Research Project
7124053
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Both AIDS and TB are very large health problems in India, The objective of this project is to develop a plan for the coming ten years to strengthen integrated and multidisciplinary research and training at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India in the fields of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. The University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) will be the partner institution in the U.S, in this collaboration. Research, training and capacity building needs are truly multidisciplinary and will encompass clinical medicine, drug and vaccine trials, behavioral and social sciences, operational research and health services research. This will include cost-effective strategies for prevention, diagnosis and management of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS and associated complications, including opportunistic infections. The project envisages training of several categories of health professionals including clinicians, laboratory scientists, research nurses, social scientists, psychologists, biostatisticians, and health care administrators. It will consolidate partnership with other stakeholders in India including Ministry of Health, Directorates of National Programs for Tuberculosis and AIDS, research organizations such as Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and its institutions (Tuberculosis Research Center, Chennai, National AIDS Research Institute, Pune), Department of Biotechnology of the Ministry of Science and Technology, etc. Leadership in key Departments at AIIMS have been identified and agree to participate. Similar steps have been taken at UCLA. Multiple linkages already exist between faculty at AIIMS and UCLA. Administrative support has been obtained at the highest levels. Preliminary meetings took place in New Delhi, February 2002. Key Faculty from AIIMS will visit UCLA, the FIC and other NIH institutes and attend major relevant research meetings in the U.S. between June 2002 and February 2003. Several UCLA Faculty will visit AIIMS. Planning will proceed from June 2002 with repeated opportunities for input and critique by involved faculty at both institutions. This will complement existing or planned U.S, programs including FIC, CIPRA, ICTTRI and international CFAR activities, Current plans for training at UCLA and courses, workshops and cooperative projects at AIIMS in 2002 and 2003 will continue.
