HIV in Focus 2026

HIV and ART
This session examines what’s new in antiretroviral therapy, including emerging treatment options and clinical issues.

Equity in Science – the example of HIV
Keynote speaker Prof Brenda Crabtree explores equity in HIV science with a focus on who benefits from HIV research and advances in care, and where inequities remain.

Improving the Health of People Ageing with HIV
As people with HIV live longer, this session focuses on practical ways of maintaining health and independence. Topics include screening for frailty, whether exercise can reduce falls, and the causes of neurocognitive impairment among older people living with HIV. The session concludes with a clinical and lived-experience case discussion.

HIV and Comorbidities in Men
The final Friday session looks at health issues affecting men living with HIV, including peptides and performance- and image-enhancing drugs, harm minimisation, and how testosterone deficiency should be assessed and managed in ageing men with HIV.

Saturday 10 October

Women’s Health and Comorbidities – Addressing the Gaps
Saturday begins with a dedicated women and HIV session, introduced by Kirsty Machon and Heather Ellis. Prof Brenda Crabtree will examine gaps in women’s health and comorbidity care, followed by Dr Anna Pierce on menopause in women with HIV. A case discussion includes clinicians and a woman with lived experience of HIV.

Substance Use, Mental Health and Complex HIV Care
This session considers substance use disorders among people with HIV, including the management of methamphetamine addiction. It also examines the challenges of providing care for people with complex HIV-related health and social needs, followed by an interactive multidisciplinary panel involving clinical, addiction, social-work and lived-experience perspectives.

Hot Topics in HIV
The final session covers a particularly broad range of emerging issues. These include anal cancer conversations, gender-affirming therapy for people with HIV, the latest on PrEP, trans people’s experiences of healthcare, why people with HIV may experience accelerated ageing, whether GLP-1 receptor agonists  (ie Ozempic) could help manage HIV-associated comorbidities, and an update on cardiovascular disease prevention asking: “Statins for all?”