The McGill AIDS Centre at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital plans to spend $4 million to upgrade its facilities, announced the facility's director as he prepared to co-chair the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto next week.

Mark Wainberg said Wednesday the money will help renovate the existing laboratory and expand the centre, which co-ordinates, facilitates and promotes research, treatment and teaching activities relating to HIV/AIDS at McGill University and its affiliated hospitals.

When it opened 20 years ago, the centre was at the cutting edge of HIV and AIDS research. But, Wainberg said, its facilities are now outdated.

"The objectives are always the same — to find better drugs and, if possible, vaccines and other prevention modalities that will stop the spread of this virus," he said, "and continue to do state-of-the-art work."

Wainberg said the centre got a grant from the federal government, "and a good chunk of it is being infused by the hospital."

The Canada Foundation for Innovation contributed $900,000, according to spokesman Angus McKinnon. So the "good chunk" comes to more than $3 million.

HIV research a 'top priority'

Wainberg said the university will try to raise the money through fundraising events and private contributions.

"The hospital and the university see HIV research as a top priority into which they are also willing to invest foundation resources that are, you know, awfully scarce," Wainberg said, just before leaving for the international conference in Toronto.

Wainberg said a key part of the conference will be the spotlight shed on the AIDS virus, especially by the media.

"That critical mass of journalists kind of re-establishes HIV where it belongs, which is on the front pages of every newspaper in the world on a regular basis."

He pointed out that, of the 26,000 people attending the conference from around the world, 3,000 will be journalists.

Wainberg's co-chair at the conference is Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE USA, an international poverty-fighting organization based in Atlanta.