DC CFAR Scientific Symposia

The DC CFAR hosts recurring Scientific Symposia to highlight the scientific research accomplishments of its membership, local HIV investigators, and community members.

2026 Scientific Symposium

The 2026 Symposium, "Supporting HIV Science in a Rapidly Changing Environment," will be held on February 4, 2026. The focus of the symposium will be to highlight current NIH- and CFAR-funded research by DC CFAR investigators that contributes to the DC CFAR mission.

See the the link for registration here, and the most recent agenda here.

We hope to see you there, in-person or virtually!

2023 Scientific Symposium

Our most recent Symposium, "Community Engagement, Diversity Initiatives & Investigator Achievements in HIV Science" was held on October 10, 2023.

Please see the full program guide and agenda linked here, and the various presentations featured below:

Plenary Session: HIV Thought Leaders Among Us

Continued Relevance and Importance of HIV Science and the CFAR Program* (Carl Dieffenbach, PhD, Director, Division of AIDS, National Institutes of Health)
Fighting the HIV-1, COVID-19 and Mpox Pandemics in Washington, DC: Lessons Learned from Academic Collaborations with the DC Health Department, Clinicians and Community (Amanda Castel, MD, MPH, Co-Director, DC CFAR, Professor, George Washington University)

Scientific Session A: "We're Not Only at the Table, We're in the Kitchen" Community Engagement in DC CFAR Science

Panel A: Development and Dissemination of Foundational Documents
- Building an Equitable and Sustainable Academic Community Partnership: The DC CFAR Example (Marcia Ellis,Former Chair, Community Partnership Council, DC CFAR and Community Engagement Advocate; George Kerr III, Community Coordinator and Chair, Community Partnership Council, DC CFAR, Chair, National CFAR CAB Coalition (N3C))
- Advancing Equity and Fostering Change: A Guide for Academic-Community Partnerships in the DC Center for AIDS Research (Martha Sichone- Cameron, MPH, Executive Director, The International Community of Women Living with HIV – North America (ICW NA), CPC; Wendy Davis, MEd
  Special Projects Coordinator, DC CFAR, Senior Research Scientist, George Washington University)
Panel B: Academic-Community Partnership Awards
- Faith, Spirituality, and ART Adherence among Black Women with HIV: Next Steps and Lessons Learned from the Academic-Community Partner Pilot (Khadijah Abdullah, MPH(c), Founder & Executive Director, Reaching All HIV+ Muslims In America, CPC; Tamara Taggart, PhD, MPH, Associate Director, Social & Behavioral Sciences Core, DC CFAR, Assistant Professor, George Washington University)
Panel C: The Emergence of Community Based Organizations as Scientific Leaders in the DC CFAR
- Re-Imagining Community-Based Organizations as Community-Based Institutions* (DeMarc Hickson, PhD, Executive Director, Us Helping Us, People Into Living Inc.)
- Building a Community- Based Hub for HIV and LGBTQ+ Health Research (Jonathon Rendina, PhD, MPH, Senior Director of Research, Whitman Walker Institute, Associate Research Professor, George Washington University)

Scientific Session B: Promoting Diversity in the Developmental Pathway: National Training and Mentoring Initiatives

Panel A: CFAR Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pathway Initiative (CDEIPI)
- DC CFAR CDEIPI Program and Overview: Developing an Inclusive Generation of HIV Researchers through Diversity and Community (Mark Burke, PhD, Director, DC CDEIPI Program, Co-Director, Developmental Core, DC CFAR, Associate Professor, Howard University)
- CFAR High School Scholar Trajectory (Lauyrn Mills, High School CDEIPI Scholar, Annandale High School & Brown University)
- Developing an Inclusive Generation of HIV Researchers through Diversity and Community (Haifa Ahmed, Undergraduate CDEIPI Scholar, Howard University)
Panel B: CFAR Adelante Program
- CFAR ADELANTE Program: Introduction and Overview (Maria Cecelia Zea, PhD, Scientific Officer, CFAR Adelante, Co-Director, Social & Behavioral Sciences Core, DC CFAR, Professor, George Washington University)
- PrEP v. PEP: Awareness and Use among Latina Immigrant Transgender Women in DC (Ana María del Río- González, PhD, MA Adelante Scholar, Associate Professor, George Washington University)
- Immigration Legal Status as a Structural Determinant of HIV Risk for Latinas/os/xs (Thespina (Nina) Yamanis, PhD, MPH, Adelante Scholar, Co-Director, Social & Behavioral Sciences Core, DC CFAR,
  Associate Professor & Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs, School of International Service, American University)

Scientific Session C: Celebrating the Progression from DC CFAR Pilot Awardee to Independent Investigator

Panel A – Basic Science Investigators
- Growing My Basic Science Lab Studying Antibodies and HIV (Rebecca Lynch, PhD, Academic Lead, HIV Cure Scientific Working Group, Associate Professor, George Washington University)
- Small Molecule NLRP3 Inflammasome Inhibitors for the Treatment of HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND) (Amol Kulkarni, PhD, Associate Professor, Howard University)
Panel B – Clinical and Population Science Investigators
- From DC Pilot Awardee to KL2 (Amanda Blair Spence, MD, Attending Physician, Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Assistant Professor, Georgetown University)
- Pregnancy Outcomes of Women with HIV in DC: Results of a single site, retrospective matched cohort from 2004 - 2020 (Rachel Scott, MD, MPH, Attending Physician, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Associate Professor, Georgetown University)
Panel C – Social and Behavioral Science Investigators
- Financial Security, MSM, and HIV Outcomes in Abuja, Nigeria: Idea to CFAR Pilot Award to R01 (Rachel Robinson, PhD, MA, Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, School of International Service, Affiliate Professor, College of Arts & Sciences, American University)
- Improving the Health of Adolescents and Young Adults: Social- Structural and Cultural Determinants of HIV-related Behaviors (Tamara Taggart, PhD, MPH, Associate Director, Social & Behavioral Sciences Core, DC CFAR, Assistant Professor, George Washington University)