The Division of Adult Infectious Diseases at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center was established in 1970 and has a highly rich history of clinical, academic, and research accomplishment. Historically, our Division has focused on consultative service for the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in the broad areas of Infectious Diseases, multi-drug resistant pathogens, and infections found in patients who come to our center from throughout the globe, providing our Division with tremendous experience with infections that are rarely seen in other populations.
Throughout its history, the Division has concentrated its research on integrated themes and application of discoveries to prevent and treat human disease including development of vaccines of immune therapies. Divisional research funding historically and presently has been diverse, anchored by grants from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research, Department of Defense, American Heart Association, U.C. Taskforce on AIDS, intramural support grants, and from pharmaceutical industry and biotechnical entities. All Divisional faculty, which includes 5 physician and 7 PhD faculty, hold appointments at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The Division is home to four Infectious Diseases fellows, numerous post-doctoral Ph.D fellows, doctoral students, and many international visiting scientists, research associates and technicians, and a highly efficient administrative staff.
The Lundquist Institute (formerly known as LABioMed and REI) have been leaders in clinical care and research related to HIV/AIDS and select other viral infections. When HIV/AIDS was first identified in 1981, the Division of Allergy and Immunology led by pioneer in the field Gildon Beall began providing care for patients presenting to the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and pursuing cutting edge research through the Lundquist Institute. Upon Dr. Beall’s retirement Dr. Eric Daar was recruited to lead this endeavor as Chief of the Division of HIV Medicine. The Division includes 4 full-time clinician-investigators who along with members of the Division of Infectious Diseases and our Infectious Diseases Fellows provide care for all patients admitted to the hospital with HIV/AIDS as well as more than 1000 patients in our clinics on the Harbor-UCLA campus and at the Tom Kay Clinic at the Long Beach Comprehensive Care Clinic.
From the observations made in the clinic and hospital, the Division has participated in research to improve the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS, as well as other viral infections such as influenza, hepatitis C, hepatitis B, and SARS-CoV-2 (cause of COVID-19). This work has touched on all aspects of HIV ranging from prevention, treatment, pathogenesis and understanding and managing the long-term complications of infection. The same has been true of the COVID-19 pandemic where the Division has led efforts related to prevention and treatment of those non-hospitalized and hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
This collective effort has been funded by multiple sources, ranging from several institutes at the NIH, the State of California and industry collaborations. As a result of these efforts we have observed the evolution of HIV from a universally fatal infection to one that is now a chronic and often completely manageable disease.
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