Research Summary

HIV infection is characterized by a continuous evolution of the viral population as it adapts to its environment as a result of host genetic factors and antiviral drug pressure. Understanding how this works in a “real world” clinical setting can complement randomized clinical trials and prove particularly useful for determining longer-term outcomes. Using three major cohort studies (VIDUS, VLAS, and Vanguard), as well as the more than four thousand patients in the BC Drug Treatment Program, we developed new tests in our research lab and translated these into tests that patients use to optimise their treatments.  The lab also demonstrated the clinical utility of a screening method for determining viral tropism via genetic testing of HIV utilizing novel deep-sequencing technologies and implemented this in routine testing in Canada. My lab developed and distributed software for improved automated analysis of HIV drug resistance (“ReCall”), which is now being used worldwide.
More recently, we have expanded our interests to include development and implementation of testing for Hepatitis C and the novel Coronavirus which is the cause of COVID-19 using nanopore sequencing approaches.