Founded: 1993
Full Time: 38
Part Time: 2
Budget: 1,500,000.00
Director: Steve Nelson, M.D.
Dept. of Medicine, Section Pulmonary/Critical Care
1901 Perdido Street
New Orleans, LA 70112
Telephone: 504/568-6398 FAX: 504/568-6158
E-Mail: snelso1@lsuhsc.edu
Web Site: http://alcoholresearch.lsuhsc.edu
Research Areas:
Alcohol abuse and infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are major health problems in the United States. Since alcohol abuse and HIV infection frequently coexist in the same individual, it is critical that possible interactions between these two interlinked epidemics be evaluated. Furthermore, since both alcohol abuse and HIV infection cause a wide spectrum of disease from pneumonia to dementia, it is important to address these issues with a multi-disciplinary approach. This Alcohol Research Center (ARC), one of 16 National Centers supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, has evolved to perform such a role. The ARC is a multidisciplinary team of scientists from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC), Tulane National Primate Research Center (TNPRC), Tulane University, Alton Ochsner Clinic Foundation, and Xavier University whose broad focus is the effect of alcohol on HIV infection and disease progression. While a major component of the Center's activities is alcohol-based biomedical research, we have also initiated community-based intervention programs. Our goal is to stimulate and encourage the development of multiple perspectives and approaches to the health consequences of HIV infection in alcohol-using and -abusing populations. To meet this goal we have six specific aims:1) enhance the research capability and productivity of the scientists in the ARC who are engaged in investigating the health-related effects of alcohol and HIV infection;2) promote interdisciplinary interactions among ARC scientists;3) attract and nurture new investigators in the field of alcohol research;4) provide a wide range of stimulating training opportunities in alcohol-based biomedical research; 5) develop and maintain core facilities that will facilitate the operations and functions of the ARC and its investigators; and6) initiate and develop translational research.
Areas of Expertise:
Studies related to alcohol consumption and its effects on host defense in general and SIV infection in particular. The interaction of dual insults, e.g. ethanol plus infection. The involvement of cytokines, chemokines, free radicals and inflammatory responses. Investigations range from molecular to whole animals.
Special Capabilities and Facilities: Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Studies
Research Equipment:
Real Time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-RTPCR), flow cytometry, multiplexing bimolecular assay system
Keywords:
0705040 Immune System
0710070 Immunology
0715026 Inflammation
0715028 Injury, Immunophysiology
0715120 Immune System Disorders
0715165 Lung Disorders