Yale University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) has received an $11 million grant to support another five years of HIV prevention and health services research. CIRA is one of eight HIV research centers in the United States funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
The NIMH award arrives shortly after a report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that revealed higher estimates of new HIV infections in the United States than previously calculated, and that emphasized the need for more rigorous study interventions for HIV prevention domestically and abroad. The global spread of HIV, and its increasing concentration in communities of color and in impoverished areas, underscores the need for practical and cost effective ways to stem its transmission.
“We are very excited about the new award because it will allow us to build on CIRA’s historic strengths and forge new programs that are responsive to changes in both the pandemic and the scientific community,” said Paul Cleary, director and principal investigator for CIRA and dean of the Yale School of Public Health.
With the NIMH award, CIRA will continue to support ongoing and new research to identify and analyze behaviors, policies, laws and structural factors that influence HIV and to develop and evaluate interventions to prevent and reduce the impact of HIV infection. The research that CIRA supports also will retain its focus on disproportionately affected groups including children, women, intravenous drug users, and people of color. In addition, the new round of NIMH funding will allow the Center to broaden its scope beyond prevention to include research in the realm of clinical health services.
CIRA also will increasingly reflect the globalization of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. While CIRA has always conducted international research, the proportion of international study has increased from 7 to 39 percent over its life. Mirroring this trend, CIRA is changing its structure to better support prevention and health services research worldwide. CIRA has most actively supported research in India, China, South Africa and Russia—areas highly impacted by the pandemic. Its scientists also have conducted studies in the Middle East, the Caribbean, Latin America, and other areas of Africa.
The NIMH award will allow the Center to maintain its community collaborations and support local and Connecticut-based HIV/AIDS research. CIRA places a high value on working with the most vulnerable and highly impacted communities. The NIMH grant includes funds to support pilot projects to build the capacity of community-based organizations to conduct research of direct relevance.
Another priority of the Center is to facilitate the translation of research findings into practical applications that reduce HIV transmission and the burden of the epidemic. A related goal is to disseminate research findings broadly and effectively to those who will most benefit from and actually use the research results.