The Meharry Center for Health Disparities Research in HIV (MCHDR) will create a research environment in which faculty and trainees will enhance their research skills, conduct high quality research, disseminate their research in peer-viewed publications, and complete with greater success for independent extramural research funds. The program will assist the institutions that disproportionately affect ethnic minority populations. The specific aims are

• To recruit and employ an established, nationally recognized clinical scientist to serve as a focus to attract and develop other research faculty and to lead the Comprehensive Center for Disparities Research in HIV/AIDS at Meharry Medical College.
• To increase the number of Meharry Faculty with collaborative, extramural funding for research in HIV and AIDS.
• To enhance the scholarly environment for research in HIV/AIDS to ensure that the three subproject investigators in this application become fully independent scientists.
• To increase the number of mainstream research project grants that fund HIV at Meharry.
• To increase the number of Meharry Faculty with collaborative, extramural funding for research in HIV and AIDS.