On August 22, 2017, Dr. Stanley Read, Chair of CANFAR’s Scientific Advisory Committee announced the inaugural Dr. Mark Wainberg Grant for Outstanding HIV Research recipient.
This grant was awarded to Dr. Mathieu Maheu-Giroux of McGill University, in honour of the distinguished research career of the late Dr. Mark Wainberg who was a global pioneer in the world of HIV and AIDS research, and passed away in the spring of 2017. Dr. Maheu-Giroux’s research proposal received the highest rank of all the research proposals reviewed by CANFAR’s Scientific Advisory Committee this past June.
“This year, we are missing a key player on the Scientific Advisory Committee, and one who was a famous international HIV researcher, the late Dr. Mark Wainberg,” said Dr. Read. “Dr. Wainberg was a recognized, and distinguished researcher and his contribution to the CANFAR community and his impact in the field of HIV research is greatly missed.”
This year, CANFAR is investing $867,000 in support of HIV and AIDS research, with a total of nine new projects, five ongoing partnership supported projects, and two second-year projects. This research covers all aspects of HIV prevention, treatment, care and cure research.
Here CANFAR announces its 30th year research initiatives:
Prevention
Dr. Trevor Heart ($100,000)
Engage is a team of 40 researchers across Canada who are developing new HIV prevention programs and studying the sexual and mental health of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. This is a five-year partnership with the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN).
Dr. Nathan Lachowsky ($25,000)
Understanding the experiences of men who have sex with men, who have been offered HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) through the British Columbia Public Health PrEP program
Dr. Mathieu Maheu-Giroux ($80,000)
Modeling the impacts and optimization of HIV prevention packages among Montreal men who have sex with men
Dr. Darrell Tan ($50,000)
PrEP Implementation: Research into the use of PrEP medication in Ontario, and exploration of best practices to improve accessibility.This is a three-year partnership with the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN) and REACH 2.0.
Dr. Sarah Flicker ($25,000)
Celling sex: Young women, transactional sex and HIV prevention with cellphones
Postdoctoral Fellowship ($50,000)
A postdoctoral fellowship is being funded in partnership with the Canadian HIV Trials Network (CTN).
Treatment
Dr. Sadhna Joshi ($25,000)
The control of HIV infection by gene therapy with secreted bifunctional antiviral proteins
Dr. Alan Cochrane ($80,000)
Manipulation of HIV-1 RNA processing: a novel therapeutic strategy
Dr. Christopher Power ($80,000)
HIV-1 persistence in the brain: viral and host determinants
Care
Dr. Erica Lawson ($10,000)
Stories of HIV/AIDS: Positive African, Caribbean, and Black migrant women’s stories of HIV/AIDS and the Canadian immigration system
Dr. Olivier Ferlatte ($25,000)
Still Here: A photovoice study for gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men living with HIV and a history of suicidality
Cure
Dr. Eric Cohen Hugo Soudeyns ($80,000)
The CanCURE and EPIC4 projects are developing strategies towards a functional HIV cure and exploring if early initiation of HIV medication can cure HIV for children infected at birth. These studies are a five-year partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the International AIDS Society (IAS).
Dr. Marc-Andre Langlois ($80,000)
Identification of HIV-1 reservoir cells by cutting-edge nanoscale flow cytometry
Story by Lauryn Kronick, CANFAR Senior Manager of Public Relations and
Cameron Dunkin, CANFAR Manager of Research & Program Integration.