Here at the Microbicides 2010 conference in Pittsburgh I got a chance to talk with Dr. Gita Ramjee, one of the top researchers in the field, about the most exciting scientific challenges being discussed at the meeting.  Dr Ramjee is the Director of the HIV Prevention Research Unit at the South African Medical Research Council.  She also explains in the interview why development of an effective microbicide for rectal use is so crucial, for both men and women in Africa, in particular given higher than expected rates of reported anal sex in several countries, as well as in many other regions of the world including the United States.