The scientific focus of the Comprehensive Alcohol Research Center (CARC) at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans is to conduct cutting-edge basic research on alcohol and HIV that can be translated into effective community-based interventions. The oversight and operation of the CARC is conducted through the Administrative Core. The Administrative Core provides the organizational framework for the direction, management, and coordination of the CARC. Specifically, the Administrative Core; 1) monitors the performance and productivity of the individual research components and cores; 2) manages the budget and fiscal activities of the CARC; 3) supervises the CARC personnel: and 4) plans and executes the educational, enrichment and dissemination functions of the Center. The Administrative Core also provides biostatistical support and is responsible for centralizing, coordinating, and integrating computer services for administrative and scientific components of the CARC. The Principal Investigator has responsibility for all CARC components and supervises their activities and receives valuable input from the Scientific Director, the Intramural Center Committee, and the Program Advisory Committee. The Administrative Core facilitates a synergistic and productive interaction among the participants which contributes substantially to the success of the CARC. Such interactions are a "way of life" for the participating CARC scientists and include both formal and informal venues which provide ample opportunity for critique and cross-fertilization of ideas addressing the common goal of the health consequences of alcohol abuse. In addition to monitoring the progress and scientific productivity of the individual components of the CARC and fostering interdisciplinary cooperation, the Administrative Core manages the budget and fiscal activities of the Center. The Director of Education, Enrichment, and Dissemination Activities develops educational programs for the scientific and lay communities on the biomedical consequences of alcohol use and abuse. In summary, the Administrative Core is a mature, integrated organization with a successful record in developing a comprehensive, thematically focused research program that is both productive and cost-effective in an area of great clinical relevance.

RELEVANCE (See Instructions): The Administrative Core is a mature, integrated organization that has developed a comprehensive research program on the effects of alcohol on HIV infection. HIV continues to be a major health problem in the U.S. with more than 40,000 estimated new infections annually. The CARC at LSUHSC is uniquely positioned to study the interactions of alcohol, HIV, and ART in the most widely accepted animal model of HIV infection and to translate these findings into community-based interventions.