The Oral HIV/AIDS Research Alliance Program: lessons learned and future directions

The Oral HIV/AIDS Research Alliance (OHARA) was established in 2006 to provide the capacity to investigate the oral complications associated with HIV/AIDS within the ACTG infrastructure. Its goals were to explore the effects of potent antiretroviral therapy (ART) on the development of opportunistic infections, and variation and resistance of opportunistic pathogens in the context of immune suppression and long-term ART. The objectives of this talk, presented as part of a plenary session at the 7th World Workshop on Oral Health and Disease in AIDS, were to (i) provide an overview of OHARA's most recent research agenda, and how it evolved since OHARA's inception; (ii) describe OHARA's main accomplishments, including examples of research protocols completed and their key findings; and (iii) describe spin-off projects derived from OHARA, lessons learned, and future directions. OHARA has met its central goal and made key contributions to the field in several ways: (i) by developing/updating diagnostic criteria for oral disease endpoints commonly measured in OHARA protocols and in HIV/AIDS research in general and has creating standardized training modules, both for measuring these oral disease endpoints across clinical specialties, and for collecting oral fluid specimens; (ii) by implementing a total of nine protocols, six of which are completed. Three protocols involved domestic research sites, while three involved international research sites (in Africa, India, and South America); (iii) and by developing and validating a number of laboratory assays used in its protocols and in the field of oral HIV/AIDS research.