Conference 2019

CAHR would like to thank the nearly 700 individuals that attended CAHR 2019 in Saskatoon. The 28th Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research is the premier gathering in Canada for those working in all disciplines of HIV/AIDS research, as well as policy makers, persons living with HIV and other individuals committed to ending the pandemic.

The conference was May 9-12, 2019 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. CAHR would like to thank once again Conference co-chairs Dr. Alexandra King, Cameco Chair in Indigenous Health (University of Saskatchewan), and Dr. Linda Chelico, Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology (University of Saskatchewan) and a co-lead of the Saskatchewan HIV/AIDS Research Endeavor (SHARE — and the entire Scientific Planning Committee – for making CAHR 2019 such a success.

“Wuniska” was 2019’s theme.“For CAHR 2019, we have made our community members central to the conference,” said Drs. King and Chelico. “The theme, Wuniska (a Cree and Saulteaux word that means wake up, awaken, arise, wake up and rise) was gifted to us by the Saskatchewan Health Authority Patient/Family Advisory Committee for HIV/AIDS, which is composed of predominantly First Nations and Métis people with lived HIV experience. We listened to what they felt was important to address in this conference. This is because even though 16% of Saskatchewan’s population self-identify as Indigenous, they represent 79% of the persons newly diagnosed with HIV in the province.”