Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG).  Constance Benson, PI: The AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), the largest HIV clinical trials organization in the world, plays a major role in setting standards of care for HIV infection and opportunistic diseases related to HIV/AIDS in the United States and the developed world. The UCSD ACTU (AIDS Clinical Trials Unit) was one of the founding units in this NIAID program in 1986. Approximately 350-400 subjects were followed in ACTG clinical trials during 2005 by the UCSD ACTU.

Pediatric ACTU.  Stephen Spector PI: The UCSD PACTU was one of the original sites funded as part of the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group (PACTG).  Dr. Spector has been the national director of this joint effort of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), with a total of 52 research units in the U.S. as well as sites in South Africa, Thailand, Brazil and the Bahamas.

The PACTG has recently collaborated with the Perinatal Scientific Working Group of the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN/HIVNET) to form a new leadership group, the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT).

The Antiviral Research Center (AVRC). The Antiviral Research Center (AVRC) is a clinical trials unit established in 1986 to conduct patient-oriented research and educational programs on HIV and other chronic infections. AVRC studies have pioneered the development of treatments that continue to change the course of the HIV epidemic. Currently, our top research priorities include developing new HIV medications; combating drug resistance;  understanding metabolic complications of therapy; testing approaches to simplifying therapy; identifying and treating newly infected patients; treating patients co-infected with HIV and hepatitis C; evaluating HIV vaccines and immune therapy; testing infants and children for HIV; and caring for HIV-infected infants, children, adolescents, and mothers. Many ACTG and PACTG studies are conducted at the AVRC.

Early Test Program. The Early Test Program is a collaboration between the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency and the UCSD Antiviral Research Center. The Early Test Program offers free testing to people who may have very recent HIV infection. You can get an Early Test one week after a potential HIV exposure. The Early Test will also detect hepatitis C infection. Just like with HIV, early detection of hepatitis C infection is helpful because treatment options and outcomes may be very different depending on the stage of infection.

HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center (HNRC)  Igor Grant, PI: The HNRC conducts research that brings together a variety of scientific disciplines and methods to further our understanding of how the brain and nervous system function and how they are affected by HIV disease.  Studies at the HNRC are numerous and varied, covering topics as diverse as behavioral interventions to improve antiretroviral adherence, HIV and amphetamine users; sources and neurocognitive correlates of CSF HIV RNA, clinical trial of memantine for AIDS Dementia Complex (ADC), computerized (CANTAB) assessment of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders, treatments for AIDS retinopathy, development of Spanish-language neuropsychological test norms, effects of methamphetamine and HIV on brain function, and neuropathological investigations of HIV infection.

California NeuroAIDS Tissue Network (CNTN). Igor Grant, PI: This tissue bank comprises CNS autopsy material from HIV-infected individuals who were well characterized neuropsychologically and neuromedically within six months of death. The CNTN represents a collaboration of investigators from the NIMH-funded HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center (HNRC) in San Diego and from four other California HIV network sites. The significance of the CNTN arises from the demographically and neuropathologically broad representation of cases that are entered into the network from multiple sites in Southern California.

Study of the Ocular Complications of AIDS (SOCA). William Freeman, PI: UCSD is a center in this NEI program for the investigation of HIV disease and its complications in the eye. This also includes the study and treatment of retinopathy in AIDS.

California Collaborative Treatment Group (CCTG).  Richard Haubrich, PI: Since 1986, this multi-center clinical trials program supported by the State of California Universitywide AIDS Research Program has been coordinated at UCSD. It has made numerous important contributions to the treatment of HIV and its complications. The CCTG has received international recognition for excellence in clinical trials and related studies that address HIV-related opportunistic infections.

Since 1996, CCTG studies have assessed emerging technologies (plasma HIV RNA levels, phenotypic assays of drug resistance, and therapeutic drug monitoring) for antiretroviral management in rigorous randomized trials.  Another major research focus of the group is strategy trials for evaluation of clinic-based programs for prevention of transmission and enhancement of adherence to antiretroviral medications.

Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). Douglas Richman, PI:  The mission of the CFAR is to develop improved vaccines and therapies for HIV infection and associated diseases through basic research in the areas of molecular pathogenesis and immunopathogenesis; utilize insights from basic research to develop pre-clinical and clinical trials of therapies and vaccines; further clinical research to address fundamental scientific and practical medical issues; and provide leadership and serve as a regional resource to coordinate, stimulate and cross-fertilize all of the above to foster synergism, economies of scale and novel and creative approaches.

The Owen Clinic.  W. Chris Matthews, PI: The Owen Clinic, established in 1982, is a multidisciplinary primary care clinic for adults with HIV infection. The clinic currently cares for over 3260 patients with support of the Ryan White Care Act. The Owen Clinic Database (an electronic point-of-care medical record that utilizes a constrained vocabulary and electronically downloads the majority of laboratory test information), has proven to be invaluable for epidemiological and clinical investigation.  The Database includes longitudinal data on more than 5,000 patients. The Owen Clinic is also the home of the San Diego AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC).

The San Diego AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC).  W. Chris Matthews, PI: The Owen Clinic at UCSD Medical Center is funded as a local site of the Pacific AIDS Education & Training Center (AETC). The mission of the AETC is to provide health care professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to care for HIV-infected patients, to increase the numbers of trained health care professionals working with HIV-infected patients in the community, and to respond to the needs of emerging populations and the changing face of the epidemic.  The AETC provides clinical training through a mini-residency program for physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and registered nurses.

The VA San Diego Health Care System, Special Infecious Disease Clinic. David Looney, Director: For the past 25 years, more than 1800 veterans have received care for HIV infection at the Special ID Clinic. Approximately 600 veterans are currently receiving care. Combined with the Owen Clinic, these two facilities provide the majority of HIV care in the San Diego area.