Since the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) was founded in 1997, it has supported a diverse portfolio of interdisciplinary research in domestic and international settings, contributing significantly to scientific knowledge of HIV risk and transmission and the cost-effectiveness and efficacy of HIV interventions in highly impacted groups and settings. In the next five years, CIRA will focus on stimulating and supporting innovative interdisciplinary research that combines behavioral, social and biomedical approaches, and the implementation of HIV prevention and treatment as well as the elimination of HIV disparities. We will leverage the extensive multi-disciplinary expertise of our scientists and partners to have a greater impact on the global epidemic through contextualized Implementation Science (IS) and ongoing support of interdisciplinary HIV research education and training programs, with emphasis on training for underrepresented minorities to diversify the field of HIV research. As the sole AIDS Prevention Research Center in New England, we will continue to develop and support the New England HIV Implementation Science Network, a regional network of HIV researchers and service providers that we established in 2014 to focus on the conduct of implementation research in small urban centers with high HIV infection rates, e.g., Providence, RI and New Haven, CT. Network activities will augment other efforts to address implementation gaps in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy by supporting the development and implementation of effective HIV interventions tailored to small cities/towns and other understudied communities. While focusing on the New England region, we will seek to become a national resource for IS research on the HIV epidemic, generating studies with findings of potential applicability to other highly impacted areas such as the southern parts of the U.S. We will focus on drivers of the epidemic and use the expertise of CIRA scientists to address the intertwined issues of substance use, mental health and stigma, and the impact of the current opioid epidemic on HIV risk and incidence. Our global research will also focus on advancing IS and cost-effective, sustainable HIV interventions in low resource settings, thus supporting the UNAIDS 90-90-90 goals and priorities in the 2017 Trans-NIH Plan for HIV Research. CIRA's new mission will be implemented through the coordinated effort of five cores: Administrative, Development, Community Research and Implementation, Clinical and Health Services Research, and Interdisciplinary Research Methods. Each core will support and build capacity for IS research. We will embed Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) approaches into strategic planning and evaluation processes to optimize Center efficiency and services. Core specific and center-wide impact will be measured through systematic monitoring and evaluation.
Recent advances in HIV science make ending the epidemic achievable, yet barriers to implementing proven strategies in practice persist. HIV disparities, rising incidence of HIV in young MSM, increasingly complex HIV co-morbidities, the opioid epidemic, the aging of the HIV population, and the need for cost-effective approaches present continuing challenges to public health. CIRA will provide a nexus for scientific inquiry and research collaborations to advance implementation of effective solutions to the epidemic in the U.S and globally.
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