Vancouver, March 15, 2012 – A born in B.C. centre dedicated to eradicating a deadly disease is marking its 20th anniversary on Friday, March 16, 2012. Based at St. Paul’s Hospital, the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is celebrating two decades of research, innovation, achievement and treatment.
The BC-CfE is Canada’s largest HIV/AIDS research, treatment and education facility and is internationally recognized as an innovative world leader in combating HIV/AIDS and related diseases. It is dedicated to improving the health of British Columbians living with HIV by developing, monitoring and disseminating comprehensive research and treatment programs for HIV and related illnesses.
“The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS stands as a reminder that when immeasurable innovation and unwavering dedication come together there are no boundaries the human spirit cannot overcome,” said Dianne Doyle, president and CEO of Providence Health Care. “We are proud to be home to a centre that has made such a dramatic impact in the lives of so many. Thanks to the BC-CfE, we know that the HIV/AIDS epidemic can be defeated.”
The BC-CfE opened in 1992 under the direction of Dr. Michael O’Shaughnessy, at a time when a British Columbian was dying of AIDS almost every day. By the mid-90s, the disease had reached epidemic proportions, with new infection rates of 850 annually in B.C.
Dr. Julio Montaner, who has led the HIV/AIDS research team at St. Paul’s since 1987, took the helm of the BC-CfE in 2005. From pioneering the lifesaving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which is now the gold standard treatment for HIV worldwide to the internationally celebrated Treatment as Prevention strategy, Dr. Montaner and his team at the BC-CfE have been the catalyst for remarkable advancements in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. The number of new HIV infections in B.C. in 2010 was 301, a 65 percent reduction from the rates in 1996.