UPR/MSC CURRENT PROJECTS

AND ACTIVITIES

Selected Campus Projects Relevant to Women's Health

Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Program

The University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus has participated in the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Program of the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 1986, when the institution was first awarded an RCMI grant to enhance biomedical research capabilities on campus (Appendix 1). This unique concept seeks to increase the participation of under represented minorities in biomedical research, focusing on institutions rather than on individual investigators.

Program goals include: (1) To develop infrastructure and support to facilitate the conduct of research, (2) To target specific areas of research for further development, (3) To provide a focal point for research activities on campus, and (4) To enhance the research potential of current and newly recruited faculty by providing opportunities for strengthening ongoing relationships with senior scientists both at the institution and outside Puerto Rico.

In 1989, program objectives were extended to include the development of infrastructure and services to support AIDS research. Two major activities from the original supplement remain active, i.e., multidisciplinary AIDS Research Clinic, which provides coordinated access to a controlled outpatient population, appropriate management of patient records, and necessary laboratory testing; and a research program in natural products with potential anti-HIV actions. In 1993, a new research project (Role of HIV-1 env Gene Variation and Tropism in Vertical Transmission) was added to the AIDS component. The Director of this program will be Assistant Co-Director of the proposed Research Unit, as COE objectives are in accordance with the RCMI program goals.