Welcome to the Penn Center for AIDS Research
The Penn Center for AIDS Research (Penn CFAR) is one of 20 NIH-funded CFARs and includes HIV and AIDS investigators at the University of Pennsylvania, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and the Wistar Institute.
The Penn CFAR's mission is to support, encourage and facilitate research in all areas of HIV/AIDS on the Penn/CHOP/Wistar campus by (a) facilitating communication and interdisciplinary collaborations through workshops, working groups, strategic planning efforts, and a seminar series covering all topics in the field; (b) support innovative pilot research in HIV/AIDS through developmental pilot grant programs including nonhuman primate-based research; (c) mentoring and support of junior investigators; (d) services and training in support of HIV research through Shared Cores: Clinical, Viral/Molecular, Immunology, Biostatistics & Data Management; Behavioral and Social Sciences; International; Nonhuman Primate.
You can make a donation to the Penn CFAR via the button below!
Announcements
CFAR Non-Human Primate Core Pilot Program - Request for Applications FY22
We are currently accepting applications to the FY22 Non-Human Primate Core Pilot Program.
Funds are available for the procurement and care of 8 non-human primates a year (up to 4 animals per project), and to provide support for animal laboratory studies including collection of body fluids, biopsies, surgeries, necropsies, and basic laboratory studies for simian (SIV) or simian/human (SHIV) immunodeficiency virus research. From 1 to 3 projects per year may be funded, depending on the number of animals required, the length of the project, and receipt of competitive applications.
More details can be found under the Non-Human Primate Core. A complete overview and the required forms can be found HERE.
CFAR CAB Statement on COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter
The CFAR Community Advisory Board released a statement, in solidarity with the Penn CFAR Administrative Core, reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement and offering support and direction to the people of Philadelphia.
See the full June 29th, 2020 statement here.
CFAR Statement on HIV/AIDS and Social and Health Disparaties
In the wake of the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and the resulting civil rights movement lead by Black Lives Matter, The Penn Center for AIDS Research released a statement reflecting on the parallels between COVID-19 and the HIV/AIDS crisis and the devastating toll these crises, in combination with systemic racism, have taken on marginalized communities.
See the full June 4th, 2020 statement here.
The Penn Center for AIDS Research is happy to announce a new funding mechanism available to junior faculty CFAR investigators (Instructor and Assistant Professor or equivalent) to obtain targeted data needed for resubmission of a scored grant, or other critical needs that will result in a stronger HIV research grant or related goals. This should be limited to key essential resources for which no other support is available. These grants will be implemented in FY2019, and will be subject to rigorous evaluation and review by the Developmental and Administrative Cores.
Please see the Microgrant Program page for more details.
The Delaney Collaboratory to Cure HIV-1 Infection by Combination Immunotherapy (BEAT-HIV Collaboratory) is a consortium of more than 60 top HIV researchers from leading academic research institutions working with government, nonprofit organizations, and industry partners to test combinations of several novel immunotherapies under new preclinical research and clinical trials.
News
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Dr. Ghose receives a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award
April 15th, 2021
Dr. Toorjo Ghose, MSW, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to India. Ghose will be hosted by Presidency University in Kolkata as part of a project to document and teach about the strategies deployed by sex workers to negotiate the COVID-19 pandemic. See the full article HERE- Could the pandemic prompt a huge loss of women in the sciences?
April 13th, 2021
Alisa Stephens Shields, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics in Biostatistics and Epidemiology and Core Investigator at the Penn CFAR’s Biostatistics and Data Science Core, was quoted in a New York Times article about the affect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on women in the sciences. See the full article HERE- Convergent HIV-Antibody Coevolution
November 19th, 2020
HIV is notorious for its envelope diversity and immune evasion mechanisms which have impeded efforts at vaccine development. Strikingly, when introduced into humans as HIV or into rhesus macaques as chimeric simian-human immunodeficiency viruses, homologous envelope glycoproteins exhibit conserved patterns of sequence evolution, in some cases eliciting broadly neutralizing antibodies in both hosts. Conserved patterns of envelope variation, and homologous B cell responses in humans and macaques, represent examples of convergent evolution that may guide HIV vaccine development. See the full article HERE- This Penn scientist paved the way for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
November 11th, 2020
The Philadelphia Inquirer has published an article highlighting the work of Dr. Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, and the significant contribution he has made towards the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. See the full article HERE - Could the pandemic prompt a huge loss of women in the sciences?
Events
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The Seventeenth Annual Red Ribbon Awards - Virtual Event
Tuesday, December 1st, 2020 6:00 - 7:00 PM
The highest recognition for policy makers, researchers, faith leaders, pioneers & youth who have made significant contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS and to the health of citizens in our community. For more information visit the CFAR CAB site at https://www.med.upenn.edu/penncfarcab/ -
HIV Grand Rounds
Every Thursday
12:00- 1:00 pm, Class of '62 Auditorium, John Morgan Building (unless otherwise posted) -
HIV / Pathogenesis CURE Journal Club
Every Other Thursday (See biweekly email for BlueJeans link)
1:30- 3:00 pm, Room 501, Johnson Pavilion or BlueJeans virtual meeting
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