For her contributions to combatting the spread of HIV/AIDS in Canada and abroad.
Catherine Hankins has worked to save lives through her leadership in the fight against HIV. As chief scientific advisor to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, she directed strategies to place information about new HIV interventions into the hands of policy-makers and program planners, and championed community engagement in HIV prevention trials. A leader in Canada’s public health response to HIV, she advanced research on women living with HIV, prisoners, sex workers, and people who inject drugs. She also co-founded Montréal’s needle-exchange program and served on Canada’s National Advisory Committee on AIDS.