ADVANCING HIV SCIENCE KRISP Contributes to IAS 2025 with Drug Resistance Research

text: Paul Harris photo: Tulio de Oliveira

This July, members of the KRISP team participated virtually in the 13th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science, hosted in Kigali, Rwanda. The hybrid conference convened leading researchers, clinicians, and advocates from around the world to share cutting-edge developments in HIV prevention, treatment, and care.

With over 1400 scientific posters and 142 oral abstract presentations, IAS 2025 reaffirmed its place as one of the most influential platforms for shaping the global HIV research agenda. For KRISP, it was an opportunity to both contribute to and learn from this vibrant international scientific community.

The team presented two eposters from the DTG RESIST study, our international collaborative study focused on resistance to dolutegravir-based antiretroviral therapy (ART). One of the research posters led by Dr Jennifer Giandhari and Shirelle Janine Naidoo focused on lowfrequency dolutegravir resistance mutations (sometimes referred to as minority variants) - an area where evidence is needed to guide treatment monitoring policies and practices.

The research showed that, whilst low-frequency drug resistance mutations were observed, their detection generally did not change the predicted level of DTG resistance. This gives reassurance that drug resistance testing using either Sanger sequencing or nextgeneration sequencing platforms remains appropriate.

“This work highlights how international collaborations can lead to actionable insights that can improve the way we care for and monitor people living with HIV,” said Shirelle Naidoo, a Medical Scientist at KRISP. “It also demonstrates our ongoing commitment to applying advanced genomics to address major public health challenges.”

KRISP extends its thanks to the many collaborators and partner institutions that made this work possible, and the funders, including the Technology Innovation Agency and U.S. National Institutes of Health.