LONDON: Joep Lange, a world-renowned researcher and former president of the International AIDS Society, was with the group heading to the global AIDS 2014 conference in Melbourne, Australia.
The exact number of scientists he was travelling with has not been confirmed but delegates in Sydney were told that emails indicated around 100 attendees were on the ill-fated plane.
Nine British passengers, including a student, former BBC journalist and two Newcastle United fans, were among the 298 people killed when the Boeing 777-200 was reportedly shot down as it passed over the war-torn country on Thursday.
Trevor Stratton, a Canadian HIV researcher attending the conference told ABC researchers had been getting close to a vaccine against Aids.
“What if the cure for AIDS was on that plane? Really? We don’t know,” he said.
“There were some really prominent researchers that have been doing this for a very long time and we’re getting close to vaccines and people are talking about cures and the end of AIDS.
“And you can’t help but wonder what kind of expertise was on that plane.”
Professor Richard Boyd, director of the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories, told Guardian Australia there were “some serious HIV leaders” on board.
“This will have ramifications globally because whenever you lose a leader in any field, it has an impact. That knowledge is irreplaceable,” he said.
“We’ve lost global leaders and also some bright young people who were coming through. It’s a gut-wrenching loss. I was involved in the aftermath of 9/11 in New York and it brings back that level of catastrophe.”
Clive Aspin, a HIV researcher in Australia ahead of the Aids conference said there was a “huge feeling of sadness” among delegates, with people crying in corridors.
He added: “These people were the best and the brightest, the ones who had dedicated their whole careers to fighting this terrible virus.”
News of Lange’s death sent ripples through the Aids community, who paid tribute to a “giant” in the field who made invaluable advances in affordable treatment for sufferers in Asia and Africa.
Scientists at the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia said Lange was travelling with his wife, Jacqueline.
Director of the institute, Professor David Cooper, said his friend had an “absolute commitment” to HIV treatment and care in Asia and Africa.
He added: “The joy in collaborating with Joep was that he would always bring a fresh view, a unique take on things, and he never accepted that something was impossible to achieve. Our joint work in Bangkok, the HIVNAT centre, will stand as his legacy.”
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