12th IAS Conference on HIV Science

Dr Lara Vojnov is the Diagnostics Advisor in the Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI Programme at the World Health Organization. In this role, Dr Vojnov leads normative guidance development and country support for HIV, Hepatitis and STI diagnostics. She previously coordinated procurement and supply chain activities during the COVID-19 pandemic at the WHO, including leading the inter-agency Diagnostics Consortium for COVID-19. Prior to working at the WHO, she spent several years working with Ministries of Health across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia as a Senior Scientist with the Clinton Health Access Initiative. Dr Vojnov received a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has lived in Canada, US, South Africa, Liberia, Tanzania, and Switzerland.

Mitchell Warren has been the Executive Director of the AVAC since 2004. He was previously the Senior Director for Vaccine Preparedness at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and also spent four years as Vice President and Director of International Affairs for The Female Health Company (FHC), the manufacturer of the female condom, where he directed efforts to design and implement reproductive health programs that integrate the female condom and led global advocacy efforts for expanded commitment to female-initiated prevention methods. Mitchell also spent six years at Population Services International (PSI) designing and implementing social marketing, communications and health promotion activities in Africa, Asia and Europe, including five years running PSI's project in South Africa. Mitchell is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the International AIDS Society (IAS) Governing Council and the IAS Towards an HIV Cure Initiative; President of the TB Alliance Stakeholder Association and Past President of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise. In 2013, he helped establish the biennial HIV Research for Prevention conference and was one of the co-chairs for R4P 2020/1. Mitchell has degrees in English and History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and studied health policy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health.

Dr. Rupa Patel MD MPH is an infectious diseases physician and public health expert. She is a Research Associate Professor of Medicine (Voluntary) in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Washington University in St. Louis. She is the former Director of the CDC Midwest HIV Prevention Capacity Building Center which provides program development technical assistance to health departments, clinics and community-based organizations (CBO) in 12 states in the U.S. Her research focuses on biomedical HIV prevention implementation strategies (PrEP/PEP) in non-clinical settings (e.g., peer-led programs, CBO and pharmacy-based programs, telePrEP, at-home care, etc.) and primary care safety-net centers, as well as cost- and insurance-related barriers to PrEP care for young adults at risk for HIV. Dr. Patel is a member of the WHO PrEP Implementation Technical Advisory Group and has served as a PrEP clinical advisor for large-scale projects in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. She is a Scientific Advisor Panel Member for the UN-affiliated Medicines Patent Pool. She is a content contributor for CDC's National PrEP Curriculum. Dr. Patel currently practices medicine in Washington, D.C. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Infectious Diseases Fellowship at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Master of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.