Grant: CIHR Clinical Trials Network in HIV/AIDS

Since 1990, the CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network (CTN) has supported a thriving community of researchers and stakeholders, who collaborate to produce top-quality clinical, social and health outcomes research in HIV/AIDS. Backed by the central administrative, methodological, and management services, the CTN has catalyzed collective action to test hypotheses and build the capacity of young researchers and community members living with and affected by HIV and related conditions. Developing study concepts into protocols of the highest scientific standards, the CTN works to ensure the optimal implementation and translation of HIV/AIDS research. In 2014-2019, the CTN will continue to facilitate investigator-driven research that fuels the continuous improvement of health in Canada and abroad, across a range of HIV and related disease areas. It will do this by engaging the most connected knowledge-brokers and members of the HIV community in both official languages, and by sharing resources and expertise among researchers, clinical sites, and leading institutions. Despite advancements in HIV treatment and practice, the need for reliable, well-organized outcome-oriented research has not diminished. The CTN will address this need, while engaging key populations affected by HIV, hepatitis C, and other related conditions, and focusing on prevention and treatment. Seen through the lens of the World Health Organization's 'cascade of care', the CTN recognizes that HIV prevention, testing, ART initiation, adherence, and treatment success are all influenced by several intangibles such as social stigma and other barriers. These priorities are underpinned by the real prospect for a cure and the quest to understand and eliminate viral reservoirs. Driving the CTN's agenda will be four major Research Core teams: Clinical Management Science; Co-infections and Concurrent Diseases; Prevention and Vulnerable Populations; and Vaccines and Immunotherapies.