Clinical Sciences Core (Core C)

Clinical Science Core ABSTRACT The Tennessee Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) is located in the Southeastern United States, the region with the greatest number of new HIV acquisitions, and of persons living with HIV. The CFAR continues its fourway partnership between Vanderbilt University Medical Center (a research-intensive institution), Meharry Medical College (a burgeoning academic health sciences center), the Tennessee Department of Health (an academically engaged state health department), and Nashville CARES (a sophisticated HIV community-based organization). This CFAR’s institutional and community environment is rich in opportunity and with a culture of engagement and collaboration. The Clinical Sciences Core (CSC) fills major gaps in the local research environment and, in so doing, supports the mission of the CFAR to reduce the overall burden of HIV and to help end the HIV epidemic. Access to research study participants, their associated biospecimens, and to large clinical cohort datasets are essential for high-quality clinical and translational HIV research. Since this CFAR was established in 2015, the CSC has been integral to its success. The CSC is essential for early-stage investigators on their path toward independent extramural funding, which equips the next generation of research scientists while also serving to expand the size of this CFAR's NIH-funded HIV research portfolio. The CSC also provides critical services for many established investigators. The CSC will support the mission of this CFAR by pursuing three specific aims: 1) To support research projects that require access to study participants and associated biological specimens; 2) To propel use of observational databases for high impact HIV clinical and translational research; and 3) To support growing research opportunities for Meharry investigators and to build upon new opportunities with colleagues in Memphis, Tennessee, which in 2023 had the second highest incidence of HIV among all metropolitan areas nationwide.