Clinical

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The Clinical Core serves as an interface between basic science, clinical, behavioral, and epidemiologic investigators and patients with HIV disease. Through the establishment of multiple clinics, a Comprehensive Clinical Database, a Clinical Specimen Repository, community and international outreach projects, and several special programs focused on common HIV-related complications and co-infections, the Clinical Core serves as a hub for all patient-related activities, ranging from the conduct of clinical trials to provision of clinical specimens and clinical outcome information to the 100+ UAB CFAR investigators and investigators around the world. The SPECIFIC AIMS of the Clinical Core are to: 1) Provide infrastructure for clinical and translational research related to acute and early HIV infection; children, adolescents, and adults with established HIV/AIDS; and HIV-related vaccines. 2) Expand educational opportunities for students and health care workers at all phases of training and practice to develop skills related to the design, ethical conduct, and analysis of clinical research. 3) Maintain and update the 1917 Clinic Database -- used to perform clinical, pharmacoeconomic, and psychosocial outcome studies and to identify potential research subjects -- and participate in the CFAR-Network of Integrated Clinical Systems (C-NICS). 4) Collect, process, store, and distribute high-quality blood and tissue specimens from well-characterized patients to investigators via a Comprehensive Clinical Specimen Repository. 5) Provide pharmacologic analyses utilizing innovative, state-of-the-art methodologies. 6) Foster interdisciplinary programs to better understand the pathogenesis and management of metabolic complications of HIV/antiretroviral therapies as well as several important HIV co-pathogens (especially STDs, Hepatitis B and C). 7) Provide outreach programs targeting education, prevention, and treatment opportunities for special groups at risk for HIV and its complications. This application describes recent UAB CFAR programmatic developments that reflect the diverse and changing face of the AIDS epidemic - an increasing emphasis on computerized patient records, research database, and outcomes research; increasing international research collaborative efforts related to acute and chronic HIV infection; and new interdisciplinary programs focused on critically important infectious co-pathogens and recently recognized treatment-related complications. Maintaining this broad array of inter-connected and synergistic projects is possible only through the provision of UAB CFAR infrastructure, organization, and resources.