Message from the Director
Welcome to the Vanderbilt Meharry Center for AIDS Research web site!
We offer just a sampling of our many collaborative activities and resources. We encourage you to contact us directly for more information. We welcome every scientific discipline, and any researcher, joining the fight to stop the HIV epidemic.
Our CFAR has grown and thrived because of extremely strong collaboration. This is just the way we work. It is reflected in our Executive Committee, as well as in every one of the Working Groups in our Cores and the two very dynamic Scientific Working Groups.
We also owe much gratitude to two leaders who helped us grow to where we are today.
James Hildreth, M.D., Ph.D., founded the Meharry Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research and served as our Associate Director at Meharry and Developmental Core Director until Sept. 1, 2011. James was instrumental in growth of HIV research at Meharry, as well as a community catalyst and a creative, collaborative scientist. Although he has moved on to be Dean of the College of Biological Sciences at the University of California at Davis, we continue to benefit from his wisdom on our External Scientific Advisory Board, his scientific collaboration, and his mentoring skills.
Philip Browning, M.D., helped CFAR get its start. Philip was our first Developmental Core Director prior to an untimely death from cancer. Philip’s wisdom, tenacity, and smile will always remain an inspiration to me.
We recognize the difficult work needed to end the HIV epidemic – and we come to work each day energized to try to take one more step closer to that goal. Our energy comes from our prior and current colleagues, and the new ideas that emerge every day from our interactions with each other and our trainees. Join us. Stop HIV.
Sincerely,
Richard T. D’Aquila, M.D.
Director, Vanderbilt Meharry Center for AIDS Research
The Addison B. Scoville Professor of Medicine, and
Professor of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine