Positive Spaces Healthy Places needs your help to determine if people who are HIV negative experience similar health and housing issues as people who are HIV positive.  

Participants will share their experiences with housing and health and help inform this dynamic study funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research.

To qualify, participants must have tested negative for HIV in the past 12 months. Participants will be interviewed twice over a period of two years. Each participant will receive $40 for each interview that they complete. 

To enrol, call the confidential phone line at 1-866-301-2548.

For more information: Download the Poster >> 

The OHTN's Facilitators/Barriers Project is seeking a highly motivated, enthusiastic individual for a part time (28 hours per week) one-year position of Project Coordinator. The Facilitators/ Barriers Project is a three-year, province-wide, community-based research (CBR) study using quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the factors that influence attitudes and willingness of people to participate in HIV-related health research.

Among other things, the successful candidate will be responsible for coordinating all research activities of the project, implementing the project, developing and delivering training modules and providing administrative support.

The successful candidate will have a university degree and at least two years experience in a CBR environment, along with a number of other qualifications.  

The deadline to apply is June 8, 2011. 

See the Complete Job Description >> 

People who are diagnosed with HIV often cope by abstaining from sex.  

A Rapid Review related to Sexual Abstinence Among People Living With HIV/AIDS found that sexual abstinence is one of the most prevalent coping mechanisms (especially in the newly diagnosed HIV-positive people) across many groups including gay/bisexual men, heterosexual men and women, older people, adolescents, injecting drug users, homeless and unstably housed people and hemophilia patients.

The OHTN Rapid Response Service offers HIV/AIDS programs and services in Ontario quick access to research evidence to help inform decision making, service delivery and advocacy.   

In response to a question from the field, the Rapid Response Team reviews the scientific and grey literature, consults with experts and prepares a brief fact sheet summarizing the current evidence and its implications for policy and practice. 

Read the Rapid Response: Sexual Abstinence Among People Living with HIV >>
Read other Rapid Response Fact Sheets  

• Are you a full-time Master's, PhD or graduate level student at a recognized post-secondary institution?
• Are you interested in working with Canada's largest HIV cohort?
• Are you interested in focusing on health services and cost-effective research?

If you answered yes, you should consider applying for the 2011 Canadian Observational Cohort (CANOC) scholarship. A total of up to $97,500 will be available for scholarships at Master's and PhD levels for 2011-2012.  

The scholarship is offered by CANOC in partnership with the CIHR Centre for REACH in HIV/AIDS, Universities Without Walls, and the CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network.

The application deadline for the 2011 competition is June 1, 2011.

Scholarship details are available online at CANOC's website >>  

• New Media and HIV
• Hepatitis C, HIV and Crack
• Immigrant experiences and HIV
• Sexual health in racialized communities
• Employment for people living with HIV

These topics, along with many others, are being explored by Canada's next generation of HIV researchers. For the past three years, 27 graduate students in Master's and PhD programs from across Canada have benefited from the Universities Without Falls Fellowship.  The Fellowship provides individualized mentorship, expert training and financial support for highly skilled individuals who push the boundaries of innovation and excellence.

Universities Without Walls is currently accepting applications for its 2011/2012 Fellowship. To qualify, applicants must be focusing their studies on the Canadian HIV epidemic, enrolled in a graduate program and aiming to contribute to the HIV research in Canada.  

The application deadline is June 10, 2011.

Visit the UWW website to start your application >>     

Experts in HIV will present and discuss the latest research, news and issues from the HIV field during these free one-hour lunches.  

Events take place every Tuesday, from 12:30 - 1:30pm in the 3rd Floor Classroom, St. Michael's Health Centre, 410 Sherbourne Street, Toronto.  

In May, the St. Michael's Rounds include:  

Teenagers and HIV
Presented by: Amy, Noah and Quinn
When: Tuesday, May 17, 2011       

Issues in Renal Health and HIV
Presented by: Dr. Jordan Weinstein, Nephrologist, St. Michael's Hospital
When: Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The Implementation of the Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention of HIV/AIDS
(STOP AIDS) Initiative 
When: Tuesday, May 31, 2011   

See the Complete Schedule >>    

Join the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network in June to learn about the importance of shaping public policy through sound evidence and human rights principles, and how litigation can be used as a strategy to defend and promote human rights.   

The two-day symposium will feature a public lecture by Professor Alan Young, Counsel in the Ontario case Bedford vs. Canada, a constitutional challenge of prostitution-related provisions in Canada's Criminal Code.

When:     June 9-10, 2011

Where:    Novotel Toronto Centre   

45 The Esplanade
Toronto, ON

M5E 1W2  

View the Complete Agenda and Register Today >> 

Learn about mental health and HIV during a two-day forum hosted by the  Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation. 

When:     June 11-12, 2011

Where:    Courtyard Marriott Downtown Toronto  

475 Yonge Street  

Toronto, ON  

M4Y 1X7 

Keeping it Together: Mental Health Across the Continuum of Care will feature a keynote address by Dr. Jane Philpott, a Toronto-area physician and founder of Give a Day to World AIDS campaign.  

Sessions about HIV and aging, mental health across the continuum of care, mental health of caregivers and personal stories from people living with mental health issues will also be presented.

The event will also be partnered with the Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation's Annual General Meeting and the 2011 Award of Excellence in HIV and Rehabilitation.  

The deadline for registration is May 27, 2011. 

Register Online >> 
For more information, please contact Gilleen Witkowski.

The Ontario Working Group on Criminal Law and HIV Exposure is inviting people to complete a confidential online survey on prosecutorial guidelines for Ontario criminal cases involving allegations of HIV non-disclosure.  The survey is part of the Campaign for Prosecutorial Guidelines in Ontario.

Your valuable input is needed to help decide what to include in our recommendations to the Ontario Attorney General.  If you are interested in the criminalization of HIV non-disclosure and helping us make recommendations that will restrict prosecutions in Ontario, we want to hear from you.  It will take approximately 20 minutes to complete the survey.

The deadline to complete the survey is May 17, 2011.

Take the Survey >> 

• What is Poz Brain?  
• Can you prevent it?

Researcher and clinician Stephanie Nixon discusses how HIV affects the brain in this interview filmed during the 2010 OHTN Research Conference.  

 
The OHTN partnered with Positive Lite to ensure the most recent HIV research data is available to the community. In each online video, local or international experts talk about their work in easy-to-understand language.

Watch the Video >>