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.
Announcements
CFAR Scientific Symposium
Creating and Strengthening Cross-Collaborative Partnerships to End the HIV Epidemic in Philadelphia through Implementation Science
Friday, December 4th, 2020 9:00 - 1:00 (EST)
Call for Applications: Penn Center for AIDS Research Developmental Pilot Awards
The Penn Center for AIDS Research (Penn CFAR) invites Pilot Grant applications offered through its Developmental Core. Proposals in all areas of HIV/AIDS clinical, basic and behavioral research are welcomed. The CFAR is especially interested in proposals that bridge programmatic areas and, in particular projects that link clinical, basic and behavioral scientists, and investigators outside the HIV/AIDS field turning their focus to projects linked with CFAR HIV/AIDS investigators. See the full RFA 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
- HIV and Suicide Risk: PTSD, Depression, Insomnia, and Substance Use as Key Risk Factors
September 23rd, 2020
Dr. Lily Brown, Ph.D., of the Department of Psychiatry published an article for Penn Today on suicide risk among persons living with HIV. See the full article HERE- Chlamydia and gonorrhea have increased among younger women, study finds
September 14th, 2020
Dr. Sarah M. Wood, MD, MSHP, CHOP, was quoted in a September 14th article in The Philadelphia Inquirer about increasing rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea among women ages 18 to 30 in the United States. See the full article HERE- Dr. Golnaz Vahedi receives a Burroughs Wellcome Fund
August 27th, 2020
A brief description of the proposal: Our goal is to understand how lentiviruses change the linear and three-dimensional (3D) organization of the host genome. Propelled by rapid technological advances, the field of epigenomics is enjoying unprecedented growth with no sign of deceleration. Despite this progress, these techniques are underutilized in studying host-pathogen interactions and particularly the associations of lentiviruses and the host chromatin remain largely understudied. Our proposed methods and their application to cells from HIV-1 patients will pave the way to define a connection between integration and silencing of the viral genome occurring during HIV-1 latency, which remains a significant obstacle to eradicate HIV-1 infection.- How to Join a Coronavirus Vaccine Clinical Trial
July 27th, 2020
Ian Frank, M.D., Director of the CFAR Clinical Core, was featured in a Philadelphia Inquirer article about the progress of COVID-19 research and how to help with this momentous effort by volunteering for a vaccine trial. Full article HERE - Chlamydia and gonorrhea have increased among younger women, study finds
Events
- 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 - 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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