Published on Apr 23, 2015 - Julio Montaner is a determined and passionate visionary whose life's work has directly contributed to the increased survival and dignity of people living with HIV in Canada and the world. Dr. Montaner led an international consortium of investigators to test the viability of a novel triple drug combination called ‘highly active antiretroviral therapy' (HAART) to suppress HIV replication, thereby sending the disease into full and lasting remission. In 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UNAIDS program adopted HAART as the global standard of therapy. Dr. Montaner has pioneered the notion of Treatment as Prevention (TasP), an expansion of HAART coverage to decrease both the progression of HIV to AIDS and death and HIV transmission. In 2013 TasP was incorporated in the WHO consolidated ARV Guidelines. He is the architect of the proposed UN 90-90-90 strategy aimed at ending the AIDS pandemic by 2030. His focus includes HAART access in hard-to-reach populations, including injection drug users, and the treatment of multiple drug resistant HIV infection, both with great success. Dr. Montaner is a Professor of Medicine at UBC, founding Co-Director of the Canadian HIV Trials Network and Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver. For more information go to www.CdnMedHall.org
