Center for Aids Research (CFAR)

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The principal mission of the Duke Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) is to establish and support an academic environment that promotes and encourages the intramural collaboration and coordination of all AIDS-related research activities at Duke, thus serving the requirements of all AIDS investigators and their research programs. This new CFAR application is structured around the establishment of a series of critical Core facilities designed to serve the scientific needs of the basic and clinical AIDS research community and thus facilitate rapid progress in the prevention and treatment of HIV infection. The Delopmental Core will support an annual program for funding innovative pilot research projects as well as a separate funding program for fast-breaking HIV-related research. Additionally, the Developmental Core will initiate a faculty recruitment program in partnership with the Duke University School of Medicine as well as several clinical and basic science Departments. The Flow Cytometry Core will provide state-of-the-art phenotypic and functional analyses of HIV-infected and uninfected samples as well as the only BSL-3 facility on campus capable of high speed sorting of cellular subpopulations from HIV-infected samples. The Molecular Virology Core will provide virologic reagents (i.e., plasmids, vectors, and RNAi) as well as critical virologic services such as viral quantitation, isolation, cloning, sequencing and propagation to meet the needs of the Duke AIDS research community. The Bioinformatics and Biostatistical Core will provide dedicated modeling and statistical support for all basic and clinical investigators. Finally, the Clinical Core will provide access to domestic as well as international patient-related materials and training in order to enhance the focus on insightful clinical AIDS research with specific emphasis on issues critical to Global Health. The CFAR mission will be ensured through the activities of a permanent External Advisory Board, a comprehensive outcomes assessment plan and an effective strategic planning process.