The UCSD ACTU proposes to continue its participation in the AIDS Clinical Trials Group. The overall objectives of this program are to identify promising new treatments for persons infected with HIV and to bring these agents as expeditiously as possible to clinical trials with the goal of improving treatments for HIV infection, and its associated infections and malignancies. We have identified an outstanding group of clinical investigators and basic scientists who have established a prominent record of achievement within the ACTG. The Core Retrovirology Laboratory (9001) which has worked particularly closely with ACTG investigators participating in Phase I-II studies and has frequently played a vital role in helping to guide investigators in future studies, will continue to provide quantitative virologic assays designed to monitor patients on clinical studies. The Pharmacology Core Laboratory (9002) has made important contributions to the development of new drugs within the ACTG and will continue to enhance HIV treatment programs by providing essential pharmacologic data on antiretroviral and other anti-infective agents. Additionally, several developmental programs will continue to enhance the contribution of the UCSD ACTU to the treatment of HIV-infected persons. These include: (1) A Developmental Retrovirology Program (0002) that will address the two fundamental virologic issues representing major hurdles in the development of effective antiretroviral therapy: quantitation of viral load and drug resistance; (2) A Developmental Pharmacology Program designed to expand pharmacokinetic capabilities to include population pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic analysis (0003), (3) A Developmental Immunology Program (0004), which will examine novel approaches to monitor the immunologic function of T-lymphocytes and monocytes in HIV-infected persons; (4) A Developmental Program designed to improve methods for monitoring AIDS patients for cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease (0005), including methods for detecting impending, acute and recurrent disease, and antiviral resistance; and (5) A Developmental Program that will identify defects in T cells which contribute to the predisposition to Mycobacterium avium disease in AIDS patients (0006). The continued participation of the UCSD ACTU with its essential core laboratories and developmental programs in the ACTG will enable our Unit to continue to make important contributions to the overall effort to develop improved treatments for HIV- infected persons.
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