The Developmental Core (Core B) will be established to support the research needs of the members of NCCFAR located at UC Davis, the Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory of the California Department of Health Services, and UC Berkeley. The main objective of the Developmental Core is to provide financial support to meritorious pilot projects in clinical, epidemiological, social, behavioral, basic science and translational research that encompass all aspects of HIV infection. Funds will be provided to innovative pilot studies through a competitive review process instituted by the Developmental Core. This will allow HIV investigators to generate sufficient preliminary results to compete for extramural funding for their research programs from federal and non-federal granting agencies. Funds will stimulate and foster multi-disciplinary collaborative pilot studies among investigators from Davis and Berkeley sites of NCCFAR and recruit new investigators to HIV research. Funding from the Developmental Core will be important in developing new, as well as multi-disciplinary collaborative HIV research programs, at the NCCFAR. The Developmental Core will also provide funding to junior investigators and graduate students for short-term training. Funds will allow them to visit laboratories of their collaborators or other investigators to receive training in needed methodology, assays or data analysis. In summary, the Developmental Core will be a valuable resource of funding for HIV researchers and new investigators for their innovative research projects, so that they can perform proof-of-concept experiments, obtain preliminary results and seek extramural funding. Thus, the Developmental Core will play a crucial role in facilitating the preparation of a full CFAR application from UC Davis and participating institutions in the future.
