ACT 7: AIDS & EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The main objective of this proposal was to create a program to enhance research capabilities in AIDS and Emerging Infectious Diseases. These two foci of the program were chosen because of the high incidence of HIV on the island, as well as the real threat which emerging or re-emerging diseases pose to Puerto Rico, a tropical Caribbean island. the multidisciplinary program allowed the integration of the resources and expertise needed by our basic and clinical scientists to accomplish their goals. The project consisted of two components: a core facility providing state-of-the-art equipment not easily available at the Medical Sciences Campus; and a training component for new faculty, post-doctoral fellows and students. In addition, this program served to integrate our clinical and basic research faculty in order to be equipped to respond more rapidly to new infectious disease threats to the local community. The four original ongoing projects included in this proposal were: Project No. 1 "UPR Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Unit - HIV genotyping in naive patients" Project No. 2 "Role of Chemokine Receptors in HIV Infection Across the Placenta" Project No. 3 "Evaluation Studies of Dengue-2 Envelope DNA-Based Vaccine" Project No. 4 "Identification of Multidrug Resistant Genes in Rodent Malaria". These projects address health disparities issues relevant to the Puerto Rican and Caribbean populations.