Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research Receives $9.2M from NIH.
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Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research Receives $9.2M from NIH
The five-year award from the National Institutes of Health will provide continued support to Prov/Bos CFAR’s mission to reduce the impact of HIV on vulnerable populations domestically and across the globe.
The Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research (Prov/Bos CFAR) has received renewed funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The five-year, $9.2 million award ushers in years 25 through 30 of the historic program.
Founded in 1998 as the Lifespan/Tufts/Brown CFAR, Prov/Bos CFAR was first funded by the NIH in 2018. One of 19 NIH-funded Centers for AIDS Research distributed throughout the country, the Prov/Bos CFAR is a joint research effort between institutions in Providence, R.I.—including Brown University, Brown School of Public Health, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Lifespan-affiliated academic hospitals—and institutions in Boston, Mass.—including Boston University, BU School of Public Health, BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, BU Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, and Boston Medical Center (BMC).
Since a new partnership with BU and BMC was formed in 2015, total national funding for HIV/AIDS research has averaged almost $31 million annually and over 600 peer-reviewed publications have cited the Prov/Bos CFAR.
“We are so excited to have received this [grant], which will allow us to continue our mission to promote a diverse array of multidisciplinary HIV research, focused particularly on underserved and marginalized populations,” says Debbie Cheng, professor of biostatistics at the School of Public Health and associate director of the Prov/Bos CFAR.
With a portfolio that includes clinical, behavioral, translational, and basic scientific HIV research, the Prov/Bos CFAR aims to reduce the impact of HIV infection worldwide with special focus on vulnerable and marginalized populations, such as men who have sex with men, people who use substances, justice-involved persons, women, gender minorities, and at-risk youth. The Prov/Bos CFAR offers services to support emerging HIV investigators and promote collaborative research through its six Cores: the Administrative Core, Developmental Core, BioBehavioral Sciences Core, Biostatistics Core, Basic Sciences Core, and Substance Use Research Core.
Cheng, who, in addition to serving on the Prov/Bos CFAR Leadership Committee as associate director also co-leads the Biostatistics Core, is joined by numerous other SPH faculty also involved in work with the Center, including Laura White, professor of biostatistics; Sara Lodi, associate professor of biostatistics; Matthew Fox, professor of epidemiology; and Michael Stein, professor of health law, policy, and management.
“Over the next five years, we look forward to expanding our efforts in community outreach and education, reducing stigma, and training the next generation of HIV researchers—all of which will advance our innovative strategic plan towards helping to end the HIV epidemic,” says Cheng.
To date, the Prov/Bos CFAR has awarded more than 50 developmental grants to investigators, totaling roughly $2 million, and with its outreach has touched the lives of people living with HIV in a variety of high-priority areas of the United States, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee, as well as abroad in Kenya, the Philippines, South Africa, Uganda, and Ukraine, among others.
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