AIDS Clinical Trials Group Receives NIAID Funding

AIDS researchers at the University of Cincinnati have received $783,456 in funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The funding will support the AIDS Clinical Trials Group at UC, which has received NIAID funding since 1987.

"The purpose of the grant at UC is to provide an infrastructure to conduct clinical trials to improve the lives and health of people living with HIV and AIDS,” says Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, professor of infectious diseases at UC and Principal Investigator of the grant. "Our work is focused on developing therapies to eradicate HIV infection and control the inflammation associated with chronic HIV infection.”

The AIDS Clinical Trials Group at UC is one of 37 units worldwide that will conduct human studies to advance knowledge of the mechanisms of HIV-related diseases, the prevention of HIV acquisition, and the treatment of HIV/AIDS and its complications, says Fichtenbaum.

This year’s grant is the first installment for a new seven-year funding cycle. UC expects additional funding for the AIDS Clinical Trials Group.

"This renewal cycle was very competitive and resulted in the loss of 15 research sites across the United States,” says Fichtenbaum. "The UC ACTG unit has been a top-five performance site for the past seven years with highly skilled investigators like Dr. Judith Feinberg and Dr. Kenneth Sherman.  This allowed us to compete successfully for this grant,” says Fichtenbaum.

UC’s grant is part of a $12.7 million seven-year funding award held by Case Western Reserve University. 

Other clinical research efforts also supported through this award include initiatives at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and the Joint Clinical Research Center in Kampala, Uganda.

To learn more about current studies in the AIDS Clinical Trials Group seeking participants please call

513-584-4818

.