PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT – OVERALL UNC CFAR The UNC Center for AIDS Research is a consortium of three interactive and local institutions: UNC Chapel Hill (UNC), Research Triangle Institute International (RTI), and Family Health International 360 (FHI 360). This consortium of interactive research communities has existed since the CFAR was formed in 1998. The UNC CFAR is notable for the breadth of research activity, the high level of excellence of its member researchers, and the importance of its domestic and international partners in fighting the HIV epidemic. The CFAR consists of 8 cores (Administration, Developmental, Clinical, Clinical Pharmacology and Analytical Chemistry, Biostatistics, Social and Behavioral Science, International, HIV/STD Laboratory), and within the Administrative Core the SCEED Office (Strategic Communication, Engagement, Education, and Dissemination). In addition, the CFAR supports one Scientific Working Group: North Carolina (NC) Collaborative HIV Epidemiology and Prevention, partnering with the NC state health leaders; and three Research Interest Groups (RIGs): HIV and Criminal Justice, Technology and Engagement, and Carolinas United to End HIV (CUE-HIV). The CUE-HIV RIG is an inter-state (North and South Carolina) and inter-institute partnership that represents a unique approach to bring together partners in jurisdictions where there is no CFAR to answer the Federal Government’s call to End the HIV Epidemic. The CFAR is focused on supporting research in the important targeted areas of: 1) Ending the HIV Epidemic 2) Cure/Eradication 3) Co-morbidities, Co-Infections and Complications 4) Prevention (including TasP and combination prevention) 5) Antiretroviral treatment and pharmacology 6) HIV and Cancer 7) HIV and high risk populations (Transgender women, Adolescents, Young men who have sex with men) 8) HIV and the Brain and 9) Behavioral and Social Sciences research to help address disparities. The CFAR has strong institutional support, which greatly enhances our capacity to support the wide range of research activities of our membership. Due to ongoing institutional support, the efforts of our membership, the hiring of new faculty, and the work and investments of the CFAR, we have seen a 51% increase in our funded research base over the most recent 5-year period. Commensurate with this growth in the research enterprise, CFAR members hold important positions of leadership within the three CFAR collaborating institutions and across the NIH networks. Thus the UNC CFAR represents a critical component of a strong, growing, and dynamic consortium of researchers who are collectively working to change the course of the HIV epidemic.