IAVI Report - February / March 2001
Patricia Kahn

In our last issue, founding editor David Gold wrote to you that he has moved on to other work at IAVI and that I have succeeded him as editor of the IAVI Report. Now it's my turn to let you know what's new at the newsletter and what course we plan to steer.

There are many changes afoot, beginning with an obvious one: our new look. We asked graphic consultant Stephen de Francesco for a more open design that would make the Report easier and more inviting to read, and we hope the new layout achieves that. 

We also have two new staff writers, both of whom have been freelance contributors to the Report in recent months. Richard Jefferys joined IAVI in February after six years at the AIDS Treatment Data Network co-editing their newsletter and helping to run their community education and treatment advocacy activities. While there he became increasingly interested in immune control of HIV, leading him to begin thinking and writing about vaccines. Richard's experience on the AIDS therapy front and his deep commitment to the fight against AIDS are already valuable assets to the Report. The same holds true for Emily Bass, who will join us half-time beginning in May. Alongside her many articles on AIDS-mostly for HIV Plus magazine and amfAR's Treatment Insider—Emily spent four months travelling in Africa and reporting on AIDS issues in the wake of last summer's conference in Durban. 

A top priority for the three of us is to continue expanding our international coverage—for example, with articles like the recent "On the Ground" series about HIV field research sites, to be continued next time with a report from Haiti. We also have several "special focus" issues in the works, one on some key scientific areas and another on Asian countries involved in AIDS vaccine work.

Another innovation in the works is a bi-monthly IAVI Report Online, which will be sent to subscribers electronically beginning this summer. The online Report, to be coordinated by Richard Jefferys, will contain summaries of newly-published research articles from the scientific literature (with abstracts and links to full-text journal articles, where permitted by the publishers), as well as short news items on policy and other issues relevant to HIV vaccines.

Perhaps our key challenge—one we're more than glad to grapple with—will be to keep up with the rapid growth in the field. After years on the sidelines, AIDS vaccines are finally getting more recognition at the political, scientific and grass roots levels. Several new types of AIDS vaccines are poised to enter the pipeline within the next few years, and there is far more basic research fueling this development. What's more, a growing number of countries and individuals from many different walks of life are joining in the push for an AIDS vaccine.

That change is mirrored in the growth of the Report, which now reaches a subscriber list of nearly 10,000 people in 140 countries and amazingly diverse settings—from state-of-the-art laboratories at major research centers to the offices of policy makers and journalists around the world to rural AIDS care centers without electricity or running water.

But some things will not change. When David Gold started the IAVI Report back in 1996, he envisioned a focused, dedicated source of information on HIV vaccines that could serve a vital role in building a global AIDS vaccine movement. Five years later, we are still committed to this vision of the Report. And that means doing more of the same: covering the meetings, events, decisions, people and trends in the expanding global enterprise devoted to making AIDS vaccines that reach all who need them, wherever they live. 

Let us hear from you. Tell us if we're writing what you want to read or if you have news we might want to include. •

Patricia Kahn

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