We are proposing in this application to organize a Center for AIDS Research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in partnership with Southern Research Institute with a primary purpose of generating interdisciplinary research efforts with particular relevance to AIDS. This Center will have three main objectives: 1. To enhance ongoing research programs by facilitating interdisciplinary interactions, providing administrative and fiscal management support mechanisms and by establishing critical shared resource facilities for Center investigators. 2. To stimulate participation of existing junior and established faculty in research programs aimed at AIDS-related subjects. This will be accomplished through the establishment of peer-reviewed competitive junior faculty investigator grants and established investigator peer-reviewed seed grants. 3. To stimulate recruitment efforts in AIDS-related areas. Through Center identification of new relevant program areas and faculty, together with monies to assist Departmental and Division heads in the recruitment process, we anticipate continued growth and development of AIDS-related research at our two institutions. The Center will fund an administrative facility responsible for planning, evaluating, managing and documenting a broad array of research activities within the two institutions. Specialized biohazard containment facilities for the culture and isolation of HIV and related viruses will be constructed as part of a major renovation of space dedicated to AIDS research. A major emphasis of funding via the Center will be the provision of shared resources which will support multiple investigators from different disciplines that are commonly involved in interdisciplinary research projects. Of particular importance will be the inter- linking of clinical and basic science studies through these shared facilities. A major goal of the Center is to provide the most rapid translation of fundamental knowledge about AIDS and its related disorders into clinical treatment and prevention programs.
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