CIHR Pan-Canadian Network for HIV and STBBI Clinical Trials Research

11/14/2025

This week is the Patients' Voices Conference in Vancouver, BC!

In its third year, this conference is about embedding the client voice in health and social care education. Darren Lauscher, member of the CTN+ Community Leadership Team, is presenting his and Claudette Cardinal's poster on how we're strengthening the next generation of voices in HIV and STBBI research.

Learn more about the conference: https://wtpv2025.com/

11/13/2025

Upcoming webinar: Community Engagement in the Context of Indigenous Research

This exploration into how to effectively engage Indigenous communities in research will feature a number of speakers, including a member of the CTN+ Atlantic Regional Team, Renée Masching.

Date: Dec 10, 2025
Time: 12pm ET

Register today: https://bit.ly/47EmlfH

11/10/2025

When used as directed, the HIV therapy ART is highly effective at suppressing the virus— but pregnant people taking the drug do seem to be at higher risk of .

To better understand why, a team of researchers, including former CTN+ postdoctoral fellow Dr. Jeffrey Wong, analysed 25 years of health data from BC. They found that the presence of STIs or bacterial vaginosis significantly increased the risk of premature birth among people with HIV.

Read more:

Background information on HIV, hepatitis C and STIs in Canada, including basic information, statistics (epidemiology), provincial and national strategies to address HIV, hepatitis C and STIs, and social determinants of health.

11/06/2025

How small changes are making big strides in prison :

Quebec Regional Team co-lead Dr. Nadine Kronfli and CTN+ postdoc fellow Dr. Olivia Price discuss their team's work in optimizing Canada’s innovative needle exchange programs in federal prisons.

Dr. Kronfli said, "Dr. Kronfli said, “Our research is about working with people with substance use without judgment, without coercion, without discrimination, to advocate for their support in accessing evidence-based harm reduction programs.”

Learn more about their research:
https://bit.ly/4hMtC0p

11/05/2025

Hepatitis B in Canada: Current landscape and future directions

This upcoming webinar will explore the impact of hepatitis B on people living in Canada. Speakers, including Dr. Carla Coffin, co-lead of the CTN+ Cure and Immunotherapies Think Tank, will highlight key recommendations for prevention, screening and treatment.

Time: Nov 18, 2025, 9am (Pacific)
Register now:
https://bit.ly/3JqI8OF

11/04/2025

We are excited to announce the successful funding of our Phase 2 proposals from CIHR Institute of Infection & Immunity. The Phase 2 initiative aims to strengthen Canada’s capacity for inclusive, community-engaged clinical trials in and other . These regionally led projects focus on implementing coordinated, national platforms that support training and mentorship, knowledge mobilization, and infrastructure for adaptive and community-informed research.

• The Atlantic Team (led by Dr. Peter Daley) is focusing on assessing and creating regional research capacity by launching training and mentoring platform with the aim to activate new STBBI research sites.
• The Quebec Team (led by Dr. Madeline Duran) is launching the CTN+ Quebec Training Platform to support training in innovative adaptive clinical trials methodologies.
• The Ontario Team (led by Lawrence Mbuagbaw) is developing online, in-person, and experiential learning modules in HIV and STTBI research for both academic and non-academic learners.
• The Prairies Team (led by Yoav Keynan) is creating a knowledge exchange network for people with lived experience, community members, trainees and researchers to expand regional capacity and ability to design and participate in clinical trials that are responsive to community needs.
• The BC & Yukon Team (led by Naveed Janjua) will offer skills training for using administrative data and evaluation real-world interventions in STBBIs through an intensive in-person workshop and ongoing webinars.

We would like to acknowledge the support of the pre-awards team at the RI-MUHC for their assistance with the grant application process, which contributed to our successful outcome.

We can’t wait to share more information about these exciting new initiatives in the coming weeks. For now, you can learn more about the projects here: https://bit.ly/47JG3FG

11/03/2025

"Embedding community participation in building administrative health data can help researchers define health care priorities in ways that reflect the needs of the communities they seek to serve," said CTN+ postdoctoral fellow Dr. Kathleen Inglis in her recent guest blog.

To learn more about how her work in transforming research through community-participation, read the full piece:
https://bit.ly/3Lle0oA

10/24/2025

With systems across Canada are struggling to provide timely and equitable access to health care services, we need to find solutions. Why not look to Australia? 🇦🇺

Dr. Jason Sutherland, Program Head of Health Services & Outcomes at Advancing Health, explains why:
https://bit.ly/43xaA86

10/23/2025

Nineteen new or renewed Canada Research Chairs have been awarded to McGill University, providing over $13 million in funding. Among the chairs whose research was funded was CTN+ National Director, Dr. Marina Klein. Her research is aimed at developing, implementing, and evaluating interventions to improve health outcomes for people living with HIV, viral hepatitis, and STBBIs.

Learn more about all the research funded:
https://bit.ly/48Exyhf

10/22/2025

"Doxycycline is needed for STBBI prevention, because the status quo just wasn't cutting it anymore," said Dr Troy Grennan, co-lead for the CTN+ BC & Yukon Regional Team.

Every health intervention has both its benefits and its drawbacks. This excellent video gives everyone a chance to watch subject matter experts weigh in with nuanced perspectives on the antibiotic doxycycline, and we highly recommend everyone check out both this video and the full playlist from STI & HIV 2025 World Congress.

10/21/2025

CAHR's New Investigator Forum will be taking place from April 14-16, 2026, in King City, Ontario.

Recognizing the unique challenges faced by early career researchers, this event is designed to support the professional development of those pursuing an academic career in the fields of infection and immunity.

Interested in attending? Then be sure to apply by November 18th!
https://bit.ly/3KUCAMA

10/20/2025

What if could be controlled without daily medication?

New research published in Nature Medicine from a Phase I clinical trial with CTN+ researcher Dr. Jean-Pierre Routy and the RI-MUHC Chronic Viral Illness Service team brings that possibility closer.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4otd13T