Newswise — The Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has been awarded a five-year grant of more than $8.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The renewal grant will fund the Einstein-Montefiore Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) at Einstein and Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for the College, that together conduct some of the most important, fundamental research contributing to our understanding of how HIV infection causes AIDS, as well as develop and provide innovative treatment and support programs for patients. The increased funding received by the CFAR also renews its designation as an NIH CFAR site. "The award of this grant and the Center's designation as an NIH CFAR after a highly competitive review and selection process is a tribute to our position as one of the leading AIDS research programs in the country," says Dr. Harris Goldstein, director of the CFAR and professor of pediatrics and of microbiology & immunology, as well as Assistant Dean for Scientific Resources at Einstein and an attending physician in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Montefiore. "Our commitment to, and preeminent involvement in, AIDS research goes back more than 25 years, with Einstein and Montefiore investigators at the forefront of AIDS research and patient care since the emergence of the AIDS epidemic." The CFAR coordinates the diverse research activities of hundreds of investigators at Einstein and Montefiore, who are working with over 70 NIH-funded faculty members representing more than 15 basic and clinical departments. The new grant will support the continued growth of AIDS research at both of the Center's research sites, in particular research programs involved in investigating three Core areas: HIV biology and therapeutics; HIV-associated pathogens and HIV-related epidemiology; and behavior and substance abuse. In addition, the grant will fund further expansion of Einstein and Montefiore International AIDS-related research and treatment programs that have been established in Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Africa, India and Guatemala. -morePage 2 of 3/NIH-CFAR Grant The many contributions that Einstein and Montefiore researchers and clinicians have made to date include:
"¢ being among the first to describe AIDS in injection drug users and to demonstrate transmission by needle sharing and heterosexual intercourse;
"¢ being the first in the world to identify pediatric AIDS as a distinct disease and to establish a day-care center for children with AIDS;
"¢ identifying radioimmunotherapy (RIT) as a possible therapy for preventing or treating HIV infection;
"¢ developing a vaccine to combat extremely drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), which affects many AIDS patients in developing nations because of their impaired immune systems;
"¢ establishing clinics and research programs in developing nations, such as Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Africa, India and Guatemala, to provide much-needed treatment, as well as education about prevention; and
"¢ genetically engineering immune cells to redirect their infection-fighting ability toward killing HIV-infected cells, a strategy which could ultimately lead to an entirely new approach for combating AIDS and other viral diseases.
"By its design, the CFAR is set up to facilitate interactions between, and collaborations among, Einstein and Montefiore basic and clinical investigators," said Dr. Allen M. Spiegel, The Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean at Einstein.
"This is particularly helpful in accelerating the translation of research about how HIV causes AIDS into therapies that treatment and prevent HIV infection."
"From the earliest days of the AIDS epidemic, Montefiore clinicians and researchers at Einstein recognized the coming medical crisis," said Steven M. Safyer, MD, president and CEO of Montefiore. "By combining our respective clinical and research expertise, we created what still stands as one of the most prestigious multi-disciplinary programs in the nation. The prestige and recognition that come with this NIH grant will enable both institutions to continue to find new ways to treat and care for patients in our community and beyond, and to share valuable knowledge with scientists and clinicians around the world," said Dr. Safyer.
The CFAR was first designated as an NIH CFAR site in 2003 and is currently one of just 20 such sites in the nation.
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. It is the home to some 2,000 faculty members, 750 M.D. students, 350 Ph.D. students (including 125 in combined M.D./Ph.D. programs) and 380 postdoctoral investigators. Last year, Einstein received more than $150 million in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In addition, the NIH funds major research centers at Einstein in diabetes, cancer, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Through its extensive affiliation network involving five hospital centers in the Bronx, Manhattan and Long Island " which includes Montefiore Medical Center, Einstein's officially designated University Hospital " the College of Medicine runs the largest post-graduate medical training program in the United States, offering approximately 150 residency programs to more than 2,500 physicians in training. For more information, please visit www.aecom.yu.edu. Montefiore Medical Center encompasses 124 years of innovative medical "firsts," pioneering clinical research, outstanding patient care, dedicated community service and ground-breaking social activism. A full-service, integrated delivery system caring for patients in the New York metropolitan region and beyond, Montefiore is a 1,122-bed medical center that includes: three hospitals -- the Henry and Lucy Moses Division, the Jack D. Weiler Division and The Children's Hospital at Montefiore; a large home healthcare agency; the largest school health program in the US; a 21-site medical group practice integrated throughout the Bronx and Westchester; and a care management organization providing services to 179,000 health plan members.
The medical center is ranked by the prestigious Leapfrog Group among the top one percent of all U.S. hospitals based on its strategic investments in sophisticated and integrated healthcare technology.
Montefiore's distinguished centers of excellence include cardiology and cardiac surgery, cancer care, tissue and organ transplantation, children's health, women's health, surgery and the surgical subspecialties. Montefiore, the University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is a national leader in the treatment of diabetes, headaches, obesity, cough and sleep disorders, geriatrics and geriatric psychiatry, neurology and neurosurgery, adolescent and family medicine, HIV/AIDS and social and environmental medicine, among many other specialties. For more information, please visit our websites http://www.montefiore.org and http://www.montekids.org
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