Research Axis
Infectious Diseases and Acute Care Axis
Research Theme
Infection, immunity and inflammation
Address
CHUSJ - Centre de Recherche
Phone
514 345-4931 #6232
I have been involved in HIV/AIDS and microbicide research efforts since 1995. I have significantly contributed to the design of several HIV prevention research trials, including preparedness studies, safety studies (Phase I and II), and efficacy trials (Phase IIB and III). I am currently the lead biostatistician in the Microbicide Trials Network (MTN). Recognizing the development of microbicides as an important priority in HIV/AIDS research, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), established the MTN in 2006 as its newest of six NIAID-funded HIV/AIDS clinical trials networks.
MTN’s research portfolio is designed to face the global urgency of the HIV/AIDS epidemic head-on. It includes studies considered among the most critically important for advancing the field of HIV prevention. Many of these trials are focused on assessing antiretroviral (ARV)-based microbicides and include studies designed to evaluate microbicides along with other promising HIV prevention approaches, such as the daily use of ARVs as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). MTN is the first research group that is evaluating in parallel a vaginal microbicide gel and PrEP in the same trial. Notably, the MTN is leading the first microbicide studies involving pregnant women and also conducting studies to evaluate the rectal safety of vaginal microbicides, an important step toward eventually developing a microbicide specifically formulated for rectal use. MTN comprises 13 clinical trial units with 20 clinical research sites located in 7 countries. The overall goal is to conduct scientifically rigorous and ethically sound safety and effectiveness clinical trials, which will support licensure of these products.
My research interests are: between-host mathematical models of infectious disease transmission, statistical methodology for clinical trials data, analysis of data from clinical trials, statistical methods for HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases, and design and analysis of HIV prevention trials.