Human immunodeficiency virus type l (HIV-1) infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) have profoundly affected Hawaii's ethnically diverse population. A Retrovirology Activity, which was connived as a new initiative of the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) program at the University of Hawaii, was established in 1989 to develop the infrastructure for basic and clinical investigations of HIV- l and other human retroviruses affecting ethnic minority groups in Hawaii. initial RCMI funding made possible the creation of the Hawaii AIDS Research Consortium (HARC), which led to the development of the Hawaii AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (AC'IU). Valuable experience has been gained in clinical research and significant improvements have been achieved in the research environment through RCMI support. Under the leadership of a recently recniited research virologist, to head the Retrovirology Research Laboratory (RRL), and an experienced clinical investigator, this Activity, now called the Human Retroviruses and Other Emerging Pathogens Activity, is being restructured and reorganized to maximize existing resources, and clinical and laboratory research expertise.
The specific aims for the next five years are to more fully integrate the the clinical and basic science infrastructure of the RCMI-supported AIDS research activities with the Hawaii ACTU to form the Hawaii AIDS Research Program; to expand the research faculty of this new Activity to conduct multldisciplinary investigations on human retroviruses and AIDS-related disorders among Asians and Pacific Islanders in Hawaii and the circum-Pacific region; to expand the research scope of this Activity by developing an applying expertise in late Phase I/early Phase II HIV-1 clinical trials and in projects on new, emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, as well as diseases of suspected infectious etiology; to support a critical mass o clinical and basic science investigators to develop hypothesis-driven research proposals for independent funding; to facilitate professional development of minority investigators from Hawaii and the Pacific through participation in clinical and basic science research on HIV-1/AIDS and emerging microbial threats. Continued RCMI support will help to establish the University of Hawaii at Manoa as an internationally recognized center of excellence in clinical and molecular retrovirology and in geographic medicine.
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