To support Conference attendance and participation, the OHTN is pleased to provide Scholarships to eligible Ontario residents who have financial limitations that would exclude them from attending the Conference. People living with HIV, staff and volunteers of AIDS service organizations, and post-secondary students engaged in HIV-related research/studies are eligible to apply. Scholarship applications can be submitted online. The deadline to apply is Friday, October 1, 2010. For more information, visit the Conference website, see the Scholarship Guidelines, or contact the Conference Coordinator at (416) 642-6486 ext. 2215.

Important Note: Complimentary registrations will only be available to: Scholarship recipients, sponsors, collaborating partners (two per partner), invited keynote speakers and moderators, accepted abstract presenters, and OHTN Board and Committee volunteers.

Dr. Mona Loufty, head of the Women and HIV Research Program at Women’s College Hospital Research Institute, will deliver this year’s Dr. Susan King Lecture. Dr. Loufty will speak about conception for sero-discordant couples who wish to have children. Dr. Robb Travers, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Wilfred Laurier University, will deliver the Charles Roy Lecture and discuss the role of peer researchers in community-based research. Drs. Loufty and Travers have long-standing associations with the OHTN and the OHTN has supported their important research.

In keeping with this year’s theme, Research at the Frontlines: Targeting the Complexities of HIV, we have invited speakers who know how to respond to this complexity and improve the health and well–being of people living with and at risk of HIV. Dr. Sharon Walmsley, Senior Scientist, Division of Clinical Investigation & Human Physiology at the Toronto General Research Institute, will share her expertise and experiences of researching and providing health care to women living with HIV in Ontario. Ron Shore, Director of the Ontario Harm Reduction Distribution Program and Street Health in Kingston, will share knowledge, research evidence, and insights gained from his groundbreaking work integrating harm reduction, housing, and social and medical services for people who use illicit drugs.

Join Women’s College Hospital and The Honourable Deb Matthews, Minister of Health & Long-Term Care, to hear the results of A Thousand Voices for Women's Health, an unprecedented study that reveals what women want from a hospital, from services and from care, at the official construction launch of the new Women’s College Hospital building at 1 pm on September 28, 2010, at 76 Grenville Street in Toronto. Please RSVP to [email protected] by September 21, 2010. For details, see the online invitation.

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network invites you attend a Community Forum on Limiting the Law: Silence, Sex and Science on September 30, 2010, in Toronto. This Community Forum, focused on the criminalization of HIV in Canada, will launch a resource kit developed by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and partners for defense lawyers working on HIV-related criminal cases. The Forum will also host the launch of a campaign for prosecutorial guidelines led by the Ontario Working Group on Criminal Law and HIV Exposure. For more details, please see the event poster.

Casey House’s HIV/AIDS and Health Care Fall Symposium, Maintaining Excellence in Health Care for People Living with HIV/AIDS, will be held on October 19, 2010. This educational event designed for health care professionals and AIDS service providers will address: the role of early life experience in adaptation to illness, HIV/AIDS and osteoporosis, and understanding cognitive impairment for people living with HIV/AIDS. Space is limited and registration is required. For more information, please see the event poster.

The Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has launched a competition for travel awards for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and new investigators. The purpose of the award is to advance professional development and/or knowledge translation initiatives in health services and policy research through research presentations delivered at annual or other meetings, including international conferences. The maximum amount per award is $1000. The next application deadline is October 1, 2010. For more info or to apply, visit the CIHR-IHSPR website.

The AIDS Network, serving Hamilton, Halton, Haldimand, Norfolk and Brant, is pleased to announce the launch of their Peer Educators, Mentors and Advocates Program starting on October 12, 2010. Intended for people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS, the program aims to provide relevant and comprehensive training to people interested in becoming Volunteer Educators, Mentors and Advocates. Training will include HIV/AIDS 101, effective presentation skills, cultural sensitivity and anti-oppression frameworks, community education, advocacy, and outreach, and peer support and mentoring. For more details on the program and how to register, please see the training flyer.

CAST (Come and Sit Together) Canada will host a national Harm Reduction Conference on February 23 to 25, 2011, to help professionals better understand addictions, mental health and trauma. The Conference organizers want to see a balance of presenters from across sectors and the country. Academics and researchers, drug users and families, students and youth, service users and frontline providers, thinkers, poets and playwrights and any other interested people are invited to submit papers, abstracts, one-act plays, short films or other proposals. The submission deadline is October 22, 2010 . For more details, please visit the CAST Canada website.