Immunology

AIDS researchers from Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center have received a seven-year funding award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

This award includes $12.7 million for core research funding and the potential of an additional $9 million to support clinical trials of promising treatments. This award marks the fifth time the Case Western Reserve University (CWRU)/University Hospitals (UH) AIDS Clinical Trials Unit has received NIAID funding since it began operating in 1987.

"We are very proud to have received this competitive award," said co-principal investigator Michael Lederman, MD, the Scott R. Inkley Professor of Medicine and associate director of the Center for AIDS Research at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and infectious disease specialist at UH Case Medical Center. "It shows a level of confidence in our unit that encourages and inspires us."

Benigno Rodriguez, MD, co-principal investigator and associate professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and infectious disease physician at UH Case Medical Center, agreed.

"This award will not only allow us to continue our studies of treatment strategies," he said "It assures we can maintain the outstanding team that has made all this success possible."

The CWRU/UH AIDS Clinical Trials Unit is one of 37 worldwide that will conduct human studies to advance knowledge of the mechanisms of HIV-related diseases, the prevention of HIV acquisition, and the treatment of HIV/AIDS and its complications.

In addition, Cleveland's unit is one of only two U.S. centers funded as study sites for three different research networks - clinical treatment trials and prevention trials using microbicides and promising HIV vaccines. (The other center is at the University of California, San Francisco.)

The federal grant enables ongoing research on HIV and AIDS at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. It also supports clinical research efforts at UH Case Medical Center, the Joint Clinical Research Center in Kampala, Uganda and the University of Cincinnati, a new member which joined the CWRU/UH consortium in 2013.

Cleveland's three-trial testing designation is based on the success of its past funding and research initiatives. The fact that researchers in this area have raised more than $195 million in grants since 2000 has helped to solidify CWRU's place as a global leader in AIDS research and it will continue to provide resources to the city to support local HIV prevention and treatment. Lederman, Rodriguez and other unit researchers are active and recognized worldwide for their research and treatment protocols. This success-breeds-success scenario has produced a supportive Greater Cleveland community with many volunteers who are willing to participate in trials as they become available.