The UCLA Center for Clinical AIDS Research and Education (CARE) provides state-of-the-art medical care and conducts clinical trials for people living with HIV and AIDS. CARE reaches out to the community with educational seminars, clinical trials and referrals.
"Community engagement is a cornerstone of the CARE Center's mission," says Kieta D. Mutepfa, the center's community health liaison.
CARE Center faculty and staff go to community centers, support groups and research symposia to present updates and educational sessions on current treatment research and HIV prevention.
The center's clinical trials are open to anyone who meets the enrollment criteria. Study visits are free and upon completion of the study, the CARE Center tries to link participants to ongoing treatment and care.
Director Ronald Mitsuyasu, MD, founded UCLA's clinical program in HIV in 1981, while working as an oncologist. Since then, the CARE Center has grown from a two-person operation to a full-scale HIV clinic housed off-campus. The clinic treats aaproximately 900 patients a year.
The CARE Center physicians are nationally recognized leaders in HIV medicine, infectious diseases, oncology and more. The CARE Center is the UCLA base for several national and international HIV research networks as well as a site for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry-sponsored trials. The center also conducts novel, small-scale, investigator-initiated trials.
Besides being a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic, the center conducts clinical investigations and clinical trials in all areas of HIV therapeutic research and co-infections. In addition, the center provides HIV education and training for the UCLA community and others.
For more information, go to uclacarecenter.org
