VANCOUVER - A Vancouver doctor and world-renowned HIV/AIDS researcher has been selected for induction into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
Dr. Julio (hoo-lee-oh) Montaner, director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, is one of six Canadian physicians chosen for the award honouring contributions that have led to extraordinary improvements in human health.
A written news release says Montaner's work includes pioneering the HIV cocktail, which was adopted by the World Health Organization and the UNAIDS program in 2000.
Montaner is also a longtime advocate of the AIDS/HIV treatment-as-prevention model, which he says has led B.C. to see a consistent decline in both mortality rates and new cases of HIV.
Montaner is now attempting to apply the treatment-as-prevention program to other infectious diseases such as Hepatitis C.
The other nominees include Dr. Judith Hall of Vancouver, three physicians in Ontario and another from Quebec.
