28 November 2013
November 28, 2013 – The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, announced an investment of $10.7 million over five years to support two new research teams focused on a cure for HIV infection. Of this total, Dr. Eric A. Cohen of the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM) will receive $8.7 million to support the Canadian Consortium for HIV Cure Research (CanCURE): a collaboration of leading Canadian HIV researchers, including Drs. Jérôme Estaquier and Michel J. Tremblay, both of the Infectious Disease Research Centre of Université Laval, who will conduct a novel, integrated research program on the eradication of persistent HIV infection in patients treated with antiretroviral drugs. These teams are funded through the Canadian HIV Cure Research Initiative. This initiative was created through a partnership between CIHR’s HIV/AIDS Research Initiative, the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR) and the International AIDS Society (IAS) to increase investment in HIV cure research and to expand efforts in the international scientific community to find a cure. Under the leadership of the global science strategy Towards an HIV Cure, the Canadian HIV Cure Research Initiative aims to transform Canadian HIV research into a collaborative model for knowledge creation and translation by funding teams of experts in complementary disciplines and sectors.