Administrative Core A

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Project Summary Core A – Administrative Core The CWRU Center for Excellence on the Impact of Substance Use on HIV Administrative Core is responsible for driving the direction of Substance Use in HIV research at our institutions by being responsive to the evolving research needs of Center investigators. The Administrative Core provides the leadership and organizational structure to coordinate, support, and enhance the efforts of the Center members and bears responsibility for the scientific, administrative, budgetary, and operational aspects of the Center. The major strengths of the Center include scientific and technological innovation and expertise to pursue our four main objectives in studying the impact of Substance Use on HIV: (i) Methamphetamine & HIV and immunosuppression on neurocognitive impairment, due to glial activation, oxidative stress, astrocyte gliosis, neuroinflammation, and HIV reactivation. (ii) Cocaine & HIV dysregulation of the fronto-striatal dopamine circuit in microglia, driving the progression of motivational dysfunction and increasing susceptibility to HIV and favoring HIV replication and latency. (iii) Opioid & HIV modulation of viral replication, virus-mediated pathology, blood-brain- barrier, immunosuppression, viral latency, and viral rebound. (iv) Hormetic effect of Cannabis & HIV, as anti-inflammatory at low doses, limiting HIV viral replication and attenuating HIV-related immunosuppression and inflammation, and at high or chronic doses, associating with reduced gray matter volume and memory deficits. The Administrative Core A has developed a forward-looking Strategic Planning process that includes input from Center members and leadership, as well as institutional administrative personnel. Implementation of the Strategic Plan includes (a) organizing, managing, and advertising the Research Support Cores, (b) obtaining and effectively using institutional funds to further invest in junior and underrepresented investigators in medicine with novel research programs in a team science setting, (c) exercise fiscal constraint and advance external funding, (d) develop educational, policy, and outreach activities that fully engage Center investigators and local departments of publish health, and (e) fairly apply well-publicized, agreed upon evaluations. The Specific Aims for the Center Administrative Core A are: • To coordinate and implement a rigorous annual review and strategic planning process. • To leverage institutional support to enhance Substance Use research at our institutions. • To support our significant footprint in systems biology and ‘big data’ collection, management, storage, and analysis. • To stimulate training, educational, and community outreach activities throughout the Center for Excellence. • To improve communications throughout the Center and oversee responsible, rigorous, and reproducible research activities. • To serve as national research resource in the drug use in HIV research field.