• Français
  • Search
  • Conference
    • CAHR 2023
    • Future CAHR Conferences
    • Mark Wainberg Lecture
    • Past Conferences
  • Awards
    • HCP Travel Awards Competition
    • Mark Wainberg Fund
    • CAHR-CANFAR Excellence in Research Awards
    • Red Ribbon Award
    • Funding Archive
    • Funding Landscape
  • Training
    • Workshops
    • Webinars
      • HIV and COVID-19: Clinical Considerations for Health Care Professionals in Canada
      • HIV and COVID-19: Clinical Considerations for Health Care Professionals in Canada PART 2
    • Clinical Summaries
    • E-Learning Modules
    • Posters and Presentations
    • Community Based Research
    • Student Profiles
    • Training Workshops: Consultation Report
    • Publications / Resources
  • About CAHR
    • Who We Are
    • President’s Message
    • Board of Directors
    • Become a Member
    • CAHR Annual General Meeting
    • CAHR Strategic Plan 2020 – 2025
    • Staff
    • Contact
  • Media
    • CAHR News
    • Media
    • Featured Researchers
  • Conference
    • CAHR 2023
    • Future CAHR Conferences
    • Sponsors & Exhibitors
    • Mark Wainberg Lecture
    • Past Conferences
  • Awards
    • HCP Travel Awards Competition
    • Mark Wainberg Fund
    • CAHR-CANFAR Excellence in Research Awards
    • Red Ribbon Award
    • Funding Archive
    • Funding Landscape
  • Training
    • Workshops
    • Webinars
      • HIV and COVID-19: Clinical Considerations for Health Care Professionals in Canada
      • HIV and COVID-19: Clinical Considerations for Health Care Professionals in Canada PART 2
    • Clinical Summaries
    • E-Learning Modules
    • Posters and Presentations
    • Community Based Research
    • Student Profiles
    • Training Workshops: Consultation Report
    • Publications / Resources
  • About CAHR
    • Who We Are
    • President’s Message
    • Board of Directors
    • CAHR Board Trainee
    • Become a Member
    • CAHR Strategic Plan 2020 – 2025
    • CAHR Annual General Meeting
    • Call for Nominations: CAHR Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Contact
  • Media
    • CAHR News
    • Media

Allison Carter

When we last spoke with Allison Carter for our Community Researcher Biographies, she was working with CHIWOS as provincial coordinator for British Columbia. CHIWOS is Canada’s largest community-based longitudinal cohort study, with 1,425 women living with HIV enrolled across BC, Ontario, and Quebec, and expansion now underway to Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Today, she’s working towards a PhD at Simon Fraser University, under the supervision of Dr. Angela Kaida, with support from a CAHR/CIHR Doctoral Research Award. She hasn’t left CHIWOS though, and is digging into the wealth of data that CHIWOS has gathered since its official launch in 2013.

Allison’s PhD centers on relationships and sexuality among women living with HIV. Rather than focusing on sexual risk as many studies do, Allison is instead focusing on the more rewarding aspects that can come from sex and intimacy. “I am using the data we’ve collected in CHIWOS over the last several years to characterize women’s romantic and intimate relationships in a holistic and comprehensive way and examine associations with positive measures of sexual wellbeing such as pleasure and overall satisfaction,” she explains. Allison’s preliminary work on this data has looked at the type of relationships that women are having. “In that work, we found quite a bit of diversity in women’s relationships,” says Allison. “Nearly half of the women in our cohort report being in no relationship and we see in analyses that this is associated with older age, depression, and/or stigma. Meanwhile, about one-fifth of women are in happy, loving, sexually active long-term relationships, most often with partners who are HIV-negative. Others pursue sex in casual dating relationships, while some are in serious relationships without sex.”

“We hope our research can help destigmatize HIV in the general public and normalize the range of experiences of sex and intimacy among women living with HIV,” Allison says. “We hear from a lot of women that we work with that stigma and fear of rejection present tremendous barriers to pursuing love and relationships, and we see that in our findings. Part of our goal is to help change the research and larger cultural narrative surrounding HIV towards something more positive so that women can lead fulfilling relational and sexual lives, however that may be defined for women.”

To have worked for CHIWOS as staff and now as a researcher is turning into a very rewarding experience for Allison. “Working for five years in the field has made the first year of my PhD much easier. Now I’m really excited to be working on something that is not only interesting and meaningful to me personally, but is also meaningful to the community of women living with HIV I work for and with.” The Doctoral Research Award provided by CAHR/CIHR has given Allison the extra support she needed to make the leap to graduate school. “The grant is enabling me to spend the time that I need on my research instead of working full time with another job,” Allison explains. “I don’t think I could be doing what I’m doing now with my sanity intact and my spirits high without it!”

The Canadian Association for HIV Research is proud to support students like Allison through annual Master’s and Doctoral level research awards in Basic, Clinical, Epidemiological and Social Sciences.

 

Our Mission

  • Promote excellence in HIV research
  • Foster collaboration and cooperation among HIV research communities, including basic science, clinical science, epidemiology & public health and social science
  • Promote education and the development of new researchers
  • Provide a unified voice for Canadian HIV researchers and engage diverse stakeholders (community, industry, Government, NGO’s etc.) in ongoing dialogue and knowledge exchange to ensure that HIV research remains responsive to their needs
CAHR 2023 Conference Logo

CAHR 2023
April 27 to 30, 2023

Learn More

Recent News

  • When you’re registering for the e @AMMICana - CACMID annual conference on infectious diseases and diagnostic microbiology (March 28-31, 2023 in Toronto), remember that CAHR members receive a $35 discount on the full non-member conference registration! ammi.ca/en/annual-conf…
  • Last day to apply for the CAHR-@CANFAR Excellence in Research Awards! cahr-acrv.ca/awards/excelle… Dernier jour pour postuler aux Bourses d'excellence en recherche CAHR-@CANFAR! cahr-acrv.ca/fr/prix/prix-d… https://t.co/szhBdhZuRZ
  • Remember to apply for the CAHR-RV-@CAN Excellence in Research Awards by January 26th! cahr-acrv.ca/awards/excelle… Après le 26 janvier nous n’acceptons plus de candidatures aux Prix d'excellence en recherche ACRV-RV-@CAN! cahr-acrv.ca/fr/prix/prix-d… https://t.co/bhgkCEDBmD
  • Reminder: Apply Now – A workshop on “Jumpstarting your Participatory Social-Behavioural Health Intervention” cahr-acrv.ca/wp-content/upl… UmnUV @CBRC weets @CAT EInfo @Giving_
  • Rappel : Postulez maintenant - Un atelier sur « Lancez votre intervention participative en santé sociocomportementale ». cahr-acrv.ca/wp-content/upl… ZS @CBRCtwe ts @CATIEI fo @Giving_It_
  • Se souvenir de Chris Bunting
Subscribe to the CAHR Newsletter

About CAHR

With a membership of more than 1,000 researchers and others interested in HIV research, the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR) is the leading organization of HIV/AIDS researchers in Canada. CAHR is the organizing body for the Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research (CAHR Conference).

CAHR encourages Canadian researchers to be leaders in knowledge translation and to effectively respond both to the Canadian and global HIV/AIDS epidemics. Since its founding in 1991, CAHR has promoted excellence in HIV research, including mentorship and career development of investigators entering the field.

CAHR fosters collaboration and co-operation among HIV research communities, including basic, clinical and social sciences, epidemiology and public health. CAHR also engages people living with HIV/AIDS and AIDS service organizations in ongoing dialogue and information exchange to ensure that HIV/AIDS research remains responsive to the epidemic and its stakeholders.

CAHR is a registered charity.

Links

  • Who We Are
  • Conference
  • Awards
  • Workshops
  • Featured Researchers
  • Student Profiles
  • CAHR News

Contact

For more information or to make a comment, please contact us:

Canadian Association for HIV Research

440 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 200
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 7X6

1-888-374-CAHR (2247)
info@cahr-acrv.ca
  • Media
  • Contact
  • Français