Program Details
📢 CAHR 2026 Online Program
Program at a Glance
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Wednesday, April 22, 2026 | |
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08:00 – 17:00 | |
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Thursday, April 23, 2026 | |
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08:00 – 16:00 | |
16:00 – 17:15 | Special Session Setting the Context on HIV in Manitoba |
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17:30 – 19:00 | Conference Opening / Red Ribbon Award / CAHR CANFAR Excellence in Research Awards Mark Wainberg Lecture – Dr. Keith Fowke HIV prevention: from molecules to communities, one biomedical researcher’s perspective |
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19:00 – 20:00 |
CAHR Opening Reception |
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Friday, April 24, 2026 | |
07:45 – 09:00 | Sponsored Breakfast (Merck) HIV and Mental Health: A Collaborative Care Conversation |
09:00 – 09:45 | Basic Sciences Plenary – Dr. Jessica Prodger HIV Persistence During ART: Lessons from Longitudinal Studies in Rakai, Uganda |
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09:45 – 10:30 | Epidemiology & Public Health Sciences – Professor James Ward So close yet so far: a story of Australia and Canada and their respective HIV responses and outcomes for Indigenous Peoples. |
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10:30 – 11:00 |
Exhibit and Poster Viewing |
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11:00 – 12:30 |
Concurrent Oral Abstract Sessions |
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12:30 – 14:00 | Sponsored Lunch Symposium by Gilead Spotlight on Manitoba: Agents of Change in Canada’s HIV Epicenter |
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14:00 – 15:00 |
Exhibit and Poster Viewing |
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15:00 – 17:00 |
Concurrent Oral Abstract Sessions |
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17:00 – 18:00 | Special Session Meeting People Where They Are: Low-Barrier and Outreach-Based HIV Care in the Prairies |
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18:30 – 20:00 |
CAHR Annual General Meeting |
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Saturday, April 25, 2026 | |
07:45 – 09:00 | Sponsored Breakfast (CTN+) CTN+ Postdoctoral Fellowship Symposium |
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09:00 – 09:45 | Clinical Sciences Plenary – Dr. Linda-Gail Bekker HIV Prevention – No time to lose |
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09:45 – 10:30 | Social Sciences Plenary – Dr. Notisha Massaquoi From Dialogue to Action: Reimagining Black HIV Equity Research in Canada |
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10:30 – 11:00 |
Exhibit and Poster Viewing |
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11:00 – 12:30 |
Concurrent Oral Abstract Sessions |
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12:30 – 14:00 | Special Session Approaching transnational collaborations amid shifting HIV funding priorities and global geopolitics (Lunch Sponsored by ViiV Healthcare) |
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14:00 – 15:00 |
Exhibit and Poster Viewing |
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15:00 – 17:00 |
Concurrent Oral Abstract Sessions |
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17:00 – 19:00 | Communities in Action: Showcasing Canada’s New HIV/AIDS and STBBI Community-Based Research Investments (sponsored by CIHR-PHAC) |
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17:00 – 18:00 | Special Session Is there a future for basic science research in HIV? |
19:30 – 00:00 | CAHR Social Night (Fort Garry Hotel) |
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Sunday, April 26, 2026 | |
09:00 – 10:15 |
Concurrent Oral Abstract Sessions |
10:15 – 10:30 |
Refreshment Break |
10:30 – 11:30 | Special Session Decentralized STBBI Testing: Empowering Communities and Expanding Access |
11:30 – 11:45 |
New Investigator Awards and Closing Remarks |
Plenary Sessions
Mark Wainberg Lecture – Dr. Keith Fowke
Thursday, April 23, 2026 – 17:30 – 19:00
Title: HIV prevention: from molecules to communities, one biomedical researcher’s perspective
Summary:
This talk reviews the rationale for a novel HIV prevention approach, the steps taken to date to assess it and the community partnerships that have enabled the study. It will begin by describing natural resistance to HIV in a group of HIV-exposed seronegative (HESN) female sex workers from Nairobi, Kenya. Many of these women demonstrated features of reduced inflammation and fewer susceptible HIV target cells at the genital tract.
The Fowke Lab has termed this characteristic Immune Quiescence (IQ). The lab is in the process of testing if the safe, affordable, available and acceptable anti-inflammatory drug, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), could reproduce features of this IQ phenotype, such as reduced HIV target cells. The ultimate goal would be use to this new IQ approach in combination with other proven HIV prevention tools.
The talk will also highlight the integral role community partners play in this fundamental research how laboratory researchers can contribute to global health in multiple ways.
Learning objectives:
- Discuss the rationale for an HIV prevention approach that targets HIV target cell instead of the HIV virus itself.
- Acknowledge that better fundamental biomedical science (basic science) is conducted in partnership with community.
- Appreciate how fundamental biomedical researchers and trainees can contribute to global health.
Basic Sciences Plenary – Dr. Jessica Prodger
Friday, April 24, 2026 – 09:00 – 09:45
Title: HIV Persistence During ART: Lessons from Longitudinal Studies in Rakai, Uganda
Summary:
Despite widespread viral suppression with antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV persists in long-lived cellular reservoirs, presenting a major barrier to cure. Long-term longitudinal studies in diverse populations provide unique opportunities to investigate the biological and therapeutic drivers of HIV persistence.
This plenary will highlight findings from a longitudinal HIV reservoir cohort in Rakai, Uganda, co-led by Dr. Prodger and colleagues. Using quantitative viral outgrowth assays (QVOA), viral genomics, immune profiling, and emerging intact proviral DNA assays (IPDA), ongoing follow-up of cohort participants enables mechanistic investigation of how host biology, viral factors, and treatment perturbations influence the replication-competent HIV reservoir during suppressive ART.
Key discoveries include sex- and menopause-associated differences in reservoir outgrowth, links between HIV Nef-mediated immune evasion and reservoir decay kinetics, and transient increases in replication-competent virus following regimen switches to dolutegravir-based therapy. Together, these findings demonstrate how longitudinal sampling can strengthen causal inference in HIV persistence research and reveal biologically meaningful drivers of reservoir maintenance.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Explain how longitudinal cohort designs strengthen causal inference in HIV reservoir research.
- Compare replication-competent and intact proviral reservoir measurement approaches.
- Recognize the importance of developing globally applicable tools to measure the HIV reservoir.
- Discuss the influence of host factors, viral proteins (e.g., Nef), and ART regimens on reservoir dynamics.
- Describe how treatment changes may transiently perturb HIV latency, even while maintaining suppression of HIV replication.
Epidemiology & Public Health Sciences – Professor James Ward
Friday, April 24, 2026 – 09:45 – 10:30
Title: So close yet so far: a story of Australia and Canada and their respective HIV responses and outcomes for Indigenous Peoples.
Summary:
Indigenous people’s health outcomes in Australia and Canada are often compared often cited because of similar populations, similar colonised histories, and similar contemporary health care systems, but also health determinants impacting both populations. Not surprisingly, both Indigenous Canadians and Indigenous Australians face serious and comparable health inequities relative to their non-Indigenous populations especially in life expectancy, infant mortality, and chronic disease burden. Yet for HIV diagnosis, the rate differentials are far greater between the two Indigenous populations but also within country compared to HIV diagnosis rates among non-Indigenous peoples.
This presentation will explore a range of factors as to why HIV among Indigenous populations in high-income countries with universal health care can be so different but also focus on what has worked in Australia, what we are remaining vigilant about, and where we are potentially headed to with our epidemic.
Learning Objectives:
- Compare the historical, social and health system contexts shaping HIV outcomes for Indigenous Peoples in Australia and Canada.
- Describe the epidemiological differences in HIV diagnosis rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations within each country, and between Indigenous populations across both countries.
- Analyse key structural, cultural and policy factors that have contributed to divergent HIV outcomes in two high-income countries with universal health care systems.
- Identify successful strategies and community-led approaches that have contributed to Australia’s HIV response among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- Discuss emerging risks, ongoing vulnerabilities and areas requiring vigilance to prevent increases in HIV transmission among Indigenous populations in Australia.
- Reflect on how lessons from comparative international contexts can inform future policy, research and practice in Indigenous HIV prevention and control.
Clinical Sciences Plenary – Dr. Linda-Gail Bekker
Saturday, April 25, 2026 – 09:00 – 09:45
Title: HIV Prevention – No time to lose
Summary: Almost all the UNAIDS goals for 2025 for HIV prevention were missed and 1.3 million people acquired HIV in 2024, including 120 000 children. The funding freeze in 2025 has created enormous gaps in LMICs in HIV prevention programs and impacted reliable data collection. We have also seen the rise of science scepticism and regressive policies which undermine equitable prevention service access. At the same time we have had important breakthroughs in antiviral based prevention. The talk will reconcile all of these facts and present a case for urgent action.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the current global landscape of HIV prevention
- Identify key structural and policy challenges that threaten equitable access to HIV prevention services
- Summarize recent scientific breakthroughs in antiviral-based HIV prevention, differentiated prevention delivery and the potential impact of new prevention approaches on reducing new infections
- Discuss priority actions needed from researchers, policymakers, and communities to accelerate progress in HIV prevention globally
Social Sciences Plenary – Dr. Notisha Massaquoi
Saturday, April 25, 2026 – 09:45 – 10:30
Title: From Dialogue to Action: Reimagining Black HIV Equity Research in Canada
Description:
Despite decades of research documenting HIV disparities affecting Black communities in Canada, progress toward equitable outcomes remains uneven. Black communities continue to bear a disproportionate burden of HIV while structural factors including anti-Black racism, inequitable access to care, and gaps in race-based health data limit the effectiveness of national HIV responses. At the same time, research focused on improving HIV outcomes for Black communities remains limited, Black HIV researchers are small in number and community voices are often insufficiently integrated into the development of research agendas and policy solutions. This plenary presentation explores the need for a paradigm shift in HIV research from documenting disparities toward advancing equity-focused, community-led research that produces actionable solutions. Drawing on emerging national initiatives and community-engaged research approaches, the presentation highlights the role of participatory and Afrocentric dialogue models in fostering meaningful collaboration between HIV researchers and Black communities. The session will examine how community-led research processes can help identify research priorities, strengthen knowledge mobilization, and support the development of racially relevant and evidence-informed interventions. By moving beyond traditional models of research toward collaborative knowledge production, this approach aims to strengthen the infrastructure for Black HIV equity research in Canada and catalyze new directions for policy, practice, and community-driven action.
Learning Objectives:
- Discuss the principles and application of community-engaged and Afrocentric dialogue models as tools for collaborative agenda-setting and knowledge generation.
- Identify strategies for strengthening Black community leadership in HIV research, policy development, and knowledge mobilization.
- Explore pathways for translating Black community-informed research into policy and practice to advance HIV equity for Black communities.
Sponsored Symposia
HIV and Mental Health: A Collaborative Care Conversation
(Breakfast Symposium Sponsored by Merck)
Friday, April 24, 07:45 – 09:00
Description:
This multidisciplinary panel explores how mental health shapes the lived experience of people living with HIV beyond viral load and lab results. The session will examine how mental health affects the HIV care journey, from diagnosis and linkage to care through long term treatment and outcomes through the lens of different disciplines including an infectious disease specialist, a psychiatrist, a social work expert and a pharmacist. The discussion will emphasize integrated, person-centered care and offer concrete strategies that clinicians, community workers, and advocates can use to better support mental health and overall well-being for people living with HIV.
Objectives
- Examine HIV and mental health comorbidity from a clinical lens.
- Illustrate how mental health conditions impact HIV testing and linkage to care, treatment adherence, viral suppression and disease progression.
- Discuss about the mental health challenges faced by PLWH, how to better recognize and support mental health issues and learn what mental health resources and tools available for PLWH.
Moderator:
- Alice Tseng, PharmD, FCSHP, AAHIVP, University of Toronto
Speakers:
- Dr. Alex Wong, University of Saskatchewan
- Dr. Adriana Carvalhal, University of Toronto
- Dr. David Brennan, University of Toronto
Spotlight on Manitoba: Agents of Change in Canada’s HIV Epicenter
(Lunch Symposium Sponsored by Gilead)
Friday, April 24, 12:30 – 14:00
Synopsis:
This Gilead‑sponsored symposium highlights Manitoba’s evolving HIV landscape through epidemiology, community partnership, and real‑world innovation. Featuring insights from the PATHS program and lived experience, the session explores how collaborative, patient‑centred approaches can drive meaningful change across the HIV care continuum in Canada.
Learning Objectives:
- Examine the evolving HIV landscape in Manitoba through epidemiology, community partnership, and innovative data approaches that reveal syndemics and unmet needs.
- Share frontline experiences from the PATHS program to illustrate how outreach innovation can improve access, trust, and continuity of HIV care.
- Center lived experience as a catalyst for advocacy and action, encouraging stakeholders to work together to drive meaningful change across the care system.
Panelists:
- Dr. Yoav Keynan, MD, PhD, Professor and Section Head (Infectious Diseases)
- Dr. Zulma Rueda, MD, PhD, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Sexually Transmitted Infection
- Amanda Outhwaite, Outreach Worker at Nine Circles Community Health Centre, Member of its Board of Directors
- Marj Schenkels, Peer Researcher with AllTogether4Ideas and Peer Lead with The Women-Centred HIV Care Manitoba Sub-Hub
CTN+ Postdoctoral Fellowship Symposium
(Breakfast Symposium Sponsored by CTN+)
Saturday, April 25, 07:45 – 09:00
Description:
Meet the next generation of HIV and infectious disease researchers as they present an update on their CTN+ Postdoctoral Fellowships. This is an excellent opportunity to see the future of research through the eyes of these young leaders. Anyone considering applying for a postdoctoral fellowship, or anyone interested in shaping the new wave of research projects should not miss this event.
Objectives
- Examine how systems level tensions and patterns of service use can inform efforts to sustain digital STBBI testing services beyond early pilot implementation.
- Discuss barriers, facilitators, and educational needs of providers as it relates to prescribing PrEP to women.
- Demonstrate how community engagement in administrative data research can produce more relevant, ethical science.
Speakers:
- Ihoghosa (Muyi) Iyamu, University of British Columbia
Title: From Pilot to Scale: Understanding and Informing Sustainability and Health System Fit for Digital STBBI Testing Interventions Using a Decade of Implementation Data
Description: Digital interventions facilitating access to testing for STBBIs have expanded rapidly, yet there is limited evidence to guide how successful innovations can be sustained and integrated in the broader health systems as they move beyond pilot implementation. This presentation shares findings from a multi-methods embedded health systems research study examining the long-term sustainability of GetCheckedOnline, BC’s digital STBBI testing service. Drawing on implementation science frameworks, qualitative system analysis, and longitudinal analyses of testing patterns, this work identifies how sustainability challenges emerge as digital services scale within real world health systems. This presentation will describe how these findings can inform policy makers, clinicians, and community partners seeking to adapt and sustain digital STBBI testing services.
- Sheliza Halani, University of Toronto
Title: Preparatory steps related to provider education to increase uptake of HIV PrEP among women in Canada
Description: This presentation will share findings from formative work, including a scoping review and a qualitative study interviewing providers from diverse specialties, on how HIV PrEP counseling and prescribing can be increased among women.
- Kathleen Inglis, University of Victoria
- Wayne Campbell, Ribbon Community
Title: Applying a community-based approach to administrative health data research: Tensions and transformations
Description: Community-based research (CBR) is widely applied in the HIV field; however, CBR has not yet permeated HIV research that uses the epidemiologic tool of administrative health data. This presentation discusses a novel community-led administrative data research project called the HIV and Eng/aging Project. The talk will explore the tensions resulting from shifting from traditional CBR unique to administrative data research collaborations, and the transformations required to navigate these tensions, including strengths-based approaches. In discussing these research experiences, this presentation will show the importance and value of community engagement in administrative data research.
Communities in Action: Showcasing Canada’s New HIV/AIDS and STBBI Community-Based Research Investments
(Session Sponsored by CIHR-PHAC)
Saturday, April 25, 17:00 – 19:00
Description
Join the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for a 90-minute session highlighting the work of the newly funded teams from the Team Grant: HIV/AIDS and STBBI Community-Based Research (CBR) competition.
Canada has made significant advances in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections (STBBI). However, infection rates continue to rise in certain populations, driven by intersecting factors such as stigma, racism, sexism, and structural barriers that restrict access to testing, prevention, and care.
In response, CIHR has invested $23 million in 19 community-based research teams composed of researchers, community leaders, and people with lived or living experience. These teams will advance self-determined STBBI priorities aimed at improving health outcomes in their communities.
This session will highlight the importance of community-based research grounded in community priorities. Funded teams will be invited to showcase their planned work, partnerships, and approaches to CBR, offering attendees an early look at the next wave of HIV/AIDS and STBBI community driven research in Canada.
Why attend?
- Learn about new national CBR investments: Gain an overview of the newly funded HIV/AIDS and STBBI Community-Based Research teams and the diverse priority populations they will be working with across Canada.
- Understand emerging research directions: Hear early insights into the approaches, focus areas, and anticipated impacts.
- Stay informed on national research trends: Explore how recent investment is shaping the next phase of community-based HIV/AIDS and STBBI research.
- Connect with researchers, community leaders, and policymakers working across the HIV/AIDS and STBBI landscape and strengthen your network with peers committed to advancing equity, community leadership, and impactful health solutions.
Learning Objectives:
- Illustrate the diversity of research approaches being implemented across the funded teams, showcasing community-based, interdisciplinary, and collaborative strategies.
- Review upcoming research activities that will contribute to improved HIV/AIDS and STBBI prevention, care, and health outcomes in communities across Canada.
- Explore the early directions, goals, and anticipated contributions of the funded projects.
Special Sessions
Setting the Context on HIV in Manitoba
Thursday, April 23, 2026 – 16:00 – 17:15
Description:
Held immediately prior to the opening ceremonies, this one-hour session will set the stage for CAHR 2026 by examining the unique and urgent HIV landscape in Manitoba. The province has experienced rising HIV rates in recent years, shaped by intersecting syndemic drivers including structural inequities, substance use, housing instability, and barriers to culturally safe care. Indigenous community leaders and emerging voices will share perspectives that situate these challenges within a strength-based framework, highlighting resilience, leadership, and community-driven responses. The session will provide essential context for the conference and invite participants to reflect on how research, policy, and partnership can better respond to evolving realities in Manitoba and across Canada.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the current HIV epidemiology in Manitoba, including key syndemic drivers such as structural inequities, substance use, housing instability, and barriers to culturally safe care.
- Recognize Indigenous-led, strength-based approaches to HIV response, including the roles of community leadership and culturally grounded practices
- Identify opportunities for research, policy, and partnership to better support equitable and culturally safe HIV prevention, care, and treatment for Indigenous Peoples in Manitoba and across Canada
Session Moderator:
- Lenard Monkman, Canadian Medical Association, CJF Indigenous Health Journalism Fellowship
Speakers:
- Carla Cochrane, First Nations Health and Secretariat of Manitoba
- Michelle Monkman, Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin Inc.
- Anita Crate, Keewatin Tribal Council
- Agnes Denedchezhe, Keewatin Tribal Council
- Darlene Shingoose, Sapotaweyak Cree Nation
- Maria Sandy, Sapotaweyak Cree Nation
- Carla Quill, Sapotaweyak Cree Nation
Meeting People Where They Are: Low-Barrier and Outreach-Based HIV Care in the Prairies
Friday, April 24, 2026 – 17:00 – 18:00
Description:
Innovative HIV care in the Prairie provinces increasingly occurs outside traditional clinic walls. This session will highlight three Prairie-based initiatives – Sanctum Care Group (SK), Program to Access Treatment for HIV and Support (PATHS) (MB), and the One-Door-One-Stop project at Siloam Mission (MB) – that deliver low-barrier, community-embedded HIV services to individuals who are often not engaged in conventional care. These programs integrate outreach, harm reduction, testing, linkage, and supportive housing or shelter-based care to address complex social and structural determinants of health. Through presentations, facilitated discussion, and time for questions, the session will explore implementation lessons, challenges, and opportunities to scale and sustain mobile and community-driven HIV care models across the Prairies and beyond.
Objectives:
- Describe innovative outreach and low-barrier HIV care models operating in Manitoba and Saskatchewan
- Identify key structural and patient-level barriers that these programs address to improve engagement in HIV testing, treatment, and ongoing care
- Discuss practical lessons learned in implementing and sustaining models of HIV care based outside traditional clinic settings
- Consider how outreach models may inform policy, funding advocacy, and program development in other Prairie jurisdictions
Moderator:
- Amanda Outhwaite, Nine Circles
Speakers:
- Katelyn Roberts, Sanctum Care Group
- Zacharie Pagan, Nine Circles, PATHS program
- Jocelyn Bevacqua, Nine Circles, PATHS program
- Dr. Yoav Keynan, University of Manitoba, One Door One Stop
Approaching transnational collaborations amid shifting HIV funding priorities and global geopolitics
(Lunch Sponsored by ViiV Healthcare)
Saturday, April 25, 2026 – 12:30 – 14:00
Description:
In 2025, the United-States dramatically disrupted decades of foreign aid policies by sending out notices to “stop work” on all programs supported by US global health development funding. The abrupt withdrawal of funding sent shockwaves through HIV programs globally that continue to reverberate. The decision to withdraw funding has the potential to irrevocably undermine HIV programs and forever change the course of the epidemic. Programs face difficult decisions, with calls to integrate HIV services into wider healthcare systems amid diminishing resources. At the same time, communities most affected by HIV are facing shifting legal and policy contexts and rising criminalization, with increases in laws attacking the rights of 2SLGBTQ+ communities globally. At this critical juncture, and building on Canada’s longstanding role as a champion in global health, this special session aims to explore Canada’s evolving position in global health collaborations from funding, research, policy, and program perspectives. Amid ongoing defunding in HIV programs and shifting geopolitics, what possibilities can Canada explore in approaching transnational collaborations in global health?
Objectives:
- Explore Canada’s role in global health from funding, research, policy, and program perspectives
- Propose future directions for Canada in approaching transnational collaborations in global health amid shifting funding and geopolitical landscapes
Moderator:
- Raynell Lang, Assistant Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Medicine University of Calgary
Speakers:
- Linda-Gail Bekker, Professor and Director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town
- James Blanchard, Executive Director, Institute for Global Public Health, University of Manitoba/Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Epidemiology and Global Public Health/Professor, University of Manitoba
- Sandra Ka Hon Chu, Executive Director, HIV Legal Network
- Rob Lorway, University of Manitoba Canada Research Chair in Global Intervention Politics and Social Transformation.
Is there a future for basic science research in HIV?
Saturday, April 25, 2026 – 17:00 – 18:00
Description:
With the beginning of the long-acting PrEP era for preventing HIV and the transformation of HIV into a manageable chronic disease, there is uncertainty about the future of basic HIV research. Is there one? How is the field evolving in the context of effective prevention and lifelong treatment? Are Canadian researchers continuing to focus exclusively on HIV, or have they started switching fields? What advice do current early, mid and late career basic science HIV researchers have for the next generation of young scientists?
This interactive roundtable will bring together Canadian basic science HIV researchers at early, mid, and late stages of their careers. Panelists will discuss current and emerging priorities in HIV basic science research including prevention, pathogenesis, persistence and cure as well as providing perspectives on the evolving funding landscape. The session aims to foster open dialogue about the future of the field and to provide practical insight for the next generation of HIV scientists.
Objectives:
- Review the current state of HIV research
- Discuss how Canadian researchers view the shifting HIV research priorities
- Discuss the current and future funding landscape and how to adapt to this new era in HIV
Moderators:
- Julie Lajoie, Assistant Professor, University of Manitoba
- Paul McLaren, Research Scientist, Public Health Agency of Canada
Speakers:
- Bisi Akinlabi, University of Manitoba
- Amy Gilgrass, Dalhousie University
- Nicholas Chomont, Université de Montréal
- Keith R Fowke, University of Manitoba
Decentralized STBBI Testing: Empowering Communities and Expanding Access
Sunday, April 26, 2026 – 10:30 – 11:30
Description:
Expanding access to low-barrier, decentralized STBBI testing is critical to addressing inequities in diagnosis. For over a decade, the National STBBI Laboratories (NSTBBIL) at the National Microbiology Laboratory have successfully delivered dried blood spot (DBS) testing in diverse and remote settings, including Indigenous communities across Canada. While these efforts have improved access and informed policy development, extended turnaround times remain a challenge. Newer testing modalities—such as rapid screening assays and confirmatory molecular point-of-care testing (POCT)—build on the DBS foundation and offer a flexible toolkit for same-day screening, confirmation, and linkage to care. When supported by tailored training, quality assurance frameworks, and implementation guidance, these approaches can enable safe, effective, and timely testing outside traditional laboratory settings. This interactive session will highlight successes, challenges, and lessons learned from implementing decentralized STBBI testing nationwide. Participants will explore operational, technical, and policy considerations and gain practical strategies to adapt and implement these approaches within their own organizations and communities, improving access and advancing equity in STBBI diagnosis across Canada.
Objectives:
- Examine the successes, lessons learned, and challenges in implementing decentralized STBBI testing across diverse community settings in Canada
- Analyze operational, technical, and policy considerations for delivering low-barrier STBBI testing outside traditional laboratory settings
- Describe practical strategies to integrate decentralized STBBI testing approaches into participants’ own organizations and community programs to improve access, reduce turnaround times, and advance equity in diagnosis
Moderator:
- Dr. Sandra Kiazyk, National STBBI Laboratories, National Microbiology Laboratory
Speakers:
- Dr. Sandra Kiazyk, National STBBI Laboratories, National Microbiology Laboratory
- Dr. Catherine Card, National STBBI Laboratories, National Microbiology Laboratory
- Tracy Taylor, National STBBI Laboratories, National Microbiology Laboratory
- Hannah Ellis, National STBBI Laboratories, National Microbiology Laboratory
- Dana Cabiles, National STBBI Laboratories, National Microbiology Laboratory
- Kohavit Kleitma, National STBBI Laboratories, National Microbiology Laboratory
- Ashley DeBaets, National STBBI Laboratories, National Microbiology Laboratory