AIDS 2026: Six young scientists honoured by the IAS and ANRS MIE

Since 2006, the International AIDS Society (IAS) and the ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases (ANRS MIE), through its Start programme, have joined forces each year to recognise the work of young researchers for its quality, innovation and originality in the field of HIV/AIDS research.

On 28 July 2026, during the 26^th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the IAS/ANRS MIE ‘Joep Lange & Jacqueline van Tongeren’ prizes were presented by Professor Yazdan Yazdanpanh, Director of ANRS MIE, and Doctor Beatriz Grinsztejn, President of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil, to six young scientists from six different countries. Each prize, recognising the best abstract in its category presented at AIDS 2026, comes with a cash award of 2,000 dollars.

Six winners of the IAS/ANRS MIE Awards

• Basic and translational research

Étienne Bélanger from the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) in Canada, for his presentation: “CD4 downregulation protects HIV-1-infected cells from antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis mediated by plasma from people with HIV-1”.

• Clinical Research

Kirusha Naidoo from the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) in South Africa, for her presentation: “Safety and virological outcomes of CAP256V2LS and VRC07-523LS administered at ART initiation with analytical treatment interruption: preliminary results from the NeutART HIV cure trial”.

• Epidemiology and Prevention

Federico Pipitone from the Unit for Economic and Social Sciences of Health and Medical Information Processing (SESSTIM) at Aix-Marseille University in France, for his presentation: “Back to PrEP à Porter: Addressing lost-to-follow-up participants in a community-based multidisciplinary PrEP implementation strategy for transgender women in Paris”.

• Humanities and Social Sciences

Maya Land from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, for her presentation: “Understanding pathways to support PrEP implementation and use among South African women”.

• Implementation Science, Economics, Systems and Synergies

Rukayat Ojochide Abdullahi from Palladium in Nigeria, for her presentation: “Machine learning for risk factor identification and outcome improvement in the prevention of vertical HIV transmission in Nigeria”.

• Political Science, Law, Ethics and Human Rights

Monalisa Akintole of the Uganda National Trans Forum (UNTF) in Uganda, for her presentation: “Protecting choice under criminalisation: Early lessons from the Uganda National Trans Forum on introducing lenacapavir for trans and gender-diverse communities”.

Tribute to Joep Lange & Jacqueline van Tongeren

This IAS/ANRS MIE award was renamed the ‘Joep Lange & Jacqueline van Tongeren’ award in 2015, in tribute to the Dutch researcher Joep Lange and his wife, Jacqueline van Tongeren, who died in the crash of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH 17 the previous year.

An HIV specialist, Professor Joep Lange had led clinical research for the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Programme on AIDS – the predecessor of the current Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) – before serving as President of the IAS and founding the PharmAccess Foundation, which promotes access to treatment in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

As for Jacqueline van Tongeren, she held a senior position at the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD), co-founded by Joep Lange in 2009.