UNC Center for AIDS Research Core I International

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ ABSTRACT – INTERNATIONAL CORE (CORE I) The UNC CFAR International Core facilitates translational, clinical, epidemiological, behavioral, and health services research between our North Carolina-based members and international investigators at the center of the epidemic. We connect UNC, FHI360, and RTI scientists to critical research populations overseas and connect in-country scientists to collaborations and training opportunities in North Carolina. The Core provides critical administrative and logistical support services to CFAR members working internationally, with particular attention to early stage investigators and faculty who are newly expanding their work into a global setting. Among the most important of the services provided by Core I is the management of international IRB relationships, which is centralized through a dedicated international regulatory affairs unit. This critical unit manages all aspects of research ethics and regulatory submissions for all international HIV research activities at UNC. The International core also serves as a coordinating body for international HIV-related research training activities. Our CFAR has a total of 10 active NIH training grants with major HIV/AIDS components. In the coming funding cycle, we will redouble our efforts to enhance the collective impact of these programs through regular convening of their leadership, sharing key resources, and coordinating trainee placement. Toward this end, we are proposing a new Co-Director for Training who will be primarily responsible for connecting trainees to appropriate CFAR mentorship and assisting them in developing new research proposals to our developmental Core and to the NIH. Other key functions of our core include ensuring that our CFAR’s international HIV/AIDS research is in line with local priorities. This will be done through establishing a new internal advisory board comprising membership from each of the 5 “focus countries” in which we work. The Core I leadership will also ensure engagement of local investigators in all aspects of our work, support dissemination of key findings to investigators and thought leaders at our international sites, and facilitate south-to-south exchange of research capacity. Since laboratory capacity is so important to research in international settings, our core has created a laboratory support unit based at our flagship lab site in Malawi. Key personnel from this laboratory are available to assist other HIV research sites in the deployment of new assays, development and monitoring of quality assurance procedures, preparation for monitoring visits, and troubleshooting of lab operational problems. Finally, Core I will continue to promote external collaboration through active participation in ongoing intra-CFAR activities and through linking our membership with other NIH-sponsored networks, such as ACTG, MTN, IMPAACT, HPTN, and HVTN.