Mayor Lee Celebrates DPH HIV/AIDS Research Center Renovation & Expansion
10/6/11—Mayor Edwin M. Lee today celebrated the beginning of the renovation and expansion of the San Francisco Office of AIDS, the City’s new $9.5 million HIV/AIDS Research Center located at 25 Van Ness Avenue. The Department of Public Health (DPH) project is funded by a grant through the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health and is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). When completed in 2013, the newly renovated 17,000 square feet of the HIV/AIDS Research Center will improve the existing research activities and accommodate future scientific needs.
“DPH is recognized as a global leader in HIV/AIDS research and prevention, and the AIDS Office is a world class research center that deserves a world class facility. Today marks the beginning of that achievement,” said Mayor Lee. “This project will achieve a LEED Silver rating, maintaining San Francisco’s commitment to environmental sustainable building. The San Francisco AIDS Office will continue to conduct cutting edge research that will improve the quality of life for those living with HIV/AIDS and aid in finding a cure for the disease.”
The AIDS Office was created in 1982 as DPH began responding to the newly-evolving AIDS epidemic, concentrated, at that time, in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. San Francisco’s early HIV/AIDS epidemiology and research played a major role in the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS. Along with tracking new AIDS cases among residents, the AIDS Office also began to study the natural history of AIDS among 6,740 gay and bisexual men who had participated in an early study of hepatitis B. These early studies lead to the first HIV Antibody test licensed in the U.S. and data from the studies also set the standard for defining risk factors for HIV, rates of progression, and other factors responsible for long-term non-progression.
Thirty years after the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS, the AIDS Office has matured into three independent and collaborative grant-funded research units managing a $46 million research portfolio.
· HIV Research Section under the direction of Susan Buchbinder, MD, is a leading site in the National Institute of Health-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Network, Prevention Trials Network, clinical trial groups of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PreP), and other investigator-initiated research. Researchers are experts in HIV vaccine and prevention science, methods for measurement of adherence, combination HIV prevention strategies and innovative research training methods.
· HIV Epidemiology Section, led by Willie McFarland, MD and Susan Scheer, PhD, evaluates the incidence and prevalence of persons with HIV/AIDS. The investigators are global leaders in seroepidemiology and clinical outcomes, risk behavior assessment, community strategies for decreasing risk practices, sampling hard-to-reach populations and training international delegations on surveillance, sampling and interview techniques.
· HIV Prevention Section, led by Grant Colfax, MD, is the leading site for the National Institute Drug Abuse AIDS-funded Clinical Trials Network. Under Dr. Colfax’s leadership, researchers are international in pharmacologic and behavioral interventions to reduce HIV risk among methamphetamine users, novel HIV testing and partner notification strategies and the community-level impact of antiretroviral therapy to reduce HIV transmission.
The renovation project provides expanded space to conduct state-of-the-art HIV research and allow the City a broader opportunity to promote collaboration between research units and colleagues worldwide with meeting space for community members to guide research efforts.
The renovation project at 25 Van Ness covers 17,000 square feet, which includes the addition of nearly 8,000 square feet of new space on the first floor and renovating about 9,000 square feet of existing space. There will be new examination rooms, counseling and physician offices, and additional research space. The Project will utilize the integrated project delivery method with Turner Construction Company, the construction manager and general contractor working with DPH and the Department of Public Works. This method allows the project to be completed almost a full year ahead of a normal design-bid-build schedule. Also, the project has a Small Business Enterprise goal of 25 percent which will help small minority and woman-owned businesses on this important project.
The historic 25 Van Ness Avenue building was built in 1911 and was formerly a Masonic Temple, designed by Walter Bliss. The 25 Van Ness Avenue building also currently houses our City’s Arts Commission, Civil Service Commission, Ethics Commission, Human Rights Commission, Rent Board, Commission on the Status of Women, Office of Citizen Complaints, Human Services Agency offices, SFMTA offices and Real Estate Division of the City Administrator’s Office. The historic architecture, statuary and wall murals will be preserved as an integral part of the new AIDS Research Center.
“DPH is recognized as a global leader in HIV/AIDS research and prevention, and the AIDS Office is a world class research center that deserves a world class facility. Today marks the beginning of that achievement,” said Mayor Lee. “This project will achieve a LEED Silver rating, maintaining San Francisco’s commitment to environmental sustainable building. The San Francisco AIDS Office will continue to conduct cutting edge research that will improve the quality of life for those living with HIV/AIDS and aid in finding a cure for the disease.”
The AIDS Office was created in 1982 as DPH began responding to the newly-evolving AIDS epidemic, concentrated, at that time, in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. San Francisco’s early HIV/AIDS epidemiology and research played a major role in the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS. Along with tracking new AIDS cases among residents, the AIDS Office also began to study the natural history of AIDS among 6,740 gay and bisexual men who had participated in an early study of hepatitis B. These early studies lead to the first HIV Antibody test licensed in the U.S. and data from the studies also set the standard for defining risk factors for HIV, rates of progression, and other factors responsible for long-term non-progression.
Thirty years after the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS, the AIDS Office has matured into three independent and collaborative grant-funded research units managing a $46 million research portfolio.
· HIV Research Section under the direction of Susan Buchbinder, MD, is a leading site in the National Institute of Health-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Network, Prevention Trials Network, clinical trial groups of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PreP), and other investigator-initiated research. Researchers are experts in HIV vaccine and prevention science, methods for measurement of adherence, combination HIV prevention strategies and innovative research training methods.
· HIV Epidemiology Section, led by Willie McFarland, MD and Susan Scheer, PhD, evaluates the incidence and prevalence of persons with HIV/AIDS. The investigators are global leaders in seroepidemiology and clinical outcomes, risk behavior assessment, community strategies for decreasing risk practices, sampling hard-to-reach populations and training international delegations on surveillance, sampling and interview techniques.
· HIV Prevention Section, led by Grant Colfax, MD, is the leading site for the National Institute Drug Abuse AIDS-funded Clinical Trials Network. Under Dr. Colfax’s leadership, researchers are international in pharmacologic and behavioral interventions to reduce HIV risk among methamphetamine users, novel HIV testing and partner notification strategies and the community-level impact of antiretroviral therapy to reduce HIV transmission.
The renovation project provides expanded space to conduct state-of-the-art HIV research and allow the City a broader opportunity to promote collaboration between research units and colleagues worldwide with meeting space for community members to guide research efforts.
The renovation project at 25 Van Ness covers 17,000 square feet, which includes the addition of nearly 8,000 square feet of new space on the first floor and renovating about 9,000 square feet of existing space. There will be new examination rooms, counseling and physician offices, and additional research space. The Project will utilize the integrated project delivery method with Turner Construction Company, the construction manager and general contractor working with DPH and the Department of Public Works. This method allows the project to be completed almost a full year ahead of a normal design-bid-build schedule. Also, the project has a Small Business Enterprise goal of 25 percent which will help small minority and woman-owned businesses on this important project.
The historic 25 Van Ness Avenue building was built in 1911 and was formerly a Masonic Temple, designed by Walter Bliss. The 25 Van Ness Avenue building also currently houses our City’s Arts Commission, Civil Service Commission, Ethics Commission, Human Rights Commission, Rent Board, Commission on the Status of Women, Office of Citizen Complaints, Human Services Agency offices, SFMTA offices and Real Estate Division of the City Administrator’s Office. The historic architecture, statuary and wall murals will be preserved as an integral part of the new AIDS Research Center.