TABLE OF CONTENTS
HANC ANNOUNCEMENTS
NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS
HANC PROGRAM UPDATES
CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS
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The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) Foundation Board of Directors, the CROI Scientific Program Committee (PC), the International Antiviral Society-USA (IAS-USA), and the CROI Community Liaison Subcommittee (CLS), invited HANC Director, Russell Campbell, to join the CROI CLS as a member.
The CLS is a group of community educators and advocates that provides guidance regarding appropriate methods for disseminating information from the meeting to the community constituency, formalizes the criteria to be used for selecting community educator scholarships (CES), and proposes and organizes the Martin Delaney Presentation, designed for New Investigators.
CLS Members are selected based on their experience in HIV treatment and prevention education and their ability to collaborate productively with the scientific program committee and the conference organizers. Members are nominated by the CLS and the PC and approved by the CROI Foundation Board of Directors.
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HANC REPRESENTS
Upcoming Conferences
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Don't miss Brian!
Thursday, July 17:
Travel safe!
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Allegra Cermak
ACTG Community Coordinator
for 25 years
Rockvillle, Maryland
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Allegra Cermak, beloved ACTG Community Coordinator for 25 years was game to share a bit more about herself. Her contribution to HIV/AIDS research is paramount. Allegra has touched many lives over her 25 year tenure, from principal investigators and clinical researchers to the vibrant community she loves and nourished.
Share a career highlight!
One thing! But I think getting the ACTG CAB Draft project organized and encouraging community to share ideas early in protocol development was a great advancement for community participation.
What keeps you motivated?
Meeting new people as they discover they can make an impact and be involved has been amazing. So many friends from places I never expected to know or see.
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What are your hopes for the future of HIV research?
I think we all want to be put out of business with the discovery of a cure.
What can others do to support HIV research?
I hope people will talk about it whenever possible and share the goals and progress with others, make them aware of how successes in HIV have impacted other areas of research.
What are your passions outside of work?
I am totally addicted to reading but my personal background is in art and am just now starting a new project, getting re-involved with fiber arts. I also love to swim and garden.
What sound or noise do you love? Why?
I love that “dawn chorus” of birds in the morning. It’s so varied, nothing stilted or restrained, just early morning joy.
Tell us something that most people wouldn’t know about you.
I like to read about ancient Egypt 😊. I don’t know what the fascination is although it might be the art first grabbed me.
Allegra has served her community for many years, and now her future involves the pursuit of new art projects, a return to her original love and background. Allegra is a master class in community engagement and support. We know the future is bright for anyone in Allegra's path. We can't wait to see what the future holds for her and her art! Her compelling contribution to the art of research will not be ignored.
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Follow Legacy Project on Social Media
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IMPAACT Study Updates
- IMPAACT 2005 completed follow-up on 29 May 2025. The study was a Phase I/II study to evaluate the pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of delamanid among children with drug-resistant tuberculosis. Participants enrolled across five sites in India, South Africa, and Tanzania.
- IMPAACT 2016 completed follow-up on 2 June 2025. The study was a two-arm, randomized study to examine if an Indigenous Leader Outreach Model of trauma-informed cognitive behavioral therapy intervention demonstrates improved mental health outcomes and ART adherence for youth living with HIV. Participants enrolled across eights sites in Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
IMPAACT Network Annual Meeting
The IMPAACT Network Annual Meeting will be held virtually, during the week of 7 September 2025. Please check the Annual Meeting page for updates. An agenda will be shared once available, and registration will open in mid-July.
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The HVTN External Relations team presented at the National African American Leadership Conference on Health Disparities and Social Justice, hosted by NAESM inc., highlighting community engagement efforts and upcoming studies to evaluate broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) for HIV prevention. This annual conference took place June 25-29, 2025, in Los Angeles, CA. The session emphasized the vital role of trusted partnerships in addressing disparities and advancing HIV prevention science. By centering communities in research, the team showcased how bnAbs hold promise as a powerful new biomedical tool for preventing HIV.
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Behavioral and Social Sciences
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Greg Davis
HANC
Project Manager
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Behavioral Science Consultative Group (BSCG): The BSCG is wrapping up a major project developing measure assessment guidance documents. Topics covered in the guidance documents include acceptability, food insecurity, quality of life, stigma, substance use, and trauma. An announcement will be made once the project is finalized and available for use.
Financial Disclosure Working Group: The FDWG is focusing on the upcoming solicitation. Currently, the group is updating the company list and will begin updating network investigators next month. As a reminder, the 2025 solicitation will take place on September 19 and run through October 19.
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Greg Davis
HANC
Project Manager
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Russell Campbell
HANC Director
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Community Partners (CP): CP has been working on two projects. Both projects are close to wrapping up. An ad-hoc group has developed a cross-network CAB onboarding package presentation. The group is finalizing the project and is looking forward to sharing it with network CABs.
Another project the group has been focused on is updating the Recommendations for Community Engagement document. A final review is ongoing for the proposed changes. Community Partners hopes the updated document will be available in the next month.
The TB Vaccine Community Engagement Strategy Workgroup met on June 25 and reviewed the group’s project list to determine the next project the group will focus on.
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Cross-Network Coordination
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Kathleen Pescasio
HANC Cross-Network
Project Manager
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The Cross-Network Site Coordinators Working Group (SCWG) recently attended a HANC webinar on Remote Monitoring Evaluation Results presented by DAIDS OCSO MOB. The recording can be found on the HANC website. The SCWG will also be discussing SCORE Manual updates with DAIDS OCSO on July 14.
The Data Management Center Working Group (DMCWG) continues to hold discussions about the DAIDS AE Grading Table and study engagement systems.
The Pregnancy Outcomes Data Working Group (PODWG) recently convened to review the current status and adoption of pregnancy data standards across the networks. The group elected new co-chairs and will work on identifying priorities for future updates.
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Tyler Brown
HANC Laboratory
Project Manager
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In June, HANC, in collaboration with the Network Laboratory Centers and DCLOT, launched a brief 5-10 minute survey on laboratory record retention practices. If you work at a DAIDS-affiliated laboratory and would like to participate, please contact tdbrown3@fredhutch.org.
The Cross-Network Clinical Pharmacology Lab Forum met in June to share updates, including the completion of compendial testing for emtricitabine and lenacapavir, results from Proficiency Testing Round 55, an announcement of the upcoming CPQA Clinical Pharmacology Study Conduct Tutorial Refresher (a condensed version of the main course), and a preview of the revised AVR-SOP guidelines, which will go live on July 1.
The Lab Focus Group met in June to discuss current topics impacting both Network Laboratory Center and site level operations.
Reminder: In March, HANC worked with the four Network Lab Centers and DAIDS Clinical Laboratory Oversight Team (DCLOT) to revise and publish a new version of the Terminology Criteria and Responsibilities for Reporting DAIDS GCLP Laboratory Audits or Initial Assessments. The new document can be accessed on the HANC public website by clicking here
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Reminder: HANC has published a new version of the Cross-Network PBMC Processing SOP (Version 7.0)! The updated SOP is now available on the HANC website for public access in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, and Thai. You can access the new document here. If you have any questions or need further information, feel free to reach out to us at
tdbrown3@fredhutch.org.
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Brian Minalga
HANC
Deputy Director
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Cat Banobi
Legacy
Project Manager
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Gabriella Olague
HANC
Project Coordinator
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July 13-17: Brian will represent HANC at IAS 2025, the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science, taking place in Kigali, Rwanda. Brian’s activities at IAS include:
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U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA) 2025 (Washington DC)
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