Connie Kim

CDHF Awards Encourage Innovation and Improve the Lives of Canadians

AIDS is recognized by the World Health Organization as a pandemic that has killed tens of millions of people worldwide. An estimated 65,000 Canadians are infected with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) which causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).

"The gastrointestinal tract is an exciting and critical anatomical site to study HIV," says Connie Kim, a University of Toronto, PhD Candidate and recipient of a research award jointly funded by the Canadian Digestive Health Foundation (CDHF) and Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR). "I am interested in understanding how the gastrointestinal tract affects those infected by HIV and at risk of developing AIDS."

Activities in the gastrointestinal tract have recently been identified as playing a pivotal role in the progression of HIV disease. When someone is infected with HIV, their immune system is compromised. This happens because there is a loss of gut mucosa and a dramatic depletion of special cells (CD4+ T) in the gastrointestinal tract that help fight infections. These factors allow gut microbes to "leak" across protective cells that line the gut and into the body. It is believed that the persistence of these tiny disease-transmitting organisms in immuno-compromised individuals infected with HIV is a major factor that advances disease.

Connie is keen to understand the relationship between the immune system and structural loss in HIV infected individuals and the restorative capacity of currently available antiretroviral therapy. Connie asserts that this is a critical area of study and hopes her work will lead to a better understanding of the cause, development, and effects of HIV/AIDS in the gut.

"The funding from the CDHF and CIHR has provided me with the motivation to conduct meaningful research in an area that I am passionate about," says Connie. "It has already given me the flexibility to diverge my work into other important areas of HIV and gastrointestinal tract research. My ultimate goal is to improve the lives of Canadians and millions of others impacted by HIV/AIDS."

The CDHF appreciates Connie's passion for this area of study and looks forward to sharing the results of her research in the future.