The purpose of the Flow Cytometry and Functional Immunology Research Core is to provide a centralizedresource of technical expertise and major equipment to support and enhance the experimental design andexecution of basic and clinical research in HIV pathogenesis that require application of flow cytometricphenotypic analysis, cell sorting, and/or evaluation of specific immune cell functions. A prime goal is toprovide the intellectual environment and the material resources to enable junior investigators to apply flowcytometry technology to their projects and to encourage established investigators to initiate innovative pilotstudies. To achieve these objectives, expert consultation is provided through the Core Director, AssociateDirectors, and technical supervisor; major instruments are selected for complementary functions;equipment use is accessible through dedicated technician operators; services are provided on a rechargebasis; generated data are analyzed, reduced, and diagramed; and fiscal support is given to pilot andexploratory research projects through the provision of research reagents and instrument time. CFARresources have enabled the Core to support a wide array of HIV research encompassing basic projects onviral regulation and mechanisms of pathogenesis to preclinical development of vaccines and genetherapies, and clinical studies of primary infection, opportunistic infections, neurobiology, and immune andviral responses to vaccines and HAART.To maintain our flow cytometry facility to meet the needs of the San Diego academic research community,several funding sources have been integrated for cooperative support: the UCSD Center for AIDSResearch (CFAR), the VA Research Center for AIDS and HIV Infection (RCAHI), and the Veterans AffairsMedical Research Foundation (VMRF). In addition to principal investigators based at UCSD and the VAMedical Center, investigators from The Scripps Research Institute, the Salk Institute, the La Jolla Instituteof Allergy and Immunology, and the Burnham Institute also utilize the resources provided by our centralfacility. Local use of flow cytometric technology continues to grow and diversify, and the Core facility strivesto keep up with the growing demand. The CFAR award remains an integral component in this endeavor.Application of flow cytometry to several areas of biomolecular research, in addition to expandedapplications in clinical research, makes continued CFAR support crucial to providing the infrastructure totake advantage of new scientific opportunities in HIV research.
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