PROJECT SUMMARY (See instructions): The Immunology Core (Core E), under the direction of Dr. Jim Riley, enables innovative interdisciplinary research on the prevention, pathogenesis and treatment of HIV-1 infection by offering state of the art immunological services, materials, animal models and equipment, and by providing consultation, training and expertise, to basic, translational and clinical investigators in the Penn CFAR community. The Core services include: (1) Purification of primary human bloocl cell subsets from both healthy and HIV-1 infected individuals; (2) Access to and expertise in use of a small animal model of mV-1 infection that can be used to study HIV-1 latent reservoirs, adoptive T cell therapy approaches, transmission bottlenecks and other aspects of HIV pathogenesis and treatment; (3) Full-service immunological assays using ACTG and IMPAACT approved protocols to support clinical trials, clinical investigators or basic science labs without immunological expertise; (4) Flexible, custom-designed immunological assays to support innovative gene- and cell-therapy approaches to treat and/or eradicate HIV-1 infection; (5) Mentoring for emerging investigators, as well as training and education for trainees and lab personnel in a range of basic immunological assays including primary cell transfection, ELISA, ELISPOT, FACS and intracellular cytokine measurement, and other assays, and; (6) Access to cutting-edge equipment including BSL3 sorting and Luminex analysis. To achieve its goals, the Core collaborates closely with other CFAR Cores, and supports a broad range of studies, including innovative

RELEVANCE (See instructions): The Immunology Core adds value to the Penn CFAR and its research mission by offering custom immunological assays, easy access to primary human immune cells and state of art small animal models of HIV-1 infection. In addition, it offers training, education and technology to enhance research infrastructure and capacity, and mentoring and outreach to expand the pool of investigators working in the field. Core E plays a critical role in assisting investigators to study ways to functionally cure HIV-1 infection.