BC-CfE Director Dr. Montaner Awarded Prestigious Barer-Flood Prize

published on January 20, 2016

Vancouver, BC [January 20, 2016] Dr. Julio Montaner, Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE), has been recognized by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) with the prestigious Barer-Flood Prize in Health Services. The prize is in recognition of Dr. Montaner’s seminal body of work in the area of HIV and AIDS research and was presented at a reception during the Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Health Ministers’ in Vancouver.

“We must continue to be vigilant in our research and I am looking forward to a time in which Canadian scientists can inform and strengthen better policymaking,” said Dr. Montaner. “Scientific progress has rapidly advanced against HIV, but we have further to go in order to uncover gaps in testing and treatment if we are eliminate HIV and AIDS. We can also apply the lessons learned from our HIV Treatment as Prevention strategy to other health care burdens, such as hepatitis C.”

In an official World AIDS Day statement in 2015, Dr. Montaner was recognized by Canada’s Health Minister Jane Philpott for his global leadership in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Among his many achievements, Dr. Montaner was instrumental to the development of the gold standard in HIV treatment, highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART). He also pioneered the concept of Treatment as Prevention, the universal and immediate access to HIV treatment upon a diagnosis.

“Treatment as Prevention helps to bring hard-to-reach and high-risk populations into engagement in care,” said Dr. Montaner. “Easing access can be transformative to individuals’ quality of life. HIV treatment can also bring with it social and socioeconomic benefits, like improvements in housing and employment.”

In 2003, Dr. Montaner was instrumental in the establishment of Insite, North America’s first legal supervised injection site. The facility, a global model, provides people who inject drugs with a safer environment to inject, as well as facilitated access to acute and chronic medical care such as a detoxification and recovery program.

Dr. Montaner has authored over 750 peer-reviewed scientific publications on HIV/AIDS throughout his career and has been an HIV/AIDS educator to hundreds of physicians, fellows, residents, and research students. He established the Division of AIDS at the University of British Columbia in 2007, the first of its kind in Canada and of three in North America.

The Barer-Flood Prize is named in honour of the leadership, vision and innovative contributions of the first two Scientific Directors of CIHR, Morris Barer and Colleen Flood. The prize recognizes a senior researcher in the field of health services and policy research who has had a significant impact on policy research, policy and/or care delivery in Canada.

About the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (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. The BC-CfE is based at St. Paul’s Hospital, Providence Health Care, a teaching hospital of the University of British Columbia. The BC-CfE works in close collaboration with key provincial stakeholders, including government, health authorities, health care providers, academics from other institutions, and the community to decrease the health burden of HIV and AIDS. By developing, monitoring and disseminating comprehensive research and treatment programs for HIV and related illnesses, the BC-CfE helps improve the health of British Columbians.

For additional information or to request interviews, please contact:
Caroline Dobuzinskis, BC-CfE
Cell: 604-366-6540
Phone: 604-682-2344 ext. 66536
Email: cdobuzin@cfenet.ubc.ca

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BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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BC-CfE Director Dr. Montaner Awarded Prestigious Barer-Flood Prize

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