Meharry HIV/AIDS Research and Training Facility

项目摘要 拟议的艾滋病毒/艾滋病研究和培训设施赠款的目标是翻新和发展 梅哈里医学院(MMC)的尖端和现代艾滋病毒研究空间。Meharry是 美国历史上最古老、规模最大的私立黑人学术健康科学中心。自1876年以来，梅哈里一直 一直致力于培养医疗保健专业人员和生物医学科学家，其唯一使命是 解决服务不足人群的健康不平等问题。例如，MMC在打击 通过带头在纳什维尔和戴维森县的试验场运营来应对新冠肺炎大流行 田纳西(田纳西州)。MMC还在少数民族地区进行了新冠肺炎疫苗的成人和儿童临床试验 人口。重要的是，梅哈里艾滋病健康差异研究中心(CAHDR)成立于 2005年通过美国国立卫生研究院的支持，在艾滋病毒/艾滋病研究和少数族裔科学家、医生、 学生、研究员和实习生。CAHDR的科学重点是确定、理解和消除各种因素 对少数群体中艾滋病毒/艾滋病造成的严重负担负有责任。中心是 负责通过基础、临床和翻译来减轻当地少数民族社区的艾滋病负担 研究。MMC以艾滋病毒/艾滋病为重点的研究环境也得到了Meharry AIDS的推动 Meharry社区健康中心(MCWC)卓越诊所。CAHDR和MCWC 是TN艾滋病研究中心(TN-CFAR)的一部分，该中心是一个多机构合作中心，涉及 范德比尔特大学医学中心(VUMC)、MMC、田纳西州卫生部和纳什维尔关怀中心。 此外，我们的艾滋病毒/艾滋病研究和培训环境也因我们的长期伙伴关系而得到丰富 通过Meharry Vanderbilt联盟(MVA)与VUMC合作。因此，拟议的艾滋病毒/艾滋病研究和 培训设施将使我们能够进一步利用我们现有的合作伙伴关系，成为全球领先的 艾滋病毒/艾滋病健康差距研究和培训。目前，只有四个实验室是物理的 CAHDR和其他几个艾滋病毒/艾滋病调查员都住在其他大楼里。这是身体上的 我们艾滋病毒/艾滋病调查人员之间的分离对互动、培训、接触和合作构成了障碍。 此外，我们目前缺乏现代化和尖端的实验室空间和设施，严重阻碍了我们的 吸引新教员到CAHDR的能力。为了解决这些差距，本提案概述了 与CAHDR毗邻的尖端艾滋病毒/艾滋病实验室设施，将包括四到六个新的空间 研究人员在一个开放的实验室空间形式。总而言之，这项翻修计划将提供前所未有的 有机会将所有Meharry艾滋病毒/艾滋病研究人员带到CAHDR会议并扩大我们的艾滋病毒/艾滋病研究 计划进入前沿新领域。最重要的是，一个现代化和尖端的艾滋病毒研究空间将 允许我们准备和增加代表不足的少数群体(URM)和黑人、土著和 有色人种(BIPOC)研究人员参与以艾滋病毒为重点的研究。

Project Summary The goal of the proposed HIV/AIDS Research and Training Facility grant is to renovate and develop the a cutting-edge and modern HIV research space at the Meharry Medical College (MMC). Meharry is one of the nation's oldest and largest private, historically Black academic health sciences centers. Since 1876, Meharry has been dedicated in educating healthcare professionals and biomedical scientists with a singular mission of addressing health inequities of underserved populations. For instance, MMC is playing a vital role in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic by spearheading the operations of the testing sites in Nashville and Davidson County in Tennessee (TN). MMC also conducted the adult and pediatric clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines in minority populations. Importantly, the Meharry Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research (CAHDR), established in 2005 through NIH support, has been a leader in HIV/AIDS research and training of minority scientists, physicians, students, fellows and trainees. The scientific focus of the CAHDR is to identify, understand, and eliminate factors responsible for the profoundly disproportionate burden of HIV/AIDS among minority populations. The Center is charged to reduce the burden of AIDS in local minority communities through basic, clinical, and translational research. The HIV/AIDS-focused research environment at MMC has also been facilitated by the Meharry AIDS Center of Excellence clinic at the Meharry Community Wellness Center (MCWC). Both the CAHDR and MCWC are part of the TN Center for AIDS Research (TN-CFAR), a multi-institutional collaborative center involving Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), MMC, the TN Department of Health and Nashville CARES. Additionally, our HIV/AIDS research and training environment is also enriched by our long-standing partnership with VUMC through the Meharry Vanderbilt Alliance (MVA). Therefore, the proposed HIV/AIDS Research and Training Facility will allow us to further leverage our existing partnerships to emerge as a global leader in HIV/AIDS health disparities research and training. Currently, there are only four laboratories that are physically located within the CAHDR and several other HIV/AIDS investigators are housed in other buildings. This physical separation between our HIV/AIDS investigators poses barriers for interaction, training, access, and collaboration. Furthermore, our current lack of modern and cutting-edge laboratory space and facility severely impedes our ability to attract new faculty to the CAHDR. To address these gaps, this proposal outlines the development of cutting-edge HIV/AIDS laboratory facility adjacent to the CAHDR that will include space for four to six new investigators in an open lab space format. Together, this renovation proposal will provide unprecedented opportunity to bring all Meharry HIV/AIDS researchers to the CAHDR Floor and expand our HIV/AIDS research program into cutting-edge new areas. Most importantly, a modern and cutting-edge HIV research space will allow us to prepare and increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) researchers participating in HIV-focused research.