Emory Report

November 16, 1998

Volume 51, No. 12

Emory to take AIDS expertise abroad through NIH grant Emory will extend its expertise in AIDS research and education to scientists in other countries through a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) designation as an AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP). AITRP is one of the programs supported through the NIH Fogarty International Center, established in 1968 to advance health through international scientific cooperation. Emory's specific mission through the program is to enhance the HIV/AIDS-related research capabilities in Mexico, Vietnam and the Republic of Georgia. In collaboration with these countries, Emory will select a group of Fogarty fellows and provide them with educational and training opportunities in AIDS and HIV research. Fellowship training will include academic courses leading to graduate degrees and postdoctoral research training at Emory. Emory scientists will also provide in-country training and mentorship to fellows when they return to their countries to begin HIV/AIDS research. The program also will offer Emory medical, public health and graduate students opportunities to participate in overseas health research experiences in collaboration with Fogarty fellows. Carlos del Rio, associate professor of medicine, is principal investigator for the five-year training and research grant and director of the program. He was executive director of the National AIDS Council in Mexico before joining the Emory faculty in 1996 and is also the director of the recently nominated Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Collaborating Center here. "This grant provides Emory with excellent possibilities for expanding its international collaborative work on HIV/AIDS," del Rio said. "Emory already has several ongoing HIV/AIDS research and training projects in the Republic of Georgia through the Atlanta-Tbilisi partnership, and Emory AIDS investigators also are collaborators on AIDS research projects in Mexico and Vietnam." The Emory-AITRP initiative with Mexico will be officially launched at January's Emory-Mexico Symposium on HIV/AIDS Research in Cuernevaca, Mexico, where researchers will discuss opportunities for future joint collaborations. --Holly Korschun Return to Nov. 16, 1998, contents page