For the first time Conference posters will be presented exclusively in electronic format, using a powerful new software called Pivot Technology. Look in the Conference program for the five concurrent poster tour sessions (basic science, clinical science, epidemiology & harm reduction, 2 socio-behavioural). An expert will guide each poster tour, in front of the big screen located under the escalator in the main foyer. Conference delegates will also be able to use the big screen and three additional poster viewing stations—dedicated TV-sized monitors—throughout the conference to search and browse the poster collection. The OHTN IT team has set up a “test site” with AIDS2010 posters. We were sold on Pivot Technology, and its fit for the Conference, after clicking around the test site. The Conference poster collection will be available on OHTN website following the Conference.

The OCS has been around for over 16 years, under a couple of different names. Because of the willingness of people with HIV from across Ontario to share information about their lives, health and treatment, we know more about the factors that affect physical and mental health and health care. Researchers, clinicians, policy makers and service providers are using the knowledge generated by the OCS to improve the health and well-being of people with HIV in Ontario and around the world. At the Conference, researchers from numerous Ontario institutions will present nine abstracts based on OCS data. Highlights include research about late HIV diagnosis among Aboriginal people, dimensions of disability, cigarette smoking, HIV-related stigma and ethnicity, HIV genotyping uptake, and influenza vaccination. After November 5, you will be able to search our on-line Program at a Glance to find all the OCS-related Conference content.

The criminalization of HIV non-disclosure has been called the most pressing legal issue facing people with HIV in Canada. The OHTN has funded leading Canadian research on the issue, including two abstracts that will be presented in the concurrent session, Crime and Punishment: HIV in the Criminal Justice System. Barry Adam, Director or Prevention Research at the OHTN, will present data from criminal law questions asked of participants in two ongoing research cohort studies. Eric Mykhalovskiy, CIHR New Investigator, will expand upon the August 2010 OHTN-funded report, HIV Non-Disclosure and the Criminal Law: Establishing Policy Options for Ontario. Alison Symington, of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, a Canadian and world leader in research and policy on criminalization of HIV, will round out the session with a Legal Network presentation focusing on women.

The Peer Research Training Institute is an OHTN program that will train people with HIV to be peer research assistants in HIV-related research, and place them in paid positions with Ontario research studies. Randy Jackson and Saara Greene, Co-Chairs of the Institute’s Community Advisory Committee, would like to invite you—people with HIV, researchers, academics and members of community-based organizations serving the HIV community—to participate in a community consultation on the Initiative. The consultation will be held at the OHTN Research Conference on Monday, November 15, 2010. For more information or to register for the consultation, contact Hope Ramsay by email or phone (416) 642-6486 ext 2239.

Since September, fellows of the UWW Class of 2011 have been learning together and sharing their skills and experiences as researchers, activists and practitioners. The 16 fellows were chosen from over 40 applicants. They come from different parts of the country, different universities, different disciplines and different perspectives: Marianne Beaulieu (Universite de Montreal), Andre Ceranto (AIDS Committee of Toronto), Patrick Charette-Dionne (Concordia U), Todd Coleman (U of Western Ontario), Aniela De la Cruz (U of Alberta), Adrian Guta (U of Toronto), Tamara Landry (U of Western Ontario), Duncan MacLachlan (AIDS Committee of Toronto), Jennifer MacPherson (Simon Fraser University), Eli Manning (York U), Margaret Ormond (Sunshine House), Chris Sanders (York U), Caitlin Sinclair (Dalhousie), Kate Smith (U of Ottawa), Mercedes Umaña (OISE, U of T), and Ciann Wilson (York U). They are part of the new generation of HIV researchers in Canada. UWW is funded through the CIHR Strategic Training Initiative in Health Research (STIHR) program, which aims to increase Canada’s international competitiveness by attracting new, bright, creative research talent, and to ensure innovation and excellence in the next generation of Canadian health research.

ACT is pleased to host a Community Health Forum on HIV and Mental Health: Planning for a Longer Life. Led by expert clinicians, this Forum will facilitate an open discussion for people living with HIV/AIDS on how treatment affects the brain, depression and social issues, neurological challenges, and other issues related to the impact of HIV on the mind and body. Admission is free and registration is not required. For more information, visit the ACT website.

HIV/AIDS is an ongoing concern in First Nations and Inuit communities and new knowledge is needed to further develop targeted and culturally appropriate programs and policies for HIV-related prevention, education, care, treatment and support. Community-based research is an ideal mechanism for First Nations and Inuit communities to generate their own new knowledge to ensure their communities’ needs are met. Health Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and in collaboration with the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network, the Assembly of First Nations, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada and the OHTN, will be hosting a 2-day skills-building workshop on January 18-19, 2010, in Ottawa for First Nations and Inuit community-based representatives/researchers to build their capacity to conduct HIV/AIDS-related community-based research that will benefit First Nations on-reserve or Inuit communities south of the 60th degree parallel. To support participants from across the country, Health Canada will provide funds to successful applicants through a travel award competition. The Travel Award Application deadline is November 15, 2010. For more details and to apply, visit the CIHR website or see the Application Form in English and French.

The theme of this year's Annual Cochrane Canada Symposium is Early Exposure to Cochrane: Accessible, Credible, Practical. The 2011 symposium will be held at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver, BC on February 16-17, 2011, with the pre-symposium program on February 14-15.
The Canadian Cochrane Centre invites researchers, academics, methodologists, physicians, nurses, health care professionals, policy makers, consumers, students, and anyone involved in the health field to submit abstracts. Abstracts should reflect the Conference theme - producing accessible, credible and practical research evidence. Abstract submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. EST on November 15, 2010. For more info, please visit the Symposium website.

The Ontario AIDS Network (OAN), a province-wide coalition of diverse community-based organizations, is seeking an HIV/AIDS Community Based Research Facilitator (CBRF) to be responsible for building community-based research (CBR) capacity through developing skills building and learning opportunities with OAN members, people with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) and other service providers who work with PHAs. This is a contract of approximately 17 months duration to complete the requirements of an existing community-based research grant. The CBRF is responsible for assisting community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations and institutions in developing the knowledge necessary to carry out their HIV/AIDS work in the most effective manner, and for creating the expertise within these communities to conduct their own community-based research. The deadline to apply is October 29, 2010. For more details on the position and how to apply, see the job posting.

As Canada’s national knowledge exchange broker for HIV and hepatitis C prevention, care, treatment, and support, CATIE offers a wide variety of free information services for people living with HIV and hepatitis C and for the organizations that serve them. CATIE is currently seeking a Coordinator who will be responsible for the overall coordination of the development and execution of communications and social marketing campaigns in support of CATIE’s Hepatitis C Program. The deadline to apply is November 7, 2010. For more details on the position and how to apply, see the job posting.

As Canada’s national knowledge exchange broker for HIV and hepatitis C prevention, care, treatment, and support, CATIE offers a wide variety of free information services for people living with HIV and hepatitis C and for the organizations that serve them. CATIE is currently seeking a Coordinator who will be responsible for producing CATIE’s communication vehicles that engage and inform CATIE members and other key stakeholder groups, and manage records pertaining to communications and marketing initiatives. The deadline to apply is November 12, 2010. For more details on the position and how to apply, see the job posting.

The Creating Together team of the Ontario Mental Health and Addictions Knowledge Exchange Network is seeking the participation of researchers and other stakeholder in the area of mental health and substance use/abuse, problem gambling, and/or process addictions research in a province-wide web survey towards developing a mental health and addictions research agenda for Ontario that will help guide research investments and knowledge exchange activity in the province of Ontario over the next 3-5 years. Take a few minutes to complete this online survey and provide your feedback on where you think the greatest need for research/new knowledge is and what you believe are the top research and knowledge exchange priorities for mental health and substance use/abuse, problem gambling and other addiction problems. For more info, visit the Creating Together website.

The Toronto HIV/AIDS Network (THN) has a vacancy for a community member position on its Steering Committee. We are seeking a community member who is living with HIV, resides in the City of Toronto, and is accessing HIV related services. This volunteer position provides an opportunity to contribute to the leadership team that supports multi-agency planning and project development to improve services for people living with and at risk of HIV in the City of Toronto. The deadline to apply is 6 pm on November 4, 2010. Please see the Call for Applications for more information.

Wellesley Institute has made available the workshop materials, including presentations, trainers’ guides and other resources, from their community-based research (CBR) and capacity-building programs. The workshops were aimed at local researchers and include CBR workshops on how to maximize the policy potential of research. To access the materials, visit the Wellesley Institute website.

Are you interested in finding out more about models of HIV prevention, treatment, care and support led or primarily delivered by nurse practitioners? If so, check out the OHTN’s most recent Rapid Response Fact Sheet, Coordination and Delivery of HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support by Nurse Practitioners. If you are a staff member at an Ontario AIDS service organization and need access to research findings that will help inform your programs, services or advocacy efforts, send an email request to the OHTN’s Rapid Response Service. See the Rapid Response guidelines for more information.