Rush University is joining the University of Chicago, University of Illinois Chicago and Northwestern University as partners of the Third Coast Center for AIDS Research (TC CFAR) — a program that supports research and collaboration between community members and investigators. This partnership demonstrates Rush’s longstanding commitment to public health and leadership in HIV research.
“We’re coming full circle,” says Lena Al-Harthi, PhD, vice dean of research, Rush Medical College. “Being a partner with the Center for AIDS Research really symbolizes what Rush stands for. We support patients who are marginalized or patients where there is stigma around their treatment.”
Al-Harthi is the Rush site principal investigator and co-director for TC CFAR’s Virology and Immunology Technology Core. Ryan Ross, PhD, associate professor, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, is the site co-investigator and co-director of the SAIL scientific working group.
Bringing research to the bedside
In the early 1980s, Rush experienced a surge of patients presenting with rare cancers and opportunistic infections that were highly unusual in otherwise healthy young adults. These conditions, including Kaposi's sarcoma, Pneumocystis pneumonia and other severe infections associated with profound immune suppression, prompted physicians and researchers to recognize that a new disease was emerging. This clinical pattern ultimately led to the identification of the human immunodeficiency virus, which damages the immune system and leaves individuals vulnerable to these otherwise uncommon illnesses.
Rush was among the initial clinical trial sites to research HIV. Today it is one of the leading institutions in the United States for research aimed at preventing, detecting and treating HIV.
“The success we have had with advancing HIV research and treatment is because we never took our foot off the gas,” Al-Harthi says. “We continued to push forward.”
Rush’s research focuses on the translational science of HIV, examining how the virus interacts with the immune system and other health risks and conditions. This knowledge allows investigators to tackle new challenges patients may face when aging with HIV.
HIV can be kept suppressed with advances in antiretroviral therapy, but there are several existing comorbid conditions including neurocognitive impairment, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease and more. CFAR encourages researchers to take what they already know and apply it to HIV research.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to leverage research already being done,” Al-Harthi says. If you have a clinician who’s interested in understanding cardiovascular disease, they can also include an HIV-specific cohort, look at those differences and leverage the work they’re already doing.”
Researchers then focus on taking that work and applying it to patient care.
“One of the key pillars of CFAR is implementation science,” Al-Harthi says. “How do we translate what we know out to the clinic to see the benefit?”
HIV treatment looks different for each patient. Rush is an HIV/AIDS clinical trials site for the National Institutes of Health, which means patients have access to a variety of new treatment opportunities.
“Investigators are already receiving pilot awards, and we're mentoring junior faculty to help them secure independent funding and build successful research programs that make a meaningful impact.” Al-Harthi says.
Advancing research together
The collaboration of four Chicago area institutions is a holistic approach to HIV research. CFAR brings together people who are interested in the same outcomes but have different perspectives.
“Rush is the premiere location for basic biological and translational HIV morbidity research in the Chicago area. Then we partner with UIC, UChicago and Northwestern who have a wide range of strengths including clinical trial design and behavioral and social science work,” Ross says. “Putting together all of our expertise creates a bigger benefit to the community.”
For more information about CFAR and pilot research opportunities, visit here.
