Mark Wainberg
Encyclopedia
Mark A. Wainberg, is a Canadian
AIDS
researcher and activist. He is the Director of the McGill University
AIDS Centre at the Montreal Jewish General Hospital and Professor of Medicine and of Microbiology at McGill University. His laboratory primarily studies HIV reverse transcriptase, and the molecular basis for drug resistance. He received a B.Sc. from McGill University in 1966, a Ph.D. from Columbia University
in 1972, and did his post-doctoral research at Hadassah Medical School of the Hebrew University.
in 1989 and test the drug in patients. 3TC is also called Lamivudine
.
From 1998 to 2000, Dr. Wainberg was President of the International AIDS Society
. He was Co-Chair of the XVI International AIDS Conference
and a past president of the Canadian Association for HIV Research. Dr. Wainberg is an Editor-in Chief of the Journal of the International AIDS Society
and Editor of Retrovirology (journal)
. He is or has been an editor on publications including the Journal of Human Virology, the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, International Antiviral News, AIDS Patient Care and STDs, the Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases, and AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses.
In 2008, Dr. Wainberg was named a Chevalier de Légion d'honneur
, the highest honor given by the country of France
. In 2001, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
, Canada's highest civilian honour, for his "major contributions to the study and treatment of" HIV/AIDS. In 2005, he was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec
, an order of merit bestowed by the government of the Province of Quebec. In 2000, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
.
. Dr. Wainberg also opposes the pseudoscientific ideas of AIDS denialism that are responsible for an estimated 330,000 AIDS deaths in South Africa alone.
In 2006, Dr. Wainberg criticized the Prime Minister of Canada
Stephen Harper
for his absence from the XVI International AIDS Conference
of which Dr. Wainberg was the Co-Chair. In 2004, he was videotaped by AIDS denialist Robin Scovill, whose HIV-positive wife died in 2008 and whose daughter died of untested and untreated AIDS in 2005. In this interview, Dr. Wainberg proposes that those who harm others by publicly questioning HIV as the cause of AIDS should be jailed on charges of public endangerment.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
researcher and activist. He is the Director of the McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
AIDS Centre at the Montreal Jewish General Hospital and Professor of Medicine and of Microbiology at McGill University. His laboratory primarily studies HIV reverse transcriptase, and the molecular basis for drug resistance. He received a B.Sc. from McGill University in 1966, a Ph.D. from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1972, and did his post-doctoral research at Hadassah Medical School of the Hebrew University.
Accomplishments and honors
Dr. Wainberg and his collaborators were the first to identify the antiviral capabilities of 3TCLamivudine
Lamivudine is a potent nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor .It is marketed by GlaxoSmithKline with the brand names Zeffix, Heptovir, Epivir, and Epivir-HBV.Lamivudine has been used for treatment of chronic hepatitis B at a lower dose than for treatment of HIV...
in 1989 and test the drug in patients. 3TC is also called Lamivudine
Lamivudine
Lamivudine is a potent nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor .It is marketed by GlaxoSmithKline with the brand names Zeffix, Heptovir, Epivir, and Epivir-HBV.Lamivudine has been used for treatment of chronic hepatitis B at a lower dose than for treatment of HIV...
.
From 1998 to 2000, Dr. Wainberg was President of the International AIDS Society
International AIDS Society
The International AIDS Society is an independent association of HIV professionals, with 14,000 members from 190 countries working at all levels of the global response to AIDS. IAS members include researchers from all disciplines, clinicians, public health and community practitioners on the...
. He was Co-Chair of the XVI International AIDS Conference
XVI International AIDS Conference, 2006
The XVI International AIDS Conference was held in Toronto, Ontario, during the week of August 13-18 2006. This was the third time that Canada has hosted the International AIDS Conference, after Montreal in 1989 and Vancouver in 1996. The main venue for the conference was the Metro Toronto...
and a past president of the Canadian Association for HIV Research. Dr. Wainberg is an Editor-in Chief of the Journal of the International AIDS Society
Journal of the International AIDS Society
The Journal of the International AIDS Society is an open-access peer-reviewed medical journal published by BioMed Central. It covers all aspects of research on AIDS and is the official journal of the International AIDS Society....
and Editor of Retrovirology (journal)
Retrovirology (journal)
Retrovirology is a peer-reviewed open-access scientific journal established in 2004 that specializes in publishing original and review articles on the basic research of retroviruses. Primate retroviruses are the subject of most publications in the journal, which is published by BioMed Central...
. He is or has been an editor on publications including the Journal of Human Virology, the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, International Antiviral News, AIDS Patient Care and STDs, the Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases, and AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses.
In 2008, Dr. Wainberg was named a Chevalier de Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, the highest honor given by the country of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 2001, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, Canada's highest civilian honour, for his "major contributions to the study and treatment of" HIV/AIDS. In 2005, he was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec
National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as l'Ordre national du Québec, and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec...
, an order of merit bestowed by the government of the Province of Quebec. In 2000, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
.
AIDS advocacy
Dr. Wainberg advocates giving AIDS-related relief to developing countries. He has been critical of politicians who ignore the problem of AIDS, including former South African President Thabo MbekiThabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki...
. Dr. Wainberg also opposes the pseudoscientific ideas of AIDS denialism that are responsible for an estimated 330,000 AIDS deaths in South Africa alone.
In 2006, Dr. Wainberg criticized the Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
for his absence from the XVI International AIDS Conference
XVI International AIDS Conference, 2006
The XVI International AIDS Conference was held in Toronto, Ontario, during the week of August 13-18 2006. This was the third time that Canada has hosted the International AIDS Conference, after Montreal in 1989 and Vancouver in 1996. The main venue for the conference was the Metro Toronto...
of which Dr. Wainberg was the Co-Chair. In 2004, he was videotaped by AIDS denialist Robin Scovill, whose HIV-positive wife died in 2008 and whose daughter died of untested and untreated AIDS in 2005. In this interview, Dr. Wainberg proposes that those who harm others by publicly questioning HIV as the cause of AIDS should be jailed on charges of public endangerment.