Robert Hogg, an expert on how anti-retroviral drugs can prolong the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS, is one of several SFU researchers available to comment on World AIDS Day-related issues tomorrow. Hogg is a health sciences professor and the director of the Drug Treatment Program at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

Robert Hogg, 604.377.8606 (cell), robert_hogg@sfu.ca

Other SFU experts available to comment on a wide range of HIV/AIDS-related issues, including the rise in HIV infection among key populations are:

Cari Miller, an assistant professor of health sciences, notes young people aged 15 to 29 make up about 26 per cent of Canada’s HIV infected population. Miller says: “It has been suggested that one in 100 people are living with HIV in Vancouver.” She can also comment on B.C.’s global leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Cari Miller, 778.782.8652, cari_miller@sfu.ca

Naveed Gulzar, a postdoctoral fellow in molecular biology working with SFU molecular biologist Jamie Scott on an HIV/AIDS vaccine, can talk about the HIV epidemic in Saskatchewan. Gulzar and Scott believe Saskatchwan’s battle with the disease should be the prime focus of World AIDS Day in Canada. “People with HIV/AIDS are dying twice as fast as their counterparts elsewhere in Canada,” says Gulzar. “Saskatchewan has become the province with the highest HIV infection rate in Canada. It’s a really scary situation.” Gulzar will give a talk from 10 to 11:00 a.m. at SFU’s World AIDS event on Dec. 1.

Naveed Gulzar, 778.782.5656, ngulzar@sfu.ca

Mark Brockman, an SFU associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry and Canada Research Chair, believes that preventative strategies are key to ending HIV/AIDS as an epidemic. “The most recent data indicate that new HIV infections and mortality from AIDS continue to rise in hard-to-reach populations, including in Canada. Yet, they are declining in the most affected areas of the world, such as in southern Africa,” says Brockman.

Mark Brockman, 778.782.3341, mark_brockman@sfu.ca

Malcolm Steinberg, a clinical assistant professor, director public health practice, SFU Faculty of Health Sciences, stresses the need to balance population-wide strategies for fighting HIV/AIDS with those targeting marginalized populations. “Focusing on population-wide strategies can deepen health inequities by increasing the inaccessibility of treatments to marginalized populations,” says Steinberg.

Malcolm Steinberg, 604.916.3159, malcolm_steinberg@sfu.ca

Ralph Pantophlet, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, is investigating antibody responses to HIV and other viruses. “There has been a significant boom in research focused on neutralizing antibodies, in high profile publications in the last year,” observes Pantophlet. “Researchers in this arena believe antibody neutralization will result in more than just incremental steps towards an HIV vaccine.”

Ralph Pantophlet, 778.782.8648, rpantophlet@sfu.ca

Jennifer Marchbank, an associate professor in the department of gender, sexuality, and women’s studies and director of the Explorations in Arts and Social Sciences program, can talk about how discrimination and violence drive HIV/AIDS transmission. “As a result of rape, HIV/AIDS is a weapon that continues to violate long after a single act. More than 66 per cent of Rwandan women survivors of genocide surveyed had AIDS,” says Marchband, a co-host of Red Shoes, Green Belts and White Ribbons.

Jennifer Marchbank, 604.996.6195 (cell), 778.782.7607, jmarchba@sfu.ca