The CSU works to catalyze innovative research ideas on basic and translational HIV research to help investigators plan, design, and execute research studies.

It provides training and consultation services in advanced technologies pertinent to the NIH HIV/AIDS priority areas and fosters collaboration between investigators with diverse expertise. Consultations are designed to link experts to:

1. early-career HIV investigators

2. colleagues working in areas of coinfection or comorbidity

3. clinical HIV investigators.

The consultation service covers study design, assay development, biosafety, and grant proposals. We have expertise in many technical areas, including the following: blood flow, brain mapping, computational chemistry, cryo-EM and x-ray crystallography, dementia, enzymatic assays, HIV-1 integrases, host interactions, molecular biology, novel drug development, organic synthesis, pathogenesis of HIV and HTLV, MRI, and Rous sarcoma.

The VRU works to reduce barriers to specialized HIV facilities and technologies to accelerate research. It enhances the impact of basic and translational HIV-focused research through training and guidance on using experimental services to facilitate HIV-focused virology, biochemistry, and cell biology studies. The VRU is also involved in assay development and refinement for research focused on HIV reservoirs as well as implementing rigorous quality control measures to ensure that users receive high-quality study data.

The TAU is accelerating access to key advanced technologies for preclinical and clinical HIV-focused basic immunology, vaccine, and drug discovery research. The TAU provides managed and enhanced access to key technologies in five centers that provide state-of-the-art technology in sequencing, imaging, immunophenotyping, and drug discovery. The ATC guides junior investigators, supports applications to the existing support available for core use through the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS), and maintains a D-CFAR JIT Enhancement Fund for high-impact TAU utilization.

List of TAU-Affiliated ICTS Cores:

• Genome Access Technology Center at the McDonnell Genome Institute (GTAC@MGI): High-throughput proteomics, next-generation RNA/DNA sequencing, long-read, single-cell, spatial analyses of HIV infection in cell cultures, patient specimens, and animals.

• Washington University Center for Cellular Imaging (WUCCI): Imaging of HIV-infected cells and tissues, live imaging of HIV-infected animals, HIV and host protein X-ray, and Cryo-EM structures.

• Washington University Center for Drug Discovery (WUCDD): Development and optimization of high-throughput screening for novel anti-HIV small molecules and lead compound optimization.

• Immunomonitoring Laboratory: Immune profiling of HIV-infected samples by FACS, CyTOF, ELISPOT, MHC tetramers, and cytokine multiplex assays.

• Anatomic and Molecular Pathology Core Labs: Embedding, sectioning, and histochemical staining of biopsies from patients or HIV-infected animals.