FHS Vanier Scholar hopes research will contribute to future HIV cure

Much is known about how HIV evolves and adapts to the human immune system during untreated infection, but in order to one day find a vaccine or cure, more knowledge is needed about the landscape of viruses lying dormant in the bodies of infected people, even when strictly adhering to antiretroviral therapy.

Natalie Kinloch, a PhD student in the Faculty of Health Sciences, hopes her research will contribute to this knowledge. Kinloch is one of six students from SFU who have been awarded the 2019 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, a prestigious award supporting the research of highly qualified doctoral students.

Kinloch’s research in Associate Professor Zabrina Brumme‘s lab investigates HIV genetic diversity and evolution with the goal of informing the design of both an HIV vaccine and cure.

“Right now, we’re focused on characterizing the viruses of the latent HIV reservoir that are hiding dormant in an infected person’s body and prevent HIV from being cured,” says Kinloch. “This work will give us a better understanding of the attributes of the viruses that must be targeted by any intervention hoping to achieve an HIV cure.”

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

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’.
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