The proposed Phase I project is a demonstration of feasibility of an economically self-sustaining World Wide Web site to facilitate information exchange within and across critical areas of science and encourage new scientific collaborations. The proposed test of feasibility will focus on two crucial questions regarding communication on the World Wide Web: Can authoritative, reliable information be provided through this medium? Will such a medium prove to be a useful forum for the scientific community? Because it is a multidisciplinary field crucial to the AIDS epidemic and remains underserved, neuro-AIDS has been selected for the Phase I test of feasibility. A Web site will be developed focusing on key questions in neuro-AIDS, as selected by a Scientific Advisory Panel of outstanding investigators in the field. The site will be aimed at researchers currently in neuro-AIDS, in other AIDS-related areas, non-AIDS researchers with neuro-AIDS-relevant expertise, clinicians who treat individuals living with HIV, and young investigators in fields such as neuroscience or molecular biology who may consider neuro-AIDS research.
The research described here will be broadly applicable in determining whether World Wide Web sites aimed at scientific communities of interest can be self-sustaining and commercially viable.
