CAHR: Montreal, Quebec -April 2012

The 21st Annual Canadian Association of HIV/AIDS Research (CAHR) Conference was held on April 19 – 22, 2012 at the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel in Montreal, Quebec. The theme of this year’s Conference was “”A Turning Point in the Fight against HIV: Meeting New Challenges”.

After 30 years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, recent years bring new breakthrough in the efficacy of anti-retroviral therapies in both prolonging lives as well as advancing prevention. It also poses increasing challenges for our communities to focus on more holistic strategies to address issues related to HIV and aging, long term drug toxicities, and the risks of complacency in engaging affected and at risk communities in effective prevention, support and anti-stigma initiatives.

At the conference, CAAT research team members Ciro Bisignano and Kenneth Poon presented a poster titled “Grassroots to HIV Champions: Meaningful Engagement of PHA in Community-based Action Research”. They engaged delegates on the importance of developing polices and infrastructures that facilitate equitable PHAs participation in community-campus research partnerships.  In addition, medical student Jennifer Tran presented a poster on the national survey on knowledge and attitudes of designated medical practitioners (DMP) that CAAT collaborated on developing.

CAAT research team members Kenneth Poon (L) and Ciro Bisignano (R) stand next to CAAT’s poster at CAHR 2012 Montreal, Quebec