Dr. Marina Klein’s MSc research using retrospective data from the Montreal Chest Institute (MCI) showed that people living with HIV and HCV were experiencing increased rates of liver disease outcomes despite effective HIV treatment. Recognizing the need to improve care and health outcomes for co-infected people, she conceived the idea of establishing a co-infection cohort. After discussions with Dr. Danielle Rouleau, a research investigator at the Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), they developed a protocol for a pilot project.
In 2003, the pilot study received its first grant from the Réseau SIDA-Fonds de recherche santé du Québec (FRSQ) where the aim was to create a provincial cohort of HIV-HCV co-infected people. The infrastructure funding facilitated the implementation of the pilot study in three Québec University Centers: the MCI, the CHUM, and the Montreal General Hospital (MGH).
In 2006, the pilot study grew into what is known today as the Canadian Co-infection Cohort (CCC) after receiving a 3-year term Operating Grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The Operating Grants are allocated to applicants who excel in the creation of knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system. This funding permitted the pilot study to evolve into a long-term observational cohort study and expand to be implemented in 15 other urban and semi-urban centers across Canada. The CCC currently has operating sites in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia.
In 2007, the CCC became part of the CIHR HIV Trials Network (CTN) as the CTN222 study and was the first observational cohort study funded by the CTN. The CCC has continued to be supported by CTN since.
In 2009, a review committee recognized the strength and ability of the CCC team and renewed the CIHR Operating Grant for a 5-year term permitting the CCC to carry on its work.
In 2015, Dr. Klein was awarded Foundation Grant from the CIHR to extend her work with the CCC for a 7 year-term. The Foundation Grant program was designed to contribute to a sustainable foundation of established health research leaders, by providing long-term support for the pursuit of innovative, high-impact programs of research developed by mid-career/senior investigators who were highly successful in the open grants program.
In 2023, the cohort received funding from the CIHR Fall 2022 Project Grant Program competition for a 4-year term.
Overall, the CCC has received $15,460,000 in direct and $18,851,000 in indirect funding partnerships. It continues to be funded by the FRSQ, the CIHR, and the CTN. The CCC is one of the largest cohorts focused on HIV-HCV co-infection in the world and was the first national clinical research network focused on HCV in Canada.
The CCC’s body of work is extensive, multidisciplinary, and has had an influence on practice guidelines. The CCC investigators have collaborated on and published 66 manuscripts and count 162 accepted abstracts at provincial, national, and international conferences. Manuscripts have been published in top journals with high impact factors such as AIDS, the International Journal of Epidemiology, and Clinical Infectious Diseases. Actively involved in the professional development of research trainees, the CCC investigators have mentored 14 graduate students and 9 post-doctoral fellows.