NIH Fogarty International grant for research training partnerships in India

[Guest guest]

University of South Florida Health Global Health Project targets reducing AIDS

among India's adolescents

NIH Fogarty International grant to expand University of South

Florida's research training partnerships in India

Tampa, FL (Sept. 12, 2007) -- The University of South Florida's

global health initiative to help India build an infrastructure to

fight AIDS has been strengthened with a $1.36-million research

training grant from the National Institutes of Health.

USF Health received the five-year grant Sept. 11 from the NIH's

Fogarty International Center to create an interdisciplinary training

program focused on the biomedical, behavioral, cultural and ethical

aspects of detecting, treating and preventing HIV/AIDS among

adolescents in India. USF will partner with Vadodara Medical College

in Gujarat, India, to teach Indian physicians, scientists, nurses,

and other health professionals how to conduct and evaluate community-

based HIV clinical studies for this vulnerable population.

" This program represents another exciting opportunity for USF to

shine in the international health arena and to broaden the scope of

our HIV research and training partnerships in India, " said USF

pediatrician Dr. Emmanuel, principal investigator for the

project. " It will enhance new knowledge in the area of adolescent

health and benefit USF and the local communities in India. "

India ranks second worldwide, following South Africa, in the number

of HIV and AIDS cases. In some places in India, half of all new HIV

infections occur in adolescents and young adults. Young people are at

greater risk for HIV for several reasons, including girls' increased

biological susceptibility and a tendency for risky behaviors like

unprotected sex and IV drug use, Emmanuel said.

India has made some significant inroads in committing resources to

the pressing public health problem of AIDS. But, a recent article in

the New England Journal of Medicine reports that to curb the spread

of the HIV epidemic, the developing nation must meet several

challenges, including increasing the number of patients treated,

improving the monitoring of therapy, caring for patients with

tuberculosis coinfection, and reducing the stigma and discrimination

associated with AIDS.

" We expect to train more home-grown investigators who can confront

these barriers by addressing research questions specific to the HIV

epidemic in India, " Emmanuel said.

The new grant – the latest of three NIH Fogarty International awards

to USF faculty -- was spearheaded by USF Health's Signature

Interdisciplinary Program in Allergy, Immunology and Infectious

Disease (SPAIID) and the USF-India Center for Health, HIV/AIDS

Research and Training (CHART-India). Emmanuel will work with co-

principal investigators Dr. Shyam Mohapatra and Dr. Eknath Naik.

The grant will expand the existing HIV infrastructure built by CHART-

India. Since 1999, USF medical and public health faculty have

established several CHART centers across India to care for people

with HIV/AIDS, train staff and conduct research.

The Fogarty project will draw upon the expertise of USF's nationally-

recognized Tampa Bay Adolescent Medicine Trials Unit. The unit,

directed by Emmanuel, is one of 15 NIH-funded clinical sites across

the country providing comprehensive services to HIV-infected

adolescents. Emmanuel oversees a large team of researchers and

clinicians who work with both adolescents and children -- educating

youth at high risk for HIV in an effort to prevent AIDS, offering new

treatments, and evaluating barriers to clinical trial enrollment and

retention.

" This prestigious grant is a national recognition of our strategic

efforts to create an effective network for the globalization of

translational and clinical research, " said Dr. Abdul S. Rao, senior

associate vice president for USF Health. " It also underscores the

efforts of our interdisciplinary signature program in allergy,

immunology and infectious diseases, which was established last year

to facilitate such activities. "

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-09/uosf-ghp091207.php