Admin Core

The Administrative Core (Core A) will provide scientific leadership, effective communication, fiscal, regulatory, and bio-statistical support to ensure the success of all Program Project activities. This proposal seeks to build upon our track record in genetically engineered immune cell therapy by enhancing the chimeric antigen receptor platform to specifically address systemic vulnerabilities that we have observed in our clinical trials to date. Our overarching hypothesis is that novel gene editing and CAR approaches can remove the remaining obstacles in the path of universally-available and universally-active CAR therapy to cure HIV. We have brought together a cadre of exceptional investigators who have collaborated and published together for many years. Each innovative project develops HIV-specific CAR therapy will be led by a recognized authority in the field. The three cores that support this proposal are critical to the success of our scientific program and will provide critical reagents and expertise that will help the Program advance concepts into the clinic. We are leveraging the proven translational infrastructure, administrative staff and the centralized research organizations at the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at the Perelman School of Medicine to achieve our objectives. Strong institutional commitment from the Penn’s Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), Perelman School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania have facilitated our scientific and translational achievements. The essential services provided by Core A include statistical support for all of the investigators in each project and core; fiscal management and oversight for all components of the Program Project; regulatory support to organize a meeting with FDA to identify critical steps required to move these preclinical studies into the clinic (INTERACT meeting); and organization and communication of all Program Project meetings and activities.