The medical faculties at Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt University jointly propose an AIDS Clinical Trials Unit to be located in Nashville, Tennessee. The major goals of this application are to successfully perform clinical trials in HIV-infected persons; to improve inclusion of underrepresented populations in these trials; to improve access to experimental therapies for people in the mid-South region of the country; and to investigate the differences and unique aspects of HIV-infection in this geographic area. This collaborative effort is feasible for the following reasons: 1) Middle Tennessee and the mid- South are experiencing a rapid increase in HIV infection. This population has essentially no representation in nor access to ACTG trials at present thus representing a large pool of potential clinical trial participants. 2) Meharry Medical College, with its ability to recruit effectively and in a culturally sensitive manner in the minority community, can make a unique contribution to the ACTG as a whole. 3) Vanderbilt University with its long track record in clinical research and experience in clinical trials in HIV will be a subunit of the Meharry ACTU and lend expertise in the development, implementation, and conduct of the ACTG protocols. 4) Meharry has the only CRC currently operating in a minority health institution. The General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) at Vanderbilt is the largest and one of the most successful in the country. this proposal thus provides an ideal opportunity for the two CRC's to collaborate in clinical trials.
