DESCRIPTION (provided by the applicant): The Miami CTU plans to continue to make substantial contributions to the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS. The CTU is structured to participate in four NIAID HIV/AIDS Clinical Research Networks to deliver high impact ground breaking research, as well as, to respond to the rapidly emerging needs of the networks. To accomplish these goals the Miami CTU intends to build upon 25 years of major contributions to the treatment and prevention of HIV infection through continuous NIAID HIV/AIDS research funding. With one of the highest incidences of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. in the Miami metropolitan area, more than 25 years of experience in the design and implementation of clinical trials places the Miami CTU in a unique position to recruit and retain diverse patient populations that are severely impacted by the epidemic. Moreover, the breadth and depth of scientific expertise allow the Miami CTU to contribute to the scientific agenda of the NIAID HIV/AIDS clinical trials networks to address the national priorities for HIV/AIDS research and the needs of the Miami metropolitan affected population. To meet these goals, we intend to establish a Miami HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) under multiple PI direction through the integration of the Miami AACTG and IMPAACT groups and the Integrated HIV prevention strategies Vaccines to prevent HIV infections clinical research network. The Miami CTU also integrates three clinical research sites (CRS) into the CTU to effectively meet the needs of the diverse patient populations and of the clinical research networks. The CTU and associated CRS are structured to foster synergy and promote economy of scale, resulting in tangible added-value to the research agenda of the NIAID clinical trials network. RELEVANCE: The mission and overall goal of the Miami CTU aligns with the Networks to reduce the burden of disease and infection and to develop transformative, hypothesis-driven clinical studies that test innovative approaches for the treatment and prevention of HIV infection.

RELEVANCE: The mission and overall goal of the Miami CTU aligns with the Networks to reduce the burden of disease and infection and to develop transformative, hypothesis-driven clinical studies that test innovative approaches for the treatment and prevention of HIV infection.