Clinical Sciences Core

Northwestern University At Chicago, Evanston IL

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Modified Project Summary/Abstract Section The mission of the Clinical Sciences Core (CSC) is to enhance the health of persons across the lifespan living with, and at risk for, HIV through clinical research. This mission will be accomplished by translating biomedical discoveries into interventions that prevent, treat and cure HIV infection and its associated accelerated aging/chronic comorbidities in clinical practice settings. Chicago is an ideal location for this mission because it remains among the highest HIV prevalence jurisdictions (586 cases / 100K population) that mirrors other areas of the US that are epicenters of the ongoing HIV epidemic. In this renewal, the CSC will intensify its support of cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional clinical HIV research and its reach. The HIV care and clinical research sites of University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Rush University (RU), and their community affiliates are being added to those at Northwestern University (NU), University of Chicago (UC) and our long-standing TC CFAR community partners. With all these strong partners, CSC’s users can reach every one of Chicago’s neighborhoods with high HIV caseloads. The integration of now-expanded CSC leadership within major HIV clinical research programs and networks will better leverage national and local HIV research resources to fuel our members’ productivity. The CSC will continue to grow NIH-funded clinical HIV research related to chronic non-AIDS comorbidities, an increasingly important focus given the rising population of people aging with HIV. The CSC will also build upon its productive, cross-institutional, collaborative clinical informatics infrastructure and expertise, expanding and strengthening the rich electronic HIV testing and care datamarts maintained by the CSC. Biostatistics, study design and geospatial analyses are integrated with clinical informatics, enhancing synergies in providing those resources to users. The CSC will also continue to expand research collaborations across our universities and with HIV care providers, the health department, and other implementation partners. The CSC will pursue the following specific aims to enhance support for HIV clinical research: 1) to support HIV clinical research teams with resources for regulatory compliance, study operations / participation, data / biospecimens, and collaborations across Chicago; 2) to expand study design, biostatistical and clinical informatics and machine learning expertise and services for HIV clinical and population health research; and 3) to sustain and enhance research collaborations and linkages among study participants, clinical HIV researchers / trainees, HIV care providers, implementation partners, and innovators.