Clinical Core (Core C) Situated in the Deep South, with prominent footing in rural communities in Alabama and adjacent states, the UAB CFAR Clinical Core (Core C) is uniquely positioned to support scientific inquiries at the interface of prevention and treatment, clinic and community, to hasten an end to HIV/AIDS via the following Specific Aims: 1. To provide Computerized Database and Informatics Services, 2. To provide a comprehensive and efficient Specimen Repository obtained from well-characterized persons living with HIV (PLWH), 3. To provide Study Coordination Services, and 4. To provide comprehensive Biostatistical and Epidemiological Services. Core C has been a cornerstone of the UAB CFAR since its inception, with the UAB 1917 HIV/AIDS Clinic (1917 Clinic) as its focal point. Functioning as a learning healthcare system, observations made at the point of clinical care have driven the scientific initiatives supported by Core C, aligned with the overarching CFAR mission, since 1988. The pursuit of knowledge to address clinically relevant questions has fueled discovery and scholarship that has fed back to the 1917 Clinic to enhance service delivery and treatment outcomes for PLWH, with broad impact nationally and globally. During the last 5-year funding period, Core C generated 780 analysis ready datasets, processed 152,000 specimen vials, and captured 10,800 patient reported outcomes survey assessments at the point of care, while supporting 70 extramural grants and publication of over 300 peer-review manuscripts. A noteworthy milestone, the Clinical Core supported 12 early stage investigators (ESI) from UAB and an additional 10 ESI from other CFARs during the last funding period, who were collectively awarded 15 career development awards (including 11 K awards) and 4 first R01 awards. With a census of roughly 3,500 PLWH, disproportionately African Americans and men who have sex with men, the 1917 Clinic remains the focal point of Core C. However, Clinical Core leadership extends beyond the 1917 Clinic to cultivate unique research platforms via the Jefferson County HIV/AIDS Community Coalition and Alabama Quality Management Group that includes nine HIV clinics statewide providing care for over 6,800 PLWH. Core C innovations include integration of Biostatistical and Epidemiological Services to facilitate synergies and efficiencies, roll out of a user-friendly, web-based REDCap Common Request Form to solicit any (or multiple) core services, and the addition of a Phylogenetic Analysis Database, and Geospatial Database to inform and augment HIV prevention and treatment science. Core C plays a pivotal role enhancing intra- and inter-CFAR collaborations, providing vital research support and leadership to our Interdisciplinary Research Groups and newly formed Ending HIV in Alabama Scientific Working Group, and leveraging synergies with other research Centers, notably the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (UAB CTSA). Ultimately, the Clinical Core mission is to provide ready access to integrated, comprehensive clinical and translational research services to advance HIV prevention and treatment science to promote health equity and hasten an end to HIV/AIDS.
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