Research Profiles – Looking at HIV from Both Sides Now

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has become a fact of life in the 21st century. Globally, more than 34.2 million people – the equivalent of the population of Canada – were living with HIV in 2011, according to the World Health Organization.

HIV infection is also a harbinger of death. It has claimed the lives of more than 25 million people since it emerged in the early 1980s, when contracting HIV was a virtual death sentence as it progressed to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

The development of antiretroviral drugs commuted that death sentence, turning a disease that was once a killer into a chronic health condition. But HIV remains a pandemic and has ravaged lives around the globe, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

CIHR has been a world leader in HIV/AIDS research, underwriting the first studies that showed the efficacy of male circumcision in preventing HIV infection. And the work we fund carries on pushing back the boundaries, finding new and better ways to combat the disease on several fronts.

In this instalment of CIHR's research profiles, we look at two of those fronts. We highlight two projects that illustrate the latest thinking in biomedical approaches to defeating the disease, and feature two cutting-edge research projects that are investigating how to improve the lives of people with HIV/AIDS:

  • A Sweet Source to an HIV Vaccine?: Dr. Ralph Pantophlet of Simon Fraser University has discovered that a harmless plant bacterium's sugar molecules closely resemble those found on the most common strain of HIV – a finding that could be a key to unlocking an HIV vaccine.
  • An Inside-out Approach to Halting HIV: Dr. Stephen Barr is trying to harness the power of our own genetically programmed cellular restriction factors to halt HIV replication.
  • Going Non-Viral: The Canadian Observational Cohort has collected data from more than 8,000 people who receive antiretroviral drug therapy to gain a better understanding of how these medications can prevent HIV-positive people from progressing to AIDS and stop the spread of HIV.
  • Home Sweet (and Healthy) Home: Dr. Sean B. Rourke co-leads a pioneering community-based research project that is making the connection between better housing and improved HIV outcomes – and having immediate impact.