We propose to establish an innovative, interdisciplinary K12 Career Development Program in Cardiopulmonary, Hematologic, and Immunologic Comorbidities of HIV (CHIC) at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). The primary focus of this program will be clinical and translational (C&T) research in HIV-associated cardiopulmonary diseases both in the US and internationally but program faculty possess the content expertise to accommodate meritorious scholars interested in C&T research in HIV-associated hematologic diseases and HIV cure research. This K12 program will train exceptional MD, MD/PhD, and PhD scholars dedicated to careers in C&T research, leveraging the substantial academic training, career development, and research resources of UCSF including the UCSF Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI), the UCSF AIDS Research Institute (ARI), the UCSF-Gladstone Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), the UCSF Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI), and the Blood Systems Research Institute (BSRI). This K12 will bring together 35 accomplished, experienced, and expert faculty researchers under a single program that will strengthen existing research collaborations and catalyze new ones. Program faculty are primarily from the following 3 Divisions: Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; Cardiology; and HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine within the Department of Medicine in the School of Medicine. Faculty have demonstrated records of independent research funding, successful research collaborations, and peer-reviewed publications. In keeping with UCSF's rich tradition of collaboration, K12 faculty have existing research collaborations and co-authored publications with other program faculty, providing scholars with a vast network of mentors and co-mentors. Program faculty have a wealth of HIV clinical cohorts both in San Francisco and internationally that will serve as the foundation for the mentored C&T research experience of K12 scholars. K12 faculty are experienced and successful mentors. Faculty are also leaders of the UCSF CTSI Masters in Clinical Research (MAS) Program and KL2 K Scholars Program that will provide much of the formal didactic training in C&T research methods for the K12 scholars. Finally, K12 faculty are also Program Directors of K12 Programs in Omics of Lung Disease and Implementation Research in Heart and Lung Diseases at UCSF, Program Directors of T32 Training Grants in Lung Disease, Cardiovascular Disease, and HIV Translational Research, and Division Chiefs of Cardiology, HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine and Experimental Medicine Divisions, providing unparalleled leadership, experience and expertise in academic training and career development as well as access to a deep and replenishing pool of exceptionally-talented scholars. Our main goal is to produce the `next generation' of researchers in HIV-associated heart, lung and blood diseases.
People with HIV/AIDS are living longer and therefore developing classically age-associated heart and lung diseases. This K12 program will train the `next generation' of researchers in HIV-associated heart, lung and blood diseases to tackle this increasing problem using the substantial academic training, career development, and research resources of University of California San Francisco (UCSF).
