UNC at the STI & HIV 2025 World Congress in Montreal
UNC Chapel Hill was well represented at the STI & HIV 2025 World Congress. Centered on the theme “Sexual Health for All,” the congress took place in Montreal, Canada, from July 27 to 30, 2025. This biannual congress, organized by the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research (ISSTDR) and the International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections (IUSTI), brought together a diverse group of healthcare practitioners, advocates, community members, early-career researchers, and others who share a passion for STI/HIV research.
UNC Chapel Hill at the Conference
UNC Chapel Hill researchers had oral presentations, poster presentations, and pre-conference workshops. In the pre-conference program, Professor Arlene Sena facilitated a panel discussion on developing syphilis vaccines. Assistant Professor Suzanne Day presented on willingness to participate in syphilis vaccine research in Malawi. Yusuf Babatunde, Oluwakorede Adedeji, and Joseph Tucker organized a WHO/TDR workshop on co-creation in the STI response as well as policy and community engagement. Professor Toni Darville gave an oral presentation on innovations in understanding chlamydia, followed by Assistant Professor Andreea Waltmann, who spoke on translating findings from the human challenge model of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection. In the poster presentations, Dr. Gifty Marley presented evidence from a randomized controlled trial assessing pay-it-forward STI testing and Dr. Lan Li further elaborated behavioral research from the same trial. Dr. Yusha Tao presented research using AI to enhance STI control programs in China.
Several UNC Malawi studies were presented. Dr. Mitch Matoga presented on the gonococcal surveillance program at a WHO symposium on this topic. He also co-chaired a session on molecular epidemiology and presented Malawi research on the Bexsero vaccine, genital ulcer disease trends, assessing a complex intervention, and gonorrhea resistance data 2023-2024. Dr. Jane Chen reported on the gonorrhea burden among women in Malawi. T32 trainee Cara Broshkevitch presented her work on sexual partnership dynamics among STI clinic patients in Malawi. Dr. Stephanie Sweitzer presented her study estimating the sensitivity of non-treponemal testing among patients with primary syphilis. Cara Broshkevitch presented her work on sexual partnership dynamics among STI clinic patients in Malawi.
Co-creation in Health Research with Youth
Our team organized “Co-creation with Youth in Health Research” as a TDR pre-conference workshop on 27th July 2025. Co-creation has communities and researchers working together across a study, with attention to power dynamics. More details about the workshop can be found here: https://osf.io/mrh94/. Focused on engaging communities, particularly those with lived experience, the event aimed to revise a practical guide for youth co-creation in health. It comprised three parts: an introduction to co-creation with findings from a systematic review, a small group activity to produce STI assets, and discussions to refine the draft TDR/UNICEF practical guide on youth co-creation in health research.
Participants worked in small groups of 5-7, guided by trained facilitators and expert mentors, to discuss key prompt questions from the organizers. The focus was on co-creating practical strategies to make STI research and services more welcoming for diverse communities, especially young people and marginalized groups. At the end of the discussions, rapporteurs presented key points and recommendations in a speed round, with additional enthusiastic groups allowed to share their outcomes.
Forward Momentum
The Montreal conference underlined UNC strengths in STI/HIV research. At the same time, there is still much work to be done in these areas of research. We would like to thank the attendees, youth organizers, presenters, facilitators, expert mentors, and conference organizers. More details about the Montreal conference can be found here: https://stihiv2025.org/
Submitted by Gifty Marley, Lan Li, and Yusha Tao