Dear Colleagues,

I write to you as chair of Clinical Sciences for the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). This year’s conference, held from February 19 to 22, 2023, will be our first in-person CROI since 2019. We have missed seeing each other, discussing new ideas and projects, and fostering the research community, particularly with opportunities for our mentees and new investigators. We encourage you to make every effort to attend the meeting in Seattle in person with your colleagues this year. The 2023 program is filled with great talks and science, and it will be enhanced further by late-breaking abstracts and up-to-the-minute data on SARS-CoV-2 and monkeypox (MPOX) by investigators from around the world. The HIV clinical program will include the latest data on long-acting treatment, new agents and treatment strategies, co-infections, and complications. We will have a lively and interactive clinical session on COVID-19 and a special session on MPOX at noon (Pacific Time) on Wednesday with world-class experts covering epidemiology, pathogenesis, treatment targets, and vaccines.

A few requests:

  1. Submit abstracts on all SARS-CoV-2 and MPOX sciences, plus late-breaking abstracts on HIV and hepatitis viruses, by the January 5, 2023 deadline. The system opened today. For more information, visit the Abstract Guidelines and Submission section of the CROI webpage
  2. Support mentees and new investigators to attend the conference and ensure they attend the pre-conference workshops on the first day of the meeting, which have long been popular and highly informative for young investigators. There will also be opportunities for them to do poster walks at the meeting with leaders in the HIV field; New Investigator scholarship recipients will have special access to the Meet the Luminaries small-group lunches with opening and plenary session speakers.
  3. CROI backpacks provided for all attendees are legendary, and this year will not disappoint. For those who have attended CROI before, send us a photo with a CROI backpack from any year with your name and location of the photo. We all enjoy seeing these on the opening day. If you have not done so already, please upload a photo with your CROI backpack here.

On behalf of my CROI 2023 co-chairs, Drs James Hoxie and Landon Myer, we take this opportunity to reflect on this Worlds AIDS Day (December 1), the advances in research, the lives lost, and the lives saved. We look forward to seeing you in Seattle for the 30th CROI.

Diane V. Havlir, MD

CROI 2023 Cochair