A Canadian scientist has been awarded a $1.5-million-US research grant for a new five-year project to examine ways of preventing injection drug use and the spread of addiction.
Dan Werb, a research scientist at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, is one of four inaugural recipients of the prestigious Avenir Award from the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse. The award is given to new scientists working on cutting-edge research studies involving substance use and HIV/AIDS.
Werb will use the funding for a project called PRIMER, Preventing Injecting by Modifying Existing Responses, which will test new ways of preventing injection drug addiction using harm reduction methods such as supervised injection sites and methadone maintenance therapy.
Studies have shown harm reduction programs do not enable more drug use, said Werb.
“What this project is seeking to do is take that one step further,” he said. “It’s not only that harm reduction programs … don’t have an impact on increasing the likelihood of people starting to inject drugs, but they might actually decrease the likelihood people start injecting.”
…
TasP, which promotes near-universal testing for the HIV virus and aggressive treatment using antiretrovirals, has led to a dramatic decline in new diagnosis in HIV/AIDS and in AIDS-related deaths.
“I am thrilled Dr. Werb will be extending the work that we have started with TasP,” said Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the B.C. centre. “We have demonstrated HIV epidemics can be controlled by expanding immediate and universal treatment coverage to those infected.