Developing a Community-Based Facility to Support Next Generation Biomedical HIV Research

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Project Summary/Abstract Wards 7 and 8 in Washington, DC are home to some of the nation’s most stark racial inequities in health and socioeconomic indicators, with residents of these wards being underserved in healthcare and underrepresented public health research. Among these health inequities is a significantly higher burden of HIV, yet none of the major HIV-related research facilities in DC are located within these wards. Two central hubs for HIV research within DC—the DC Center for AIDS Research and the DC Clinical Trials Unit—both operate primarily out of facilities in Ward 2, and the efficacy of this research would be enhanced by stronger representation of marginalized communities in protocols to optimize the impact of this work on the neighborhoods in DC that are the hardest hit by HIV, its co-morbidities/co-infections, and other co-occurring health inequities. Thus, the goal of the proposed HIV research facilities award is to fund the build-out of a new state-of-the-art, community-centered clinical and translational HIV research facility located within the new flagship Whitman-Walker building currently being constructed in DC’s Ward 8, to be used jointly by HIV investigators at both Whitman-Walker and George Washington University (GWU). The proposed facility would add 10,300 square feet of dedicated research space, including a state-of-the-art research lab and a research pharmacy with capacity for sterile compounding of investigational products, more than doubling the available space for research in this building and serving as the primary collaborative hub for HIV-focused research in Southeast DC. Doing so will significantly: (1) increase the overall volume of research able to be conducted; (2) enhance the collaboration of Whitman-Walker and GWU investigators, bolstering the strategic integration of both research programs; (3) expand the scope and technical capabilities of the work that is possible not only for both institutions but also within these specific neighborhoods of DC; (4) indirectly expand the available space for social/behavioral and public health research as well by relocating all clinical and translational research to the new facility; (5) provide local communities with greater access to and representation in cutting- edge HIV science and new opportunities to help inform these collaborative research agendas; (6) facilitate greater translation and dissemination of breakthroughs in HIV science within local and national policy contexts that will benefit both local DC communities and communities across the country; and (7) promote new opportunities for training and mentorship. In sum, the proposed project will have a multiplicative impact on both local and national HIV research through this unique plan to increase the size and scope of facilities available and co-locate two of DC’s top HIV research institutions to leverage existing partnerships and forge new, community-centered collaborative research agendas. In doing so, the award will bring cutting-edge breakthroughs in HIV treatment and prevention science directly to underserved communities most impacted by the HIV epidemic in DC and has significant potential for public health impact for decades to come.