Julio Montaner: king of HAART

Julio Montaners life has been shaped by unexpected events and he couldnt be happier with the results. The son of a respiratory specialist born and raised in Buenos Aires Argentina Montaner had hoped to follow in his fathers footsteps and one day return to his homeland to help tackle tuberculosis. Instead he veered off onto a path that would take him to Canada and a leadership position in AIDS research as Director of the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Canadas largest HIV/AIDS research treatment and education facility. At this years XVI International AIDS Conference Montaner became president-elect of the International AIDS Society (IAS). He credits recognition of the centres internationally relevant clinical care and research for winning him the title. Montaners early research focused on the respiratory complications of AIDS and later shifted towards antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection. In the mid 1990s he championed the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) turning it into a standard of care for AIDS patients. Another of Montaners contributions has been setting up HIV/AIDS treatment cohorts and showing their role in developing evidence of clinical outcomes. "Cohorts have impacted the field by indicating safe ranges to start treatment effects of adherence (especially in drug users) differences in ART regimens and the outcomes associated with the standard of physician experience among other things" says David Cooper Director of the Australian National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research at the University of New South Wales Sydney. "I think many groups including ours have embraced the cohorts idea." (excerpt)