Dr. Julio Montaner, Professor in the Division of HIV/AIDS and Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, has been awarded UBC’s Jacob Biely Prize for 2011. This prize is awarded yearly to an active faculty member for a distinguised record of research publication, and is considered to be UBC’s premier research honour.
Dr. Montaner’s work focuses on the “Treatment as Prevention” strategy of HIV/AIDS harm reduction, which was originally proposed by Dr. Montaner’s team. This strategy proposes improving HIV treatments to increase life expectancy for infected patients, while reducing viral load to the point where risk of transmission is significantly reduced. Much of his research involves HIV/AIDS harm reduction in vulnerable populations, including drug abusers in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and HIV-infected patients in Africa. For further information, please consult Dr. Montaner’s Researcher Profile.
The Prize will be awarded at the UBC Celebrate Research Gala, on March 8th.