Studies consistently show that food insecurity increases vulnerability to HIV and worsens health outcomes for people living with HIV. While federal and state programs in the U.S., such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), provide food assistance to low-income people, income guidelines and other restrictions can keep such programs out of reach for people
The number of deaths caused by drug poisoning far exceeds the deaths caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia. The BC Coroners Services report states that 1,202 people have died this year from illicit drugs. Many of these fatalities occurred in a private residence when people with an opioid use disorder (OUD) were using
Scientists projected that available treatments would eliminate HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030-then COVID-19 happened This year was supposed to be the year we took control of the HIV epidemic. Four years ago, governments around the world-including Canada-committed to achieving three targets: 90 percent of people with HIV diagnosed; 90 percent of those
World AIDS Day takes place on Dec. 1 each year. It’s an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. Globally, there are an estimated 36.7 million people who have the virus. Despite
Nasopharyngeal swabs have been used for decades to diagnose respiratory infections, including COVID-19. A trained healthcare professional takes the sample by inserting a long swab through the nose to an area at the back of the nasal cavity called the posterior nasopharynx. Despite their widespread use however, there is no universally agreed upon optimal technique
A nasal test for COVID-19 takes just a few seconds, but getting a long swab stuck up the nose isn’t an experience many people would describe as pleasant. New research led by a team at St. Paul’s Hospital hopes to make the diagnostic process a bit more comfortable. Their study found that rotating the swab
A nasal test for COVID-19 takes just a few seconds, but getting a long swab stuck up the nose isn’t an experience many people would describe as pleasant. New research led by a team at St. Paul’s Hospital hopes to make the diagnostic process a bit more comfortable. Their study found that rotating the swab
Applications are now open for our 2021 Scholar and Research Trainee competitions. As MSFHR’s flagship funding programs, the Scholar and Research Trainee awards provide funding to support BC’s next generation of health researchers in advancing science, addressing health priorities, and improving the health of British Columbians. MSFHR Scholar awards help BC researchers build leading-edge health
A computer model suggests the COVID-19 pandemic could facilitate the spread of HIV Disruptions to healthcare services would drive a 9% increase in new HIV infections However, integrating HIV and COVID-19 testing could reduce new HIV infections 17% The global COVID-19 pandemic has burdened health systems and disrupted routine medical care for many people. It
Immune cells that can recognize residual HIV-infected cells in people living with HIV (PLWH) who take antiretroviral therapy (ART) remain active for years, says a new study published today in eLife. The findings also suggest the majority of these immune cells, called CD8+ T cells, should have the capacity to detect the HIV-infected cells that
The UK Government has now made PrEP available for free across England – but many gay and bi men will still struggle to get it. Pilot projects have found the drug is highly effective in cutting HIV transmission. But the government refused to fund it for years. And now it has announced the funding just
Earlier testing and contact tracing might have prevented SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, from becoming established in the United States and Europe, suggests a new study recently published in Science. For the study, an international research team-including UBC scientist Dr. Jeffrey Joy-reconstructed the spread of SARS-CoV-2 across the world using genomic data from coronavirus
Can you provide a brief overview of your lab’s current research focus? Our joint lab groups at Simon Fraser University and the BC Center for Excellence in HIV/AIDS investigate HIV pathogenesis and the human immune response to viral infection. We use molecular, cell biology and genetics approaches to examine host/pathogen interactions that may inform the
Twenty-two research projects led by researchers from the Faculty of Medicine and affiliated health authority research centres were awarded $15 million from the Canadian Institute of Health Research Project Grant Spring 2020 competition. The Project Grant program supports researchers in building and conducting health-related research and knowledge translation projects, covering all areas of health. In
We know that early HIV treatment initiation is a good idea-not just for the health of a person living with HIV, but from an HIV prevention standpoint as well. We also know that integrase inhibitors have developed a pretty sterling reputation as an excellent first-line option. But when it comes to brass tacks-for instance, the
A renowned British Columbia doctor is being celebrated for his pioneering work fighting HIV/AIDS with a new commemorative stamp. Dr. Julio Montaner is one of six distinguished Canadian doctors and researchers whose faces will grace the new run of stamps from Canada Post. Montaner, who moved to Vancouver from his native Argentina in 1981, is
Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, approximately 33 million people have died from HIV/AIDS and 76 million people have been infected with the virus, according to a virtual session at the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) Annual Meeting & Expo 2020. During the session on the state of HIV care in 2020, Brandon
Canada Post has issued a set of five commemorative stamps to honour the contributions made in the medical field by six Canadian physicians and researchers; Drs. Bruce Chown, Julio Montaner, Balfour Mount, M. Vera Peters, James Till and Ernest McCulloch. “Their contributions to the fields of pediatric pathology, HIV/AIDS, palliative care, oncology and stem cell
Les docteurs Vera Peters, Bruce Chown, Julio Montaner, Blafour Mount, Ernest McColloch, ainsi que le chercheur James Till, sont honors par la socit fdrale sur de nouveaux timbres à leur effigie. Grâce à leurs contributions, il y a des avances notoires dans la prise en charge de plusieurs pathologies affectant aussi bien les jeunes que
The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below
