Moderator: Chris Sulway
Chris is a physiotherapist who has worked clinically in acute care and rehabilitation settings in both the public and private sector. Recently he has shifted his focus to health care administration and currently works at St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto. Chris is also active in the areas of education and research. He is a lecturer at the University of Toronto and an Associate at the University of Toronto International Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation. He is an advocate for high quality health care, accessible to all and delivered in the most socially responsible manner.

Rob Alexander
Rob Alexander will discuss his personal experiences in living with HIV as an Episodic Disability and how it has impacted his life allowing him to make some very important changes in regards to work, school and remaining active in daily living with HIV. Also, Rob will speak about peer programs and the importance of having peer programs such as PEMAP available for PHAs to explore options regarding issues in rehabilitation, episodic disability, and return to school/return to work issues.

Maggie Atkinson
Maggie Atkinson is a Toronto-based HIV positive AIDS activist and lawyer. She was co-chair of AIDS Action Now!, founding chair of Voices of Positive Women and of the Community Advisory Committee of the Canadian HIV Trials Network, and a founding director of the HIV/AIDS Legal Clinic of Ontario. She has received local, national and international recognition for her work, including the Law Society Medal, the Order of Ontario, and the first Red Ribbon Award from the Canadian Association for HIV Research.
Maggie will discuss Neurocognitive Impairment, HIV and aging and what we can do about it. What works? Lifestyle changes including the Pritikin and Ornish recommendations, and the Brain Fitness Programs.

Vera Carmini
Vera Carmini (MSc.PT) is a paediatric physiotherapist who has been working at the Hospital for Sick Children for almost two decades. For the past five years, her work has been primarily within the HIV Clinic for children living with HIV and their families. In addition to her clinical work, Vera is the Coordinator for HIV Clinical Trial Research in Paediatrics.
Vera will be speaking on her experience in working within the area of paediatric HIV and rehabilitation. Beyond the medical issues associated with HIV infection in this population, this presentation will discuss the broader issues related to rehabilitation of the whole child including considerations for preparing for transitional care and working collaboratively with community organizations and other health care team members.

Dr. Mark Halman
Mark Halman MD FRCPC is the director of the HIV Psychiatry Program and an associate scientist in the Centre for Research in Inner City Health in the Keenan Research Centre in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital.  He is the consulting psychiatrist at Casey House, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto and a consultant (external) to the World Health Organization. 
Mark will discuss HIV Dementia: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been successful in reducing the number of incident cases of severe HIV dementia, though the prevalence of HIV+ persons living with HIV associated neurocognitive deficits remains surprisingly high.  In those who do develop HIV dementia, cognitive symptoms generally persist even if ART is successful at suppressing virus and restoring immunological functioning. Neurocognitive disorders can present significant challenges to full functional recovery for patients with HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Kelly O'Brien
Kelly O’Brien is a physical therapist and researcher with an interest in HIV, disability and rehabilitation. Kelly graduated from the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto in 1998. After working for a few years at St. Michael's Hospital she returned to graduate studies in the Graduate Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. She completed her PhD in the Clinical Epidemiology Program in June 2008 where she conducted a qualitative study exploring the episodic nature of disability from the perspective of adults living with HIV. In September 2008, Kelly started a postdoctoral research fellowship at McMaster University where she is currently working with a team of academic investigators and a Community Advisory Committee to develop a questionnaire to describe HIV-related disability. She is also a Lecturer in the Department of Physical Therapy where she teaches PT students about research methodology and HIV within their program.

Dr. Greg Robinson
Greg Robinson is a person living with HIV/AIDS and multiple co-morbidities related to HIV.  Greg is also a physician by training with subspecialties in family medicine and public and community health.  His academic and work career has involved being a family physician; public health physician; and teaching and research at the University of Toronto and McMaster University.  His career interests are health planning and evaluation; HIV/AIDS health care, treatment, rehabilitation and support; and community-based research.  Greg is retired now due to a number of co-morbidities that require the assistance of various rehabilitation professionals.  
Greg will discuss two personal health issues that have required the involvement of rehabilitation professionals in his HIV care: osteonecrosis of the knees/osteoporosis and fractures; and HIV neurocognitive disorder with depression. 

Dr. Marek Smieja
Dr. Marek Smieja is an infectious diseases specialist at St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton, and an HIV physician at the Special Immunology Services Clinic, the regional HIV clinic, at McMaster University. Marek obtained his MD from the University of Western Ontario in 1987, and worked in the Canadian north and in Malawi, Africa before returning to train in Internal Medicine, Infectious DIseases, and Microbiology at McMaster University. He holds a PhD in Health Research Methodology, and chaired a group which is creating evidence-based guidelines for assessing cardiovascular risk in HIV positive patients.
Marek will discuss the issue that cardiovascular disease will cause substantial disability and mortality amongst people living and aging with HIV infection. Appropriate risk factor screening, healthy lifestyle changes and appropriate drug therapy are likely to prevent many heart attacks and strokes, and the disability they cause.