Friday, April 26, 2024
09:00 – 09:45 | Clinical Sciences Plenary Session – Dr Jonathan Angel |
09:45 – 10:30 | Epidemiology and Public Health Sciences Plenary Session – Dr Isaac Luginaah |
Saturday, April 27, 2024
09:00 – 09:45 | Basic Sciences Plenary Session – Dr Paul Bieniasz |
09:45 – 10:30 | Social Sciences Plenary Session – Dr Josephine Etowa |
CLINICAL SCIENCES PLENARY
Title: HIV Cure Research: Canada’s contribution
Speaker: Dr Jonathan Angel
Synopsis:
Since the report of the first person being cured of HIV in 2009, there has been a great deal of interest in research aimed at finding a cure that could be made widely available. This was soon after recognized with the establishment of the International AIDS Society scientific working group on HIV cure and the development priorities for cure research (“Towards an HIV cure: a global scientific strategy” Nat Reviews Immunol, 2012;12, 607-614). Internationally, hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in HIV cure research, and in Canada similar efforts have been made with this goal in mind. The Canadian HIV Cure Enterprise (CanCURE) was initially funded by the CIHR in 2014 and again in 2019 to address these efforts. In addition to a large laboratory focused research program, CanCURE has supported the development and execution of several cutting-edge clinical studies. With infrastructure support from the CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network (CTN), Canadian researchers have made important contributions having led clinical trials of therapeutic vaccines, latency reversing agents and immune-based and immune-modulating agents. Findings from these studies, along with novel pre-clinical work, have provided the groundwork for future research efforts with the ultimate goal of finding a cure for HIV.
Learning objectives:
- Recognize how HIV cure research came to be.
- Recognize the contributions of Canadian researchers to clinical HIV cure research.
- Consider what the future holds for HIV cure research.
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCES PLENARY
Title: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity in HIV/AIDS Research: Challenges and Opportunities
Speaker: Dr Isaac Luginaah
Synopsis:
Despite Canada’s success in maintaining HIV prevalence below endemic levels, evidence from the Public Health Agency of Canada and epidemiological studies indicate that systematically marginalized groups bear a disproportionate burden of HIV and related health inequities. Dominant biomedical discourses tend to narrowly associate HIV prevalence with individual risky sexual behaviours, including abhorrence for condom use, or having multiple concurrent sexual partners. These discourses perpetuate stereotypes of systematically marginalized groups such as heterosexual Black men. Other studies highlight the complex interactions and intersecting effects of hegemonic masculinity, heteronormativity and sociocultural practices may, which work in tandem to normalize sexual risk taking and avoidance of preventive health care. These narratives distract us from the fact that the HIV vulnerabilities of systematically marginalized groups are outcomes of structural violence in the form of continuous exposure to systemic discrimination, racism, and inequitable access to health determinants such as adequate housing, employment, income and health care. HIV/AIDS research has made significant strides over the past four decades, leading to improved treatments and prevention strategies. However, the advancement of equity, diversity, inclusivity, and decolonization (EDID) in HIV research continues to lag behind. In this presentation, the challenges and opportunities of integrating EDID in HIV/AIDS research are highlighted using examples of recently completed and ongoing research. Rigorous methodologies are presented to illustrate the possibilities of designing and implementing innovative research to address HIV disparities and ensure equitable outcomes for all.
Learning Objectives:
- Examine the structural determinants of HIV vulnerabilities in racialized and systematically marginalized communities
- Articulate the EDID principles in conducting HIV research
- Assess the strengths and gaps in addressing EDID in their current program of research
- Identify strategies to integrate EDID into research design and implementation
- Identify strategies to advance EDID in policy and practice
BASIC SCIENCES PLENARY
Title: Innate antiviral defenses – mechanisms, concepts and applications
Speaker: Dr Paul Bieniasz
Synopsis:
Virus infection is rarely beneficial, and often deleterious to host fitness. Natural selection has therefore endowed hosts with a variety of mechanisms to curtail the replication of many viruses. In response, viruses have acquired new properties, genes, and mechanisms that enable them to evade or antagonize host defense mechanisms as part of an ‘arms race’. The ability or otherwise of a given virus to deal with this array of host defenses is a critical determinant of host range. This presentation will describe how some of these host antiviral proteins work and how understanding their mechanisms, evolution, how viruses evolve to evade them can be exploited to useful ends in the context of HIV-1 and other viral infections. Specifically, engineering HIV-1 strains to evade antiviral proteins has enabled the development of new animal models of HIV-1 infection that can be used to test prophylactic interventions. Additionally, the use of HIV-1 as a model system has enabled the discovery of defenses that have broad antiviral activity. Engineering sensitivity to such antiviral activities into viruses offers the potential of designing RNA viruses that can be used as rationally attenuated vaccines.
Learning Objectives:
- Review concepts underlying genetic conflict between viruses and hosts
- Describe mechanism of some antiviral proteins
- Describe how susceptibility and resistance to antiviral proteins can impact host range
- Describe how engineering susceptibility to an antiviral protein can rationally attenuate viruses
SOCIAL SCIENCES PLENARY:
Title: Advancing HIV prevention and care among African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) women through community leadership and critical application of community based participatory research (CBPR) principles
Speaker: Dr Josephine Etowa
Synopsis:
African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) Canadian women carry a significant portion of the burden of HIV in Ontario. It is well-established that ACB communities experience multiple and intersecting barriers to access of appropriate health services, including systemic anti-Black racism, poor representation in healthcare leadership, lack of research and appropriate decision-making, lack of awareness of available services, lack of culturally appropriate services in relevant languages, and the lack of culturally competent health professionals.
This presentation will discuss the critical application of community based participatory research (CBPR) process to optimize community leadership through the development and evaluation of an ACB peer equity navigation (PEN) program. The ACB PEN program is framed within a critical health and racial literacy (CHRL) discourse and CBPR equity learning processes to increase community capacity, empowerment, practice outcomes, and contribute to long-term improvement in HIV care and health equity. It uses a multi-pronged evidence-based approach and innovation to meaningfully engage ACB communities in all aspects of healthcare, such as HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and outreach. It employs strength-based approaches capitalizing on existing community institutions and strengths, including working with faith leaders, ACB-led organizations, creating peer-led initiatives, and promoting economic empowerment and independence.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify the impact of HIV and related health vulnerabilities among ACB women
- Discuss critical application of CPBR as a solution to improve HIV and related health outcomes among ACB women
- Recognize the PEN program as a community-driven approach to advance HIV care in ACB communities