The Virology Core will continue to provide laboratory services to all components of the research program. During the past funding period, the Core has processed all biologic samples, managed all clinical laboratory testing (~2000 clinical assays: e.g. HIV-1 viral loads, liver panels, Hepatitis B/C serologies) and established a repository of plasma and PBMC collected from study subjects (670 serial samples of plasma, 1283 serial PAXgene tubes). Core faculty have a strong background in translational HIV-1 medical research and both Drs. Ramratnam and De La Monte lead their own independent NIH funded Patient Oriented Research Programs with an emphasis on mentoring junior investigators. The Core will pursue two aims: (1): To continue to process, analyze and store all biological samples generated by research and pilot components and promptly (<24h) communicate all results of clinical testing to investigators and the Biostats Core. (2): To use our Repository samples to characterize longitudinal changes in inflammatory, insulin resistance, metabolic, stress, and lipotoxicity indices and neurotrophin levels in chronic HIV-1 infection and to determine the effects of motivational interviewing to reduce heavy alcohol intake on peripheral blood indices of inflammation, insulin resistance, dysregulated metabolism, oxidative stress and lipotoxicity. The Virology Core will interact with all components of the Program and will continue to provide expertise on clinical laboratory assay choice, frequency and interpretation. All data will continue to be forwarded to the Biostats Core (Hogan) and close interactions will be maintained with the Project Principal Investigators (Kahler, Monti, Cohen) in a highly iterative manner. Existing clinical (Fenway Health/Miriam Immunology Center) and basic science infrastructure (Lifespan/Tufts/Brown CFAR) will continue to provide value added resources that strengthen this application and the capabilities of the Virology Core.
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