AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria
AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria (APIN) is a program of the Harvard School of Public Health with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. With leadership from Professor Phyllis Kanki, APIN seeks to develop major HIV/AIDS prevention and intervention programs in Nigeria. The program is modeled on the success from the 17-year effort in Senegal that has resulted in that country's success in HIV/AIDS prevention and control. Major programs seek to reduce mother to child and high-risk group transmission. Clinical and virologic capacity and support have been developed for AIDS treatment and care programs in target states. APIN strives to reduce the rate of growth of Nigeria's HIV epidemic and ultimately reverse its course, in partnership with government agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations in Nigeria. The initiative will also train Nigerian scientists and officials to help build the country's capacities in surveying the HIV epidemic and its impact and formulating AIDS policy. For more information, visit http://www.apin.harvard.edu.
Botswana–Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative Partnership for HIV Research and Education
Established in 1996, the Botswana–HAI Partnership for HIV Research and Education is a collaborative research and training initiative between the Government of the Republic of Botswana and HAI. The Botswana–HAI Partnership conducts epidemiological and laboratory-based research on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission and the genomic analysis of HIV-1C, the viral subtype predominant in southern Africa. Research is also conducted on the design and development of an HIV-1C vaccine and on the susceptibility and resistance to antiretroviral drugs. The Partnership also serves as a training facility for Botswana’s future researchers and laboratory technicians and is home to the KITSO AIDS Training Program, an educational effort that provides multidisciplinary, sustainable and standardized training in HIV and AIDS care crafted specifically for Botswana’s health professionals. For more information, visit http://www.bhp.org.bw.
Center for International Development
Established in 1998, the Center for International Development at Harvard University serves as Harvard’s primary center for research on sustainable international development. Recognizing the need for cross-disciplinary approaches to the challenges of sustainable development, CID draws upon faculty, staff and researchers from the Kennedy School of Government, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the School of Public Health, the Medical School, the Graduate School of Education, the Law School and the Business School. For more information, visit http://www.cid.harvard.edu.
Center for Biostatistics in AIDS Research, Harvard School of Public Health
The Center for Biostatistics in AIDS Research (CBAR) is a Center at the Harvard School of Public Health whose mission is to foster and conduct statistical scientific activity in clinical trials and other public health research areas in HIV disease, to promote innovative strategies for medical interventions and study design, and to provide education and training relevant to statistical aspects of HIV disease research. CBAR currently collaborates with HAI by ensuring rigorous methodological standards are applied to studies examining mother-to-infant transmission and drug treatment and resistance conducted through the Botswana–Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative Partnership. For more information, visit http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/cbar/.
China Project
HAI’s China Project is a multi-faceted collaboration dedicated to curbing the epidemic and mitigating its impact in China.
The China Project began with joint laboratory research and vaccine development being conducted in concert with the Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Beijing and the Nankai University Vaccine Laboratory, Tianjin, where HAI researcher Yichen Lu serves as Director.
At program offices in Boston and Tianjin, China Project staff work to identify and move forward promising initiatives, partnering with a variety of organizations already working in China.
Accomplishments to date:
- November 2001: Lecture Series
At the invitation of the Government of China and the US Department of State, Dr. Yichen Lu, Principal Research Scientist at HAI, embarked on a six city tour of China that included HIV-related lecturers, meetings, and consultations with university researchers, students, public health officials, and local news media.
- April 4, 2002: 1st Clinician Videoconference
The China Project hosted the first in a series of video conferences in collaboration with the United States General Consulate in Shanghai to facilitate the exchange of expertise and experience between Chinese clinicians treating persons living with HIV and AIDS and care experts at Harvard University.
- May 2002: Jiangsu Province Field Report
Researchers working on behalf of the China Project completed an in-depth report and evaluation of the AIDS response system in China’s Jiangsu province. Information for the report was provided by staff of the Jiangsu Provincial CDC. This document will be used as part of future collaborations with the Chinese government and provides suggestions to help Jiangsu public health officials improve and expand their efforts.
For more information, contact Chris Chanyasulkit at cchanyas@hsph.harvard.edu.
Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health
The Department of Biostatistics at the Harvard School of Public Health uses the theory and application of statistical science to analyze public health programs and to further biomedical research. The Department of Biostatistics conducts research on the development of statistical and computing methods for clinical trials, statistical aspects of the study of AIDS, and collaborative clinical research in the treatment of AIDS. For more information, visit http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/Academics/bio/index.html.
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health
The Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health has a long tradition of teaching and research. Current research in the department includes the role of viruses in the etiology of cancer; the connection between diet and risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other major chronic diseases; the relationship between exposure to chemicals in the workplace and the development of cancer; the epidemiology of infectious disease; factors in early life predisposing individuals to chronic diseases; case identification and risk factors in mental disorders; health effects of drugs, vaccines, and medical devices; and causes of human infertility. For more information, visit http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/Academics/epidem/index.html.
Department of Health and Social Behavior, Harvard School of Public Health
The Department of Health and Social Behavior at the Harvard School of Public Health identifies the social and behavioral determinants of health and develops and evaluates interventions and policies leading to the improvement of the public's health and quality of life. Currently, the Department of Health and Social Behavior is evaluating the scientific implications of breastfeeding versus bottle-feeding on transmission of HIV infection from mother to infant, and concurrent issues of compliance and cultural acceptance. For more information, visit http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/Academics/hsb/index.html.
Department of Population and International Health, Harvard School of Public Health
The Department of Population and International Health at the Harvard School of Public Health seeks to improve global health problems through education, research, and service from a population-based perspective. Drawing on anthropology, demography, ecology, economics, epidemiology, ethics, medicine, political science, reproductive biology, and sociology, department faculty members apply their disciplinary expertise to population and international health issues. The department's research interests include social and economic development, health policy, and demography; design and financing of health care systems; women's health, reproductive health, and children's health; and prevention and control of infectious and chronic diseases. For more information, visit http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/Academics/pih/index.html.
Enhancing Care Initiative
The Enhancing Care Initiative is a program that aims to enhance the care of men, women, and children living with HIV or AIDS in resource-scarce countries. This five-year initiative has facilitated the development of multidisciplinary teams of local experts in five regions: Brazil, Puerto Rico, Senegal, South Africa and Thailand. These AIDS Care Teams bring together local experts—clinicians, people living with HIV, epidemiologists, health care delivery experts, human rights specialists, behavioral scientists, economists, and political scientists—to initiate meaningful changes in HIV and AIDS policy and health care delivery in their regions. The Enhancing Care Initiative is coordinated by HAI in partnership with the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights and the Department of Population and International Health based at the Harvard School of Public Health. The program is made possible by a grant from The Merck Company Foundation and the HIV/AIDS Bureau at the U.S Health Resources and Services Administration. For more information, visit http://www.eci.harvard.edu.
Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center
The Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center (FXB) Center, based at the Harvard School of Public Health, is the first academic center to focus exclusively on health and human rights. HAI and the FXB Center collaborate together on the Enhancing Care Initiative and the FXB Center served as a partner on Africa Now! A Leadership Summit to Define African Priorities for AIDS held in Boston in November 2000. For more information, visit http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/fxbcenter/.
Harvard Medical School Division of AIDS
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is one of the world's preeminent institutions in medical education and research. The school has nearly 8,000 faculty and 17 affiliated teaching hospitals and facilities. The Medical School has nine departments in basic and social science disciplines: Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Neurobiology, Pathology, Ambulatory Care and Prevention, Health Care Policy, and Social Medicine. For more information, visit http://www.hms.harvard.edu. The Harvard Medical School Division of AIDS is the cornerstone for building, expanding, and promoting collaborative activities in AIDS research, care, and education among faculty, staff, and students at the Medical School, Harvard University, and its affiliated institutions. Within the HMS Division of AIDS, the Harvard HIV Vaccine Trials Unit has chosen Botswana as their first international site to complement their local sites for HIV preventive vaccine clinical trials. For more information, visit http://www.hms.harvard.edu/aids.
Partners Center for AIDS Research
The Partners AIDS Research Center exists to facilitate multi-disciplinary AIDS research, promote HIV-related education and training, and enhance clinical care of HIV-infected persons. The institutions of the Partners AIDS Research Center focus on an unusually wide spectrum of HIV-related research from basic molecular biology to clinical investigation, patient care and outreach. Areas of expertise include immunology, virology, oncology, gene therapy, antiviral drug development, maternal fetal transmission and pediatric AIDS, AIDS epidemiology, behavioral sciences, cost efficiency and public policy, endocrinology and metabolism, and vaccine development. For more information, visit http://www.mgh.harvard.edu/depts/aids/about.html.
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