UBC Reports | Vol. 49 | No. 9 | Sep.
4, 2003
The UBC Alumni Association will honour accomplished members
of the UBC community at its Ninth Annual Alumni Achievement
Awards Dinner on Nov. 20, 2003, at the Fairmont Waterfront
Hotel. For more information and to purchase tickets, please
call the Association at 604-822-3313 or visit the website
at www.alumni.ubc.ca.
AIDS Researcher Wins Alumni Award > Martin T. Schechter
MA’75, PhD, MD, MSc
A well-recognized figure in the international research community,
Martin Schechter is a pioneer in the field of HIV and AIDS
research and attracts a high level of grant funding for UBC
and its teaching hospitals.
Schechter began research into AIDS before the first cases
came to light in Canada, and before its viral nature was established.
He is now a Canada Research Chair in HIV / AIDS and Urban
Population Health, studying the mechanisms of disease susceptibility
among marginalized Canadians living in inner cities. His research
has increased understanding of HIV transmission, leading to
improved strategies for prevention.
Schechter began teaching at UBC in 1983 and now heads the
department of Health Care and Epidemiology. Since 1993 he
has been national director of the Canada HIV Trials Network.
It links researchers, people living with HIV / AIDS, primary
caregivers, pharmaceutical manufacturers and regulatory agencies,
facilitating partnerships for clinical trials of promising
new therapies. He is also director of the Centre for Health
Evaluation and Outcome Sciences, which pools the expertise
of research scientists from various fields to examine current
therapies and practices.
Co-chair of the international Conference on AIDS, held in
Vancouver in 1996, Schechter is frequently interviewed by
news media about the disease and his ongoing research.
Schechter was co-founder of the B.C. Centre for Excellence
in HIV / AIDS, established in 1991, and was elected founding
president of the Canadian Association for HIV Research in
1990. He has served on many panels and committees including
the National Advisory Committee on AIDS, and the Management
Committee of the Krever Commission of Inquiry on the Blood
System in Canada. He held a Canadian Institutes of Health
Research Senior Scientist Award until 2001 and was elected
into the Canadian Institute of Academic Medicine in 1998.
He is the 2002 recipient of the Science Council of B.C. Award
for Excellence in Research and in the same year received the
Queen’s Jubilee Gold Medal. He was named to the Order
of British Columbia in 1994.
