Abstract

Welcome to the Eighth International Workshop on HIV Persistence during Therapy. Since the first edition of this workshop in 2003 in St Maarten, the issues of HIV Persistence and reservoirs have become increasingly more relevant, not only for the biologist but also for the clinician facing the problem of the long-term control of this persistent retroviral infection. Several meetings have now included reviews on these topics in their programme, but this biennial workshop is unanimously recognised as the reference workshop on HIV reservoirs and eradication strategies. Our main objective is to keep it driven by science and new data. To this end, abstracts have undergone a rigorous selection procedure by the Scientific Committee. This year’s Workshop has focused on improving participation by young investigators, in particular through submitting oral or poster abstracts, but also through receiving grants for attendance. These scholarships have been made possible by both the National Institutes of Health and the organising company, Overcome. We all are all very grateful for this development that we hope will bring new energy, thinking and ideas to the field. The program format will continue to follow the past successes and include presentations of new, unpublished data and a panel of experts to sum up the current advances in the field. The number of participants is now limited to 300. Lastly, we thank all the participants who have chosen to present their work here: the excellence of the abstracts we have received undoubtedly guarantees and interesting and thought-provoking workshop.