UAB Center for AIDS Research

University Of Alabama At Birmingham, Birmingham AL

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The UAB Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) is a UAB designated University-Wide Center with departmentlevel status, and is governed by a Constitution and By-Laws. The overall mission of the UAB CFAR is to stimulate and support multidisciplinary basic, behavioral and clinical AIDS research so as to hasten the development of effective treatments and prevention strategies for AIDS. The major objectives of the Center for AIDS Research are threefold: 1. To enhance ongoing outstanding research programs by facilitating interdisciplinary interactions, providing critical shared resource facilities, and providing administrative and fiscal management support mechanisms for Center investigators. 2. To stimulate the entry of junior and established faculty into HIV/AIDS research programs. This will be accomplished through mentoring and training of young investigators and by the continuation of a peerreviewed, competitive Developmental Grant Program that will provide funding for both developmental and pilot grants. 3. To stimulate recruitment and program development efforts in AIDS-related areas. The Center has identified new program areas and will assist Departments and Divisions in the process of investigator recruitment. These approaches will ensure continued growth and development of AIDS-related research in the CFAR. The Center will be led Dr. Michael Saag (Director) and by an Executive Committee consisting of Drs. Beatrice Hahn (Co-Director), Craig Wilson (Basic Sciences), Joseph Schumacher (Behavioral Sciences), and Michael Bertram (Administrative Director). The Center is comprised of 152 Center members from 35 Divisions and Departments within the University funded by AIDS-related grants and contracts totaling more than $74 million in research support. Nine Core Facilities are proposed (Clinical, Biostatistics, Virology, DNA Sequence, Flow Cytometry, International Research, and Behavioral Science, as well as Developmental and Administrative) that will provide key support for the Center's principal thematic areas of viral pathogenesis, experimental therapeutics, and vaccine development. The success of the UAB CFAR in stimulating HIV/AIDS research is reflected in the growth in extramural funding for AIDS-related research from $6.0 million in NIH funding in 1988 to over $20.0 million in 2007. From 1997-2002 the CFAR has fostered recruitment of more than 21 investigators into the field and garnered strong Institutional support. All of the major research efforts within the Center link basic and clinical/behavioral research and together they utilize every shared facility supported by the CFAR Core grant.