On April 14-17, 2025, the Women's Research Initiative on HIV/AIDS (WRI), a program of The Well Project, convened a meeting on The Evolving Landscape of Women and HIV Cure, which sought to establish a holistic view of factors related to HIV cure that are meaningful for women living with HIV.
To see more pictures from this year's meeting, please visit our photo album on Facebook.
This year's meeting brought together 33 multidisciplinary, multisectoral key stakeholders (see below) to address the impact of hormones on HIV cure across the lifespan; interrogate the conduct of HIV cure research; examine access to participation in HIV cure research; and articulate what an HIV cure will mean for people living with HIV.
"The WRI approach of including investigators (basic, clinical and social science) together with advocates, community members, and people living with HIV is critical to advancing a person-centered HIV cure agenda, and for me, made WRI uniquely special compared to other meetings." – WRI 2025 participant
The meeting took place in a context in which the US administration is dismantling vital health infrastructure, programming, and funding. While the federal government is cutting scientific research broadly, funding for HIV research has experienced particularly shocking blows over the past several months. Grants have been cancelled, government employees have been fired, and restrictions have been imposed about how to conduct and communicate about HIV research.
In response to the current environment and reflecting the substance of the WRI 2025 meeting, The Well Project, in collaboration with WRI 2025 participants, have developed and issued the statement "Bolstering HIV Cure Research in the Current Political Context" calling for a collaborative response that is grounded in both the successes of the past and the realities of the current funding landscape to increase advocacy for cure research and ensure that an HIV cure is a reality for all.
WRI 2025 was co-moderated by stakeholder liaison Bridgette Picou, LVN, ACLPN and The Well Project board member and co-founder Richard Averitt. Speakers and presentations addressed the following topics:
- Examining the current landscape – speakers: Judy Auerbach (UCSF), Jen Kates (KFF), Andrea Weddle (HIVMA)
- Reflections on HIV cure and the WRI – speaker: Dawn Averitt
- Basic science overview – speakers: Sara Gianella Weibel (UCSD), Jessica Prodger (Western University), Kim Skeete (Bios Clinical Research)
- Clinical science overview – speakers: Allison Agwu (Johns Hopkins), Gail Graham (University of Maryland), Eileen Scully (Johns Hopkins)
- Behavioral and social science overview – speakers: Karine Dube (UCSD), Bridgette Picou (The Well Project), Loreen Willenberg
- HIV cure policy and advocacy panel – panelists: Ebony Gordon (SFAF), Antoinette Jones (Dandelions, Inc.), Mandisa Moore-O'Neal (CHLP), Jessica Salzwedel (AVAC); moderator: Jen Kates (KFF)
- What's next in HIV cure research panel: Steve Deeks (UCSF), Andrea Lamour-Harrington, Jennifer Sherwood (amFAR)
"The highlight of this year's meeting was the opportunity to come together and not be afraid to talk about the current political climate, and to be able to strategize about the future and support one another. WRI 2025 gave me hope to continue moving forward." – WRI 2025 participant
The meeting also included group activities to identify and prioritize research questions and policy opportunities and facilitate knowledge-sharing; interactive dialogue to identify potential areas of engagement; and brainstorming sessions for WRI participants to define specific actions they can pursue to implement ideas identified during the meeting.
WRI 2025 Meeting Participants
For more information, please visit our page on WRI 2025 participants
| Allison Agwu, MD, ScM Johns Hopkins University |
Judith Auerbach, PhD* University of California San Francisco |
| Dawn Averitt* The Well Project and WRI |
Richard Averitt The Well Project and Starchive.io |
| Cecilia Chung Transgender Law Center |
Jenna Conley, MA The Well Project |
| Ciarra Covin, MS The Well Project |
Judith Currier, MD, MSc University of California Los Angeles |
| Steven Deeks, MD University of California San Francisco |
Dazon Dixon Diallo, DHL, MPH SisterLove |
| Krista Dong, MD Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard |
Karine Dube, DrPH University of California San Diego |
| Olivia G. Ford The Well Project |
Sara Gianella Weibel, MD University of California San Diego |
| Ebony Gordon San Francisco AIDS Foundation |
Gail Graham University of Maryland PATIENTS Program |
| Antoinette Jones, SME Dandelions, Inc. |
Jennifer Kates, PhD* Kaiser Family Foundation |
| Andrea Lamour-Harrington AACO |
Krista Martel The Well Project |
| Shani Mandisa Moore-O'Neal, JD Center for HIV Law and Policy |
Amaya Perez-Brumer, PhD University of Toronto |
| Deborah Persaud, MD JHUSOM |
Bridgette Picou, LVN, ACLPN The Well Project |
| Jessica Prodger, PhD Western University |
Jessica Salzwedel, MA AVAC |
| Eileen Scully, MD, PhD Johns Hopkins University |
Jennifer Sherwood, PhD, MPH amfAR |
| Kimberly Skeete, CRA, CPT Bios Clinical Research LLC |
Laramie Smith, PhD University of California San Diego |
| Vani Vannappagari, MBBS, MPH, PhD ViiV Healthcare |
Deborah Wafer, NP, PA Gilead Sciences |
| Andrea Weddle, MSW* HIV Medicine Association |
Loreen Willenberg Zephyr LTNP Foundation, Inc. |
*2025 WRI Advisory Board Member
The WRI 2025 convening received grants from Gilead and Merck and sponsorship support from ViiV Healthcare.
