From the darkest depths of the ocean to the furthest reaches of space, Vancouver has a lot to say to the world.
With the TED conference setting up shop in Vancouver starting 2014, Metro readers stepped up and suggested some exceptional people working in the city that deserve their 18-minutes of fame on the global stage.
Dr. Julio Montaner, Director, BC-CfE
Montaner’s made-in-B.C. triple-drug therapy and “treatment as prevention” model (Science Magazine’s 2011 breakthrough of the year) attacking the spread of HIV/AIDS has already made significant inroads in British Columbia and earned him international recognition.
Irene Day, director of operations at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, says Montaner has an important message fit for the TED stage.
“He really understands HIV and has significant insight in the elimination [of the virus],” she said. “The U.S. talks about an ‘AIDS-free generation’ and we’re so far ahead of that.”
Montaner’s charisma, knowledge and passion already shines through when he addresses the scientific community and Day says it’s time for the general public to take notice.
“He’d tell people that this can be done, we can eliminate HIV,” she says. “We’re already doing it in British Columbia.”