Nearly a hundred participants gather to discuss HIV CURE research at CanCURE's 4th annual genera
The fourth Annual Meeting of the Canadian HIV Cure Enterprise (CanCURE) was held at the IRCM last October 19th and 20th. This research consortium focused on HIV Cure is led by Dr. Éric A. Cohen, Research Professor at the IRCM and Director of the Human Retrovirology research unit. The CanCURE research program is supported by the Canadian Initiative for HIV Cure Research, created through a partnership between the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR) and the International AIDS Society (IAS).
This year’s meeting brought together close to a hundred participants (see picture above), including 29 basic and clinical researchers, as well as 54 students, postdoctoral fellows and research associates. Members of CanCURE’s Scientific Advisory Board also participated and provided input on the teams' research priorities. In addition, four community representatives providing the point of view of the community living with HIV/AIDS actively took part in the discussions and exchanges with the scientists. The keynote speaker, Dr. Guido Silvestri, M.D. (Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, School of Medicine, Chief, Divison of Microbiology & Immunology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, USA) presented an overview of the ‘non-human primates’ as a model in HIV Cure, and a summary of this most recent research.
The team's scientific investigators presented the latest progress of their CanCURE research projects. Trainees showcased the results of their work during poster sessions and prizes.
From left to right: Tomas Raul Wiche Salinas (Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal Research Center, CRCHUM), Marta Massanella (CRCHUM), Éric A Cohen (IRCM), Segen Kidane (University of Toronto), Dr. Alan Cochrane (University of Toronto), Dr. Petronela Ancuta (CRCHUM), and Dr. Nicolas Chomont (CRCHUM).
As expressed by Dr. Cohen, “ CanCURE wishes to thank the staff of the IRCM for their remarkable work during the meeting and would like to emphasize the efficiency and the professionalism of the members of the IRCM Community who contributed greatly to the success of this important event for Canadian HIV Cure research ”.