The CFAR Pharmacology Core will support domestic and international research with the overarching goal ofoptimizing antiretroviral drug use. The Core will support innovative translational research of CFARinvestigators. The complexity of HIV therapy, which includes the distinct characteristics of several classes ofantiretroviral drugs, underscores the need for well designed state of the art pharmacology research. ThePharmacology Core and its Director have over 20 years of experience in HIV pharmacology research thatstems back to when zidovudine was the only FDA approved drug for HIV-1 infection. The Core has threespecific aims including:1. Service through development and application of innovative or specialized pharmacological assays. TheCore has extensive expertise in the development of novel assays for measuring drugs in cells and targettissues and for measuring the unbound fraction of highly bound drugs such as the HIV-1 proteaseinhibitors;2. Research for domestic and international research with the goal of optimizing antiretroviral drug use. TheCore will continue to design and implement pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies for a) distinctpopulations including women, pregnant women, children and those of specific ethnicities; b) novel drugsincluding CCR5 and integrase inhibitors, c) translational research aimed at determining whichpharmacological factors predict outcomes, d) and drug-drug interaction studies relevant to domestic andinternational populations (i.e. for patients with malaria or tuberculosis);3. Education and outreach through mentoring and training of junior clinical scientists in the area of HIVpharmacology research. The Core interacts with the International Core to optimize the training ofstudents, fellows and post-graduate researchers interested in international research. The Core will alsoserve as a conduit for CFAR investigators to collaborate with other programs within the School ofPharmacy including the program on Pharmacogenetics of Membrane Transporters. The Coreparticipates in rigorous QA/QC programs to ensure quality services. Assays within the PharmacologyCore include methods for most approved ARV drugs including intracellular methods for nucleosideanalogues, plasma assays for non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and plasma, unbound andtissue assays for the protease inhibitors. Additional analytical methods are available for thalidomide andanti-CMV drugs
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