Welcome to the latest edition of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) Community Compass.

In this issue, we highlight some of the critical topics relating to health equity from the HVTN Community, remember three longtime activists and community leaders who recently passed, and provide important updates from our partners. We also provide updates on community engagement activities from some of our sites around the world. We also must celebrate the amazing work that has gone into developing the Red Ribbon Registry for use by our US sites and the marketing campaign that accompanies it (which you can review at www.helpendhiv.org), which will gradually expand to include all of the DAIDS networks, and the amazing work that went into refreshing our HVTN.org website. If you haven’t checked it out lately, I encourage you to do so!

Finding a safe and effective HIV vaccine remains a key priority for the Network and our communities. Over the next couple of years, we will see many early phase studies launch that are focused on testing the safety of HIV vaccine candidates, seeking to better understand the immune responses generated by the vaccines, and exploring other strategies to vaccine development. We are looking forward to seeing results in the near future. This study uses a mosaic-based platform which supports the evaluation of the vaccine across various types of HIV found around the world.

Please help us ensure that this publication is representative of our entire global HVTN community! HVTN members (who have access to the HVTN member's website) can use our submission page that offers the ability to submit content and articles for inclusion in future issues. More information about this follows on the "Meet the Community Compass Team" section. If you are a member of the general public and have questions or ideas for submission, please reach out to us via our information on the HVTN Community Compass home page: https://www.hvtn.org/community/community-compass.html.

Thank you for your continued support of the HVTN wherever you are in the world, for the work that you do in whatever role you have in the HVTN community, and for the impact we have been able to make in our collective history and communities, together. Though we have come very far in response to the HIV epidemic, we have so much further to go to achieve a globally effective HIV vaccine. The HVTN Community Compass team wants to be everywhere you are, so please share with us what's happening at your research sites, institutions, and in your communities, so that we can share it with the world.

Be well,

Stephaun E. Wallace, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief, HVTN Community Compass
sewallac@fredhutch.org