CanCURE members reunite virtually for the 6th Annual General Meeting
The sixth Annual Meeting of the Canadian HIV Cure Enterprise (CanCURE) was held virtually via Zoom and Slack on October 29th and 30th2020. 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 Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
This year’s meeting brought together 82 participants, including 15 basic and clinical researchers, as well as 41 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, 6 community representatives, including CanCURE’s two principal knowledge users, were present to provide the point of view of the community living with HIV/AIDS and actively take part in the discussions and exchanges with the scientists.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Luis J. Montaner, D.V.M., M.Sc., D.Phil. (Vice President, Scientific Operations, Kean Family Endowed Chair Professor, Director, HIV-1 Immunopathogenesis Laboratory, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Leukocyte Biology, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA) presented an overview of the lessons learned by the BEAT-HIV Martin Delaney Collaboratory as well as the path they are taking going forward. In addition, the team's scientific investigators presented the latest progress of their CanCURE research projects. A community and trainee activity took place allowing trainees to give and receive feedback on their knowledge translation skills from the perspective of their peers and community members. Finally, trainees showcased the results of their work during poster sessions.
CanCURE AGM 2020 Award Winners
The CanCURE team wishes to thank the members of our scientific and community advisory boards for attending the meeting. Their continuous support and expert advice throughout the last years are much appreciated. CanCURE also wishes to thank all the members of CIHR and NIH who joined in on the meeting for their support in promoting more interactions and collaborations between groups. Lastly, CanCURE wishes to thank all the conference sponsors for their continuous support in organizing our annual meeting this year.
Until next year!