hepatitis management, including basic science, clinical medicine, community programs, education, epidemiology, indigenous health, international, nursing and allied health, policy, primary care, public health and prevention, and social research.
Key issues the ASHM 2008 program will explore and address include:
-
HIV treatment as prevention
-
Drug side effects
-
New drug treatments
-
HIV and Pregnancy
-
HIV and Hepatitis
-
HIV and Cancer
-
HIV treatment update
-
Living with HIV
-
Preventing HIV
-
Public Heath and Prevention
-
Clinical capacity building
In addition to the Conference, ASHM will be holding a media event in conjunction with the Western Australian Department of Health on Friday 19th September to explore the impact the Western Australian economic boom has on HIV infection rates among WA’s heterosexual population. Information about this event will be updated on the ASHM website as it becomes available. It will be open for all delegates to attend.
Two educational and training courses, (1) Short course in HIV Medicine and (2) Short Course in Viral Hepatitis will be held in conjunction with the conference. The ASHM short courses provide comprehensive training for medical practitioners, nurses and allied health workers in the science of HIV and hepatitis infection, diagnosis, monitoring and treatment options.
This year the Annual HIV Consensus Conference will be incorporated into the clinical stream of the main ASHM Conference program. The Australian ARV Guidelines sessions on the use of antiretroviral agents in HIV infected adults and adolescents will be held on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 September. The sessions will include evidence based presentations from international and local experts on the latest research and developments in HIV treatment. All delegates are encouraged to attend and participate in discussions.
ASHM 08 registrations close on 2 September 2008. If you have not yet registered, visit http://www.ashm.org.au/ashm08/registration to avoid disappointment.
More information
http://ashm.org.au/ashm08
Footnote: Members are invited to contribute to ASHM Latest News page with articles under headings of Education, Training, Clinical Issues, Conferences, Resources, International and Research. Please forward information to Paul McQueen (email:paul.mcqueen@ashm.org.au).
