Global Health

Columbia University supports a broad range of research and service programs that are committed to developing new approaches to critical global health challenges. The faculty affiliated with the Division of Infectious Diseases have diverse research interests in international and global health in South America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Active collaborations exist with ICAP, HIV Behavioral Center, CAPRISA and the Program for Global and Population Health (formerly IFAP).

Center for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa

The division maintains a strong collaborative relationship with the Mandela School of Medicine of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. Joint projects between the Division and the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, principal investigator) are currently ongoing. CAPRISA was created in 2001 and formally established in 2002 under the NIH-funded Comprehensive International Program of Research on AIDS (CIPRA) by five partner institutions, including Columbia University. CAPRISA’s goal is to develop and undertake research that contributes to the understanding of HIV pathogenesis and epidemiology, as well as to build local research infrastructure and to provide training through research fellowships for young investigators from South Africa and the United States. To achieve this goal, CAPRISA conducts research in four main scientific programs: HIV pathogenesis and vaccines, HIV and TB treatment, microbicides, and prevention and epidemiology.

HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies

Founded in 1987 and continuously supported by a major grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies serves as a national and international hub for a network of research activities and community outreach. Research focuses on the intersection of HIV infection, gender, and sexuality; treatment strategies for infected populations; and innovative dissemination of scientific findings. The center also works with a broad range of HIV-infected and HIV-affected populations and are committed to responding to the needs of underserved populations.

The Program for Global and Population Health

The Program for Global and Population Health (formerly IFAP) supports domestic and international summer internships, scholarly projects, clinical elective rotations, and extended research opportunities for students, trainees, and practitioners of medicine, public health, nursing, and dentistry. Established in 1999 by Dr. Stephen Nicholas, IFAP introduced the first AIDS treatment in the Dominican Republic to prevent mother-to-baby HIV transmission (1999), started the first family AIDS clinic in the country (2004), and has broadened its scope of services beyond HIV to include primary care for high-risk women (2006) and prenatal care for pregnant adolescents (2008). The program is a collaborative effort with Clinica de Familia MIR, a comprehensive family AIDS clinic in La Romana. Program activities focus on improving direct care and treatment as well as preventive health education and services for TB and HIV-infected women, children, and families and other vulnerable populations in the Dominican Republic.

International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP)

Bringing together diverse initiatives aimed at addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP) focuses on service delivery, research, and training/education in resource-limited settings. Along with offering postdoctoral trainees access to large databases in order to develop, conduct, and analyze cohort studies while addressing infectious disease epidemiology issues of global importance, ICAP provides support and assistance to international partners and clinical facilities through these programs and initiatives addressing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, maternal and child health, and non- communicable diseases. To date, ICAP has worked to address major public health challenges and the needs of local health systems in more than 3,300 sites across 21 countries.