Grant: T. Gr.: Embracing Diversity -HIV/AIDS/STBBI-Co-infections and Co-morbidities-LOI

HIV remains a major public health issue for Canada and the world. Thankfully, with adequate treatment with antiretrovirals, it is a disease that can be controlled, but it cannot be cured. People living with HIV are living with a chronic, inflammatory condition. Unfortunately, research shows that they tend to develop age-associated diseases (such as cancer or heart, lung, liver or kidney disease) 15 years earlier. The reasons for this are multiple and still incompletely understood. Since 2012, our group has led the Canadian HIV and Aging cohort Study. The goal of this cohort is to identify the molecular pathways that are responsible for the accelerated aging seen in people living with HIV, so that we may identify new treatments. However, we recognize that, even if HIV can affect anyone, vulnerable populations have more chances of being infected with the virus. For the Canadian HIV and Aging cohort Study to discover the mechanisms associated to aging, participants to the cohort must represent the diversity of people living with HIV in Canada. At present, three groups, namely women (especially racialized), People who use drugs and people who self-identify as Indigenous, are under-represented in our study. With this project, we wish to accomplish 3 things. First and foremost, we want to engage diverse people with lived experience to facilitate the recruitment of under-represented groups to the study, so that our study population represents the diversity of those living with HIV in Canada. Second, we want to pursue our work of identifying novel treatment targets to decrease the risk of early-onset disease. Finally, we want to work as a team with people living with HIV, clinical and basic scientists to design future interventional trials in which we may test the discoveries of the Canadian HIV and Aging Cohort Study.