Dr. Montaner, Head of the UBC Division of AIDS and director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE), is receiving the Royal Society of Canada's McLaughlin Medal, awarded for important research of sustained excellence in any branch of the medical sciences.
Dr. Montaner is a recognized leader in the field of medical research on HIV and AIDS. Since the start of the HIV epidemic, he has been working to improve the lives of those living with the disease. Dr. Montaner played a key role in the discovery of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which reduces the amount of HIV in an infected individual’s bloodstream to undetectable levels. Dr. Montaner became the Director of the BC-CfE in 2005. One year later, he introduced the Treatment as Prevention® (TasP®) strategy, a concept he pioneered, at the International AIDS Society Conference in Toronto.
TasP® consists of widespread HIV testing and the immediate and full offer of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to those who test positive and those who are medically eligible. Based on its success in improving a patient’s quality of quality of life and longevity, while significantly reducing the likelihood of transmission, the strategy has been adopted on a global scale. Within BC, the implementation of TasP® with support from the provincial government has led to an 88 per cent decline in new AIDS cases and a 65 per cent drop in new HIV cases since 1994.
Among his many titles and recognitions, Dr. Montaner has served as the President of the International AIDS Society. In 2007, he was appointed to serve as the head of the newly established Division of AIDS at the University of British Columbia Department of Medicine – the first such unit at a Canadian university.
“This award is especially humbling as I was selected from among my peers within the distinguished Royal Society,” said Dr. Montaner. “I hope this honour encourages young medical researchers, including those selected as fellows of the society, to forge ahead with bold, innovative work that advances Canadian science.”
Image courtesy of The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE), text courtesy of UBC Faculty of Medicine