Agendas

August 31, 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT
September 10, 11:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. EDT
September 18, 12:00 noon – 4:00 p.m. EDT

Mini-Symposium #1: Igniting the Pipeline: Preclinical Advances in NAMs for HIV

This virtual symposium brings together leading experts to discuss advances, challenges, and future directions in utilizing 3D models, lymphoid organoids, and other new approach methodologies (NAMs) to study HIV pathogenesis, persistence, and cure across the life span.

1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT Monday, August 31, 2026
Virtual meeting – link will be sent to all registrants.
Chairs: Lis Caler, PhD, MPhil (OAR, NIH); Tania Lombo, PhD (NIAID, NIH); Vasundhara Varthakavi, PhD, DVM (NIDA, NIH); and Dwight Yin, MD, PhD (NIAID, NIH)
 
1:00 p.m. – 1:10 p.m. Welcome and Introduction to the Goals, Format, and Schedule of the Symposium Series Lis Caler, PhD, MPhil (OAR, NIH) 
1:10 p.m. – 1:35 p.m. Opening Remarks Nicole Kleinstreuer, PhD (DPCPSI, NIH)
Warren Casey, PhD (ORIVA, NIH)
Keynote Presentation
1:35 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Characterizing, Validating, and Standardizing 3D Models for Studies of HIV Pathogenesis and Persistence Mary Kearney, PhD (NCI, NIH)
Session I: Where Are We?
2:00 p.m. – 2:08 p.m. NIH landscape of NAMs in HIV Research Tania Lombo, PhD (NIAID, NIH)
2:08 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. Break All
Session II: Current Developments, Gaps, and Opportunities
Chairs: Vasundhara Varthakavi DVM, PhD (NIDA, NIH) and Dwight Yin, MD, PhD (NIAID, NIH)
2:15 p.m. – 2:35 p.m. New Methodological Approaches for HIV Research: A Stage-Specific 3D Feto-Maternal Interface Model for Viral Infection and Its Challenges and Future Horizons in Pathology and Therapeutics Cristina Antich Acedo, PhD (NCATS, NIH)
2:35 p.m. – 2:55 p.m. Engineering Immunocompetent Neural Spheroids for Viral Infection Research Emily Lee, PhD (NCATS, NIH)
2:55 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. NeuroHIV on a Chip: A Human-Relevant New Approach Methodology Michael Corley, PhD, MA (UCSD)
3:15 p.m. – 3:35 p.m. Modeling HIV Persistence and Cure in Human Lymphoid Organoids Catherine Blish, MD, PhD (Stanford University)
3:35 p.m. – 3:55 p.m. Developing an Immunocompetent Lymph-Node-on-a-Chip Model for Cure Purpose Guido Ferrari, MD (Duke University)
3:55 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Building Partnerships for HIV NAMs: Opportunities with the Multiscale Immune System Modeling Center of Excellence Keith Reeves, PhD (Duke University)
4:15 p.m. – 4:20 p.m. Break All
Session III: Expert Panel Discussion and Closing Remarks
4:20 p.m. – 4:50 p.m. Expert Panel Discussion Mary Kearney, PhD and All Speakers (NCI, NIH) Mary Kearney, PhD (NCI, NIH); all speakers; and Invited Experts: Sara Gianella Weibel, MD (UCSD), Brandon Keele, PhD (NCI, NIH), and Frank Malderalli, MD, PhD (NCI, NIH)
4:50 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Closing Remarks & Future Directions Dwight Yin, MD, PhD

Mini-Symposium #2: Modeling Immunity to HIV: Bridging Preclinical Discovery to Clinical Evaluation

This virtual symposium will share emerging evidence and insights, present existing capabilities, and address the key challenges and opportunities in new approach methodologies (NAMs) applicability for modeling immunity to HIV infection, pathogenesis, comorbidities, and biomedical interventions for HIV prevention and cure strategies across ages, biological sex, and vulnerable populations.

11:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, September 10, 2026
Virtual meeting – link will be sent to all registrants.
Chairs: Vasudev Rao, MBBS, MS (NIMH, NIH); Uday Shankar, PhD (NIAID, NIH); and Anjali Singh, PhD (NIAID, NIH)
 
Welcome and Opening Remarks
11:45 a.m. – 12:00 noon Opening Remarks and Brief Recap of NAMs Mini-Symposium #1 Anjali Singh, PhD (NIAID, NIH)
Uday Shankar, PhD (NIAID, NIH)
Vasudev Rao, MBBS, MS (NIMH, NIH)
Keynote Presentation
12:00 noon – 12:20 p.m. Integration of Traditional Preclinical Models with Advanced NAMs for Evolving Landscape of HIV Research Melanie Ott, MD, PhD (Gladstone Institute of Virology)
Session I: Modeling Immunity, Developmental Safety, Immune Pathways, and Comorbidities
12:20 p.m. – 1:20 p.m. Microphysiological Systems for HIV Prevention & Cure Strategies Across Populations, Biological Sexes, and Age Groups Ankur Singh, PhD (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Rebecca R. Pompano, PhD (University of Virginia)
Jason P. Gleghorn, PhD (University of Delaware)
1:20 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Next-Generation NAMs to Map Immune Responses to HIV and Infectious Diseases Lisa E. Wagar, PhD (University of California)
Purvesh Khatri, PhD (Stanford University)
2:00 p.m. – 2:10 p.m. Break All
Session II: Modeling Disease Pathogenesis, Tissue Reservoirs, and Sanctuary Sites
2:10 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. NAMs for Probing HIV Persistence and Immune States in Mucosal and Lymphatic Sanctuaries Marit van Gils, PhD (University of Amsterdam)
James E. Voss, PhD (The Scripps Research Institute)
2:50 p.m. – 3:50 p.m. NAMs To Recapitulate HIV Latency and Immune Interactions Within Specialized Compartments for Tissue-Resident Immunity Ramkumar Menon, PhD (University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston)
Kelly L. Jordan-Sciutto, PhD (University of Pennsylvania)
Lishomwa C. Ndhlovu, MD, PhD (Weill Cornell Medical College)
3:50 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Break All
Session III: Expert Panel Discussion and Closing Remarks
4:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Key Takeaways, Gaps in Current NAMs Landscape, and Actionable Recommendations for Future Collaborative Research and Development Opportunities James Hickman, PhD (Hesperos Inc.)
Lorna Ewart, PhD (Emulate)

Mini-Symposium #3: Preclinical Models and NAMs in HIV Research: Priority Use Models, Platform Readiness, and Validation Pathways

This virtual symposium will examine priority contexts in which human-based new approach methodologies (NAMs) and established preclinical models can be integrated to advance HIV research and clinical product safety and development, define platform-level features needed for credible HIV applications, and review regulatory and validation expectations through concrete HIV-relevant contexts of use.

12:00 noon – 4:00 p.m. EDT Friday, September 18, 2026
Virtual meeting – link will be sent to all registrants.
Chairs: David Chang, PhD (OAR, NIH); Sai Majji, PhD (NICHD, NIH); and Youngjun Sui, PhD (ORIP, NIH)
 
Welcome and Opening Remarks
12:00 noon – 12:10 p.m. Goals for Mini-Symposium #3 and framing around adoption-ready HIV NAMs Yongjun Sui, PhD (ORIP, NIH)
12:10 p.m. – 12:20 p.m. Brief Recap of Mini-Symposia #1 and #2: Key Gaps, Model Systems, and Unresolved Translational Questions

David Chang, PhD (OAR, NIH)

Session I: Priority Use Models for HIV NAM Adoption and Preclinical Integration
Moderator: David Chang, PhD (OAR, NIH)
12:20 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. Modeling Mucosal HIV: Integrating Clinical Cohorts, Organoids, and Preclinical Models

Douglas S. Kwon, MD, PhD
(Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard; Harvard Medical School)

12:45 p.m. – 1:10 p.m. New Approaches to HIV Cure

Robert F. Siliciano, MD, PhD
(Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)

1:10 p.m. – 1:20 p.m. Break All
Session II: Human-Relevant Platforms and Cross-Model Translation in HIV Research
Moderator: Sai Majji, PhD (NICHD, NIH)
1:20 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Dissecting Human Inflammatory Diseases: Lessons from HIV-1

Lishan Su, PhD
(University of Maryland School of Medicine)

1:45 p.m. – 2:10 p.m. Presentation Title TBD

J. Zachary Porterfield, MD, PhD
(University of South Florida/USF Health)

2:10 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. Break All
Session III: Validation and Context of Use for HIV NAMs
Moderator: Yongjun Sui, PhD (ORIP, NIH)
2:15 p.m. – 2:40 p.m. Resource Development and Validation Landscape for NAMs

Oleg Mirochnitchenko, PhD
(ORIP, NIH)

2:40 p.m. – 3:05 p.m. From Models to Mothers: New Approach Methodologies to Advance Antiretroviral Safety in Pregnancy

Mackenzie L. Cottrell, PharmD
(UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy)

Extended Expert Panel Discussion and Closing Remarks
Moderator: Sai Majji, PhD (NICHD, NIH)
3:05 p.m. – 3:55 p.m. Integrating Preclinical Models with NAMs for HIV Research and Product Development

All Speakers

3:55 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Closing Remarks and Next Steps

Stephanie Murphy, VMD, PhD
(ORIP, NIH)