Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR)

 描述(由申请人提供)：杜克大学艾滋病研究中心(CFAR)的主要使命是为学术研究环境建立全面的基础设施支持，这将有效地促进杜克大学艾滋病毒/艾滋病研究人员社区和整个国家CFAR网络之间的合作和协调，从而提高他们对该领域的重大贡献和整体影响的质量和数量。在这次竞争性续签申请中，杜克大学CFAR在我们上一个资金周期取得的成就的基础上，扩大了整体基础设施和项目支持，以继续提供具有成本效益的最先进的服务，并催化杜克大学合作的艾滋病毒/艾滋病研究计划。我们非常成功的小额助学金机制主要针对早期调查人员，我们同样成功的教师招聘努力为我们奠定了坚实的基础。通过有效的战略规划过程，CFAR领导层确定了七个具体目标，以指导CFAR在未来5年的发展和演变。这些是：1)提供行政和科学领导，并继续建立和参与战略伙伴关系；2)通过一整套机制，包括小额赠款、教师招聘和科学工作组活动，为创新性的艾滋病毒/艾滋病研究提供指导和支持；3)通过新的核心服务提供获得高度先进技术和培训的机会；4)提供高度创新和积极主动的生物统计和计算支持；5)提供现成的患者标本和扩大的社区外联；6)支持关于艾滋病毒相关结果的社会和行为决定因素的跨学科研究；以及7)支持NIH的倡议和促进CFAR之间的合作。CFAR将通过与杜克大学生物医学研究生多样性办公室的新伙伴关系，扩大其努力，吸引代表不足的少数族裔参与艾滋病毒/艾滋病研究。我们还将寻求进一步参与我们的战略伙伴关系网络，扩大小额赠款目标RFA/联合资助模式，该模式是在CFAR和医学部之间的上一个供资周期中启动的。这一扩展以及对新建立的CFAR数据库和生物库以及CFAR活动的持续支持，将因杜克医学院和外科部门机构支持的显著增加而得到加强。通过我们的战略规划过程，我们确定了代表杜克大学创新研究机会的五个优先领域：1)与艾滋病相关的恶性肿瘤和联合感染，2)艾滋病毒与老龄化，3)潜伏期和根除，4)精神健康、药物滥用和艾滋病毒结果，5)艾滋病毒疫苗设计和评估。通过杜克大学和整个CFAR网络更密切的协作互动，CFAR有潜力开发和进一步探索这些机会，这给CFAR带来了活力。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The principal mission of the Duke Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) is to establish comprehensive infrastructure support to an academic research environment that will effectively promote collaboration and coordination among the community of HIV/AIDS investigators at Duke and throughout the national CFAR network, thereby enhancing both the quality and quantity of their significant contributions and overall impact to the field. In this competitive renewal application, the Duke CFAR builds upon our accomplishments of the previous funding cycle and expands the overall infrastructure and programmatic support to continue to provide cost effective state-of-the-art services and catalyzing collaborative HIV/AIDS research initiatives at Duke. A solid basis is formed by both our highly successful Small Grant mechanism aimed primarily at early stage investigators and our equally successful faculty recruitment efforts. Through an effective Strategic Planning Process, the CFAR leadership has identified seven Specific Aims to guide the CFAR's growth and evolution over the next 5 years. These are: 1) to provide administrative and scientific leadership and continue to build and engage Strategic Partnerships, 2) to provide mentoring and support for innovative HIV/AIDS research through a comprehensive set of mechanisms, including Small Grants, faculty recruitments, and Scientific Working Group activities, 3) to provide access to highly advanced technologies and training through new Core services, 4) to provide highly innovative and proactive biostatistics and computational support, 5) to provide ready access to patient specimens and expanded community outreach, 6) to support interdisciplinary research on social and behavioral determinants of HIV-related outcomes, and 7) to support NIH initiatives and promote inter-CFAR collaborations. The CFAR will expand its efforts to attract underrepresented minorities to HIV/AIDS research through a new partnership with the Duke Office of Biomedical Graduate Diversity. We also will seek to further engage our network of Strategic Partnerships by expanding the Small Grant targeted RFA/co-funding model initiated in the previous funding cycle between the CFAR and Department of Medicine. This expansion, as well as continued support for the newly established CFAR Database and Bio repository and CFAR events, will be enhanced by a significant increase in Institutional Support from Duke's School of Medicine and Department of Surgery. Through our Strategic Planning process, we have identified five priority areas that represent opportunities for innovative research at Duke: 1) AIDS-related Malignancies and Co-Infections, 2) HIV and Aging, 3) Latency and Eradication, 4) Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and HIV Outcomes and 5) HIV Vaccine Design and Evaluation. The CFAR is invigorated by the potential to develop and further explore these opportunities through closer collaborative interactions at Duke and across the CFAR network.