CIRA Overview
The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) was established in 1997 and is currently New England's only National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded AIDS research center. CIRA brings together scientists from 20 different disciplines and two institutions including Yale University and The Institute for Community Research, located in Hartford, CT. At Yale, faculty from seven different schools participate in CIRA, including the School of Public Health, Medical School, School of Management, Law School, Graduate School, Nursing School, and Divinity School.
CIRA's Research:
The Center presently provides infrastructure support to almost 70 research and training grants and over 50 affiliated scientists. This research is undertaken at multiple levels of analysis (individual, interpersonal, community/network and structural/policy) and can generally be classified into four categories:
- Basic social and behavioral research aimed at identifying the determinants of HIV-related risk in different vulnerable populations. Several of these projects combine social/behavioral with biomedical/laboratory research in innovative ways;
- Intervention research focusing either on evaluating existing prevention interventions, or on developing and subsequently evaluating new interventions;
- Policy research and modeling-based research that examines the cost-effectiveness of interventions and their impact on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as the public health decision-making process; and
- International research that seeks to translate lessons learned from behavioral and intervention research in the United States to locales outside the United States, and to apply the experience with HIV prevention research in other countries to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Connecticut.
CIRA's Cores:
CIRA provides infrastructural support for the conduct of this research through six Cores.
- The Administrative (Admin) Core provides scientific, administrative and financial coordination and support to the Center, plans Center activities, develops Center publications, and assists investigators in preparing grant applications.
- The Development
(Dev) Core seeks to promote and encourage both new science at CIRA that is consistent with its mission and new investigators to conduct this research.
- The Interdisciplinary Research Methods (IRM) Core provides centralized expertise and resources for study design, and collection and analysis of data.
- The Community Research (CR) Core reflects CIRA's commitment to community based HIV prevention research.
- The Law, Policy and Ethics (LPE) Core ensures the legal, policy and ethical issues are considered in the design of every CIRA research project and supports investigators in developing policy-related and policy-relevant research.
- The Clinical and Health Services Research (CHSR) Core is a new Core dedicated to multidisciplinary, collaborative research focusing on HIV prevention, care, and treatment in national and international settings.
Each of these Cores offer an array of services to CIRA-affiliated scientists and projects, CIRA Associates, and community partners.
Affiliation/Association with CIRA:
There are several ways to affiliate or associate with CIRA and take advantage of the Center's many resources and services. Investigators at Yale, HHC, or ICR, or at other Universities and collaborating with an investigator from one of these institutions, conducting research that falls within the Center's mission, may be eligible for affiliation. Principal Investigators not at Yale, HHC, or ICR, and not collaborating with anyone from these institutions, but conducting HIV prevention research, may become CIRA Associates. For more information on eligibility and procedures for affiliation or association, contact Kim Blankenship or consult our guidelines.
Training, Students and CIRA:
CIRA supports a number of different training programs, including an NIMH Postdoctoral Interdisciplinary HIV Prevention Training Program and several international training programs funded by the Fogarty International Center. These programs offer a variety of opportunities for young scientists to enhance their knowledge and skills in the conduct of HIV prevention research by working with mentors and participating in various seminars, forums, and other Center and University activities. CIRA-affiliated international training programs are housed in CIRA's Office of International Training (OIT). CIRA also works closely with the student run Yale AIDS Network to coordinate the involvement of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in its activities, and to develop opportunities for students to participate in AIDS related research and service. There are student representatives on most of CIRA's Cores, as well as on some of its committees, and CIRA scientists serve as advisors and mentors to students in many different disciplines and schools.
Strategic Planning:
CIRA seeks advice in its scientific direction and leadership from several advisory committees, including the Executive Committee, the Deans Committee, the Community Advisory Board (CAB) and the External Advisory Board. The Executive Committee advises the Center Director on all aspects of the Center's operation, including Center policies, priorities and future directions. The Deans Committee consists of the Deans of the Schools from which CIRA scientists are drawn, including the Deans of Medicine, Nursing, Law, Management, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Yale College and the Divinity School. The Community Advisory Board (CAB) consists of 10-15 representatives selected from CBOs and HIV/AIDS coalitions from throughout the State and provides advice from a community perspective on all of CIRA's policies and procedures. The External Advisory Board (EAB) brings together individuals of national prominence in the HIV/AIDS field, many who run AIDS Centers, to review the progress of the Center and advise the Center Director on its future development. |
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| CIRA BULLETIN |
Check the latest CIRA news, meetings & announcements.
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| YACS@CIRA |
Did you miss any of our '07-'08 YACS@CIRA seminars? Archived Webcasts are available for streaming along with PowerPoint slides for each presentation.
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| GRANT OPPORTUNITIES |
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is now accepting grant proposals for the first round of Grand Challenges Explorations, a new $100 million global health initiative.
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| CORE SERVICES |
CIRA's Core Services are aimed at encouraging the development of new scientists conducting HIV prevention research and enhancing the quality of new and ongoing HIV prevention research at Yale.
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