CONRAD has been spearheading the effort to find a biomarker of semen exposure suitable for use in contraceptive and microbicide efficacy trials. In 2004, CONRAD and Ibis Reproductive Health sponsored a meeting funded in part by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), entitled “Evaluation of Markers of Intercourse in Trials of Vaginal Barriers.” There are major gaps in knowledge about these markers and work begun at the meeting has been continued by two sub-groups, one devoted to preclinical aspects of markers and one devoted to clinical aspects, under the direction of CONRAD. The clinical group has been especially active since January 2005. Two studies are already underway as a result of its work, and a manuscript was recently submitted for publication by collaborating investigators. The preclinical group has compiled a list of potential new biomarkers of semen, and has outlined the initial experiments needed to characterize and validate them.
CONRAD and the Alliance for Microbicide Development also sponsored a meeting in Reston, Virginia in November 2006 that reviewed the current status of biomarkers, not just of semen exposure but of inflammation and HIV exposure. The meeting served to assess how emerging technologies from other industries might be applied to the microbicide field, and to encourage innovation and collaboration among a broad spectrum of researchers within and beyond that field. Proceedings from the meetings has been published as a supplement in Sexually Transmitted Diseases 36:(3), March 2009.