The risk of developing Kaposi's sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, cervical dysplasia and other cancers is greatly increased in people who have HIV infection. While recent research developments have presented new opportunities for productive research in the area of HIV-associated malignancies, international collaborations involving US-based investigators and those in developing countries have been limited. The objective of this supplemental program to the UCLA-Fogarty AIRTP (AIDS International Training and Research Programs, Dr. Roger Detels, PI) is to provide research training opportunities in AIDS malignancies for investigators from developing countries, with the aim of enhancing their ability to conduct research in this area. A secondary objective is to enhance the ability of UCLA-based investigators to carry out research in AIDS-associated cancers, much of which is funded by existing grants from the NIH-NCI, by facilitating international interactions that provide access to unique patient populations, resources, or research collaborations. At this time, there are several active international collaborations in the area of HIV-associated malignancies involving UCLA faculty and researchers in Brazil, on topics such as HHV8/KSHV seroprevalence, HPV infection and cervical dysplasia in HIV+ women, and the molecular epidemiology of AIDS-lymphoma. This supplemental program will support both short-term and long-term training visits by investigators (primarily postdoctoral-level) from developing countries to work with appropriate investigators at UCLA. In addition to individualized short and long-term training opportunities, supplemental AITRP funding will be used to give workshops on issues that are relevant to AIDS malignancies research. Visits to foreign countries by UCLA investigators, to develop or maintain collaborations in HIV-associated cancer research by interacting with colleagues or trainees, will be supported. Finally, a limited number of small re-entry seed grants will be provided to select program trainees. Overall, this supplemental program will allow the maintenance and expansion of existing interactions, will help build the capacity of foreign investigators to do AIDS-cancer research, and will enhance the ability of UCLA-based investigators to carry out NIH-sponsored studies in AIDS and cancer.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 109 publications
