Journal of the International AIDS Society(JIAS) has recently announced the launch of an exciting new e-course on writing and submitting conference abstracts:Scientific writing – Conference abstracts. The course, organised in collaboration withHealth[e]Foundation, is based on previous scientific writing workshops successfully offered byJIASat regional and international conferences.

The abstract writing course is available free of chargeonlineand aims to create better opportunities for health professionals, including researchers, to disseminate research and findings at international conferences.

The course covers guidelines on conference abstract preparation, writing and submission, by providing examples and short interactive exercises. It is envisaged that in the future, the scientific writing course will be extended to offer further interactive training in manuscript writing and publication practices.

Authors considering submitting abstracts to the6^thIAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention(IAS 2011) are encouraged to complete the abstract writing e-course beforehand. Abstract submission to IAS 2011 opened on 1^stDecember 2010 together with theAbstract Mentor Programme, which offers authors the opportunity to receive feedback on their abstracts from experienced peers before final submission to the conference committee.