UCLA CENTER FOR AIDS RESEARCH (CFAR)

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This application constitutes a renewal on the part of the University of California/Los Angeles (UCLA) for a Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) grant. This grant will fund activities and programs conducted by the UCLA AIDS Institute. The UCLA AIDS Institute was established in 1992 to coordinate all AIDS research, clinical and educational activities at the University and its seven affiliated teaching hospitals under one central administration. Dr. S.Y. Chen was appointed the founding and current Director of the AIDS Institute and is also the Principal Investigator of the UCLA CFAR. This renewal application includes core services and activities described herein that are designed to advance knowledge of HIV/AIDS through the basic, clinical, and behavioral sciences. The overall goal is to develop therapies and approaches to prevent and ultimately eliminate the threat of HIV/AIDS. The Institute consists of more than 150 faculty investigators responsible for over 200 research projects that encompass various aspects of HIV/AIDS biology, clinical studies, and behavioral science investigations. UCLA has consistently been ranked among the top five institutions by various sources for its excellence in AIDS research, education and teaching, and clinical programs. Metropolitan Los Angeles is a major epicenter for the AIDS epidemic and one of the most culturally diverse regions in the nation. The role of the Institute is to foster collaboration and build linkages both within and outside the university. Its emphasis is on the development of innovate approaches through the formation of multidisciplinary collaborations and provision of key technologies through core facilities to all AIDS researchers in UCLA. Additionally, the Institute is proactive in providing an "investigator friendly" environment to external research efforts that fall within the scope of its aims and goals. Alliances are supported through symposia, informal Think Tanks and seed grants. The Institute also works to identify and recruit new faculty investigators whose background and experience will strengthen research programs that the Institute has determine to be underrepresented, and/or timely. The action plan for the first year of requested support, January 1998 through December 1998, is summarized as follows. The Institute plans to continue supporting the seven cores originally funded by the previous CFAR, Administrative Core, Developmental Core, Virology/BSL3 Tissue Culture Core, Flow Cytometry/Cell Sorting Core, Mouse/Human Chimera Core, Clinical Investigations Core, and Gene and Cellular Therapy Core. In addition, through additional support through the CFAR, the Institute requests ongoing support for two cores, initiated through finds made available be private fund-raising efforts, the Mucosal Immunology Core and Biostatistics Core. Finally, the Institute requests support for three new cores, an International Core, and two behavioral science cores, and Adherence to HIV Medication Core, and a Behavioral Adherence, Recruitment and Retention Core, which together comprise the Health Behavior and Outreach Program.