The goals of HIV treatment in the current era are to optimize care and maximize quality of life of infected persons. Increasingly, the importance of nutritional status, the integrity of the gut, and the metabolic complications of HIV infection in determining outcomes is being recognized. The Lifespan/Tufts/Brown CFAR Nutrition, Metabolism, and GI Core seeks to promote better understanding of the contribution of nutritional issues to overall HIV status and outcomes and to incorporate nutritional interventions into global HIV care. To accomplish this, the Core promotes innovative research in nutritional techniques and interventions, specific services and advice to CFAR investigators, supports collaborative studies within the Lifespan/Tufts/Brown CFAR, other CFARS and other institutions doing HIV/AIDS research, does educational outreach, and translates nutritional science into policy. The Nutrition, Metabolism, and GI Core is, to our knowledge, the only CFAR Core dedicated to the study of nutritional aspects of HIV infection. The ultimate goal of this Core is to promote improvements in policy and programs for nutritional awareness and intervention in HIV/AIDS, thus, advancing the translational mission of NIAID. The specific aims of Core are to: A) Improve awareness of the importance of nutritional and metabolic research and nutritional support for persons with HIV infection; B) Provide essential resources and tools for nutritional and metabolic research to investigators in HIV; C) Develop and support innovative and sophisticated techniques in nutritional and metabolic research; D) Promote international research, training, and collaboration on nutritional and metabolic issues in HIV; and E) Translate results from nutritional research into policy and programs for HIV care. The Nutrition, Metabolism, and GI Core currently supports 47 investigators, with 15 new investigators this year, and is supported by 25 federal grants and 11 foundation and industry grants. The investigators include K23 awardees, 7 international investigators, as well as 60% women and minority investigators. Supported studies involve women and minorities with HIV/AIDS in the US and internationally.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter