This proposal represents a collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Wistar Institute to establish a Center for AIDS research that would link the AIDS research communities at these three institutions within an administrative structure committed to fostering interdisciplinary AIDS research activities. The Penn-CFAR would be established as a distinct University Center whose members would be derived from multiple Schools, Departments and Institutes located on the Penn campus and whose Director would report directly to the Dean of the University of Penn. School of Medicine. The primary goals of the Penn-CFAR will be 1) to create an infrastructure that facilitates communication, collaboration and synergy among AIDS/HIV researchers; 2) to establish shared resource cores facilities that enhance the overall research environment for individual investigators and that promote interdisciplinary research activities; 3) to develop programs in community outreach and AIDS education for students and faculty, and 4) to stimulate the recruitment of new faculty that will help to develop clinical and basic science programs that are at the forefront of AIDS research. The Penn- CFAR will be organized around 5 research programs: HIV Pathogenesis, Structural Biology, Clinical/Therapeutics, Immunology/Vaccine and Behavioral and Social Sciences. The Center will be directed by Dr. James A. Hoxie with the assistance of a Co-Director (Dr. Francisco Gonzalez- Scarano) and an Executive Committee whose membership includes senior scientists from the 5 Penn-CFAR Programs (Drs. Linda Aiken, Irwin Chaiken, Robert Doms, Harvey Friedman, Michael Malim, Stuart Starr, Peter Traber and James Wilson). In year 1 this CFAR will support an Administrative Core, a Developmental core, and 7 shared resource cores including Clinical/Therapeutics, Virus/Primary Cell, Molecular, Structural Biology, Immunology, Behavioral and Social Sciences, and Biostatistics and Data Management. The Center will be committed to developing a creative, comprehensive, and interdisciplinary AIDS research program that is fully integrated into the research and educational mission of the University and that will become the focal point for a continuing commitment at Penn, CHOP and Wister to meet the challenges posed by the AIDS pandemic.
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