This application from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) for a clinical site of the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group (PACTG) involves collaboration with four other sites in Alabama, Georgia and Florida to form the Southeast Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (PACTU). The Main Unit for this consortium is UAB (Co-PIs, Drs. Robert Pass and Marilyn Crain); subunits are supported at the Medical College of Georgia (PI, Dr. William Foshee), University of South Alabama (PI, Dr. Mary Mancao), Columbus Regional Health System, Columbus, GA (PI, Dr. Arthur Provisor) and Children's Medical Services of Florida/Sacred Heart Hospital, Pensacola (PI, Dr. William Albritton). These five sites cover a geographic area that is continuing to observe increases in heterosexual spread of HIV among adolescents, increasing seroprevalence of HIV in women of childbearing age, increasing infection rates in rural areas and small towns in addition to urban areas, and a markedly disproportionate impact of HIV on African Americans. Southeast PACTU was first funded in 1997 with a Main Unit at UAB and a subunit at Medical College of Georgia; the other Subunits were added between 1998 and 2000. Each site of Southeast PACTU was providing clinical care to women and children with HIV infection prior to this collaboration. Southeast PACTU now serves urban areas (Birmingham and Mobile), medium and small towns and rural areas, providing access to clinical trials to a patient population in Alabama, Georgia and Florida that is 70-80% African American. Southeast PACTU offers the PACTG outstanding Core Laboratories (Virology and Pharmacology), investigators with extensive pediatric and perinatal clinical trials experience, excellent accrual of patients in an under served area, and outstanding data and clinical trials management. In addition, UAB offers the resources of one of the world's leading HIV/AIDS research institutions and close connections to other HIV research groups whose goals overlap those of the PACTG. Leaders of the ATN, HPTN and HVTN serve as co-investigators or consultants for this application. Southeast PACTU is committed to the Scientific Agenda of the PACTG and eager to continue contributing to the Group.
