Pacific Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Research
John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i at Manoa
Director: Dr. Richard Yanagihara

ABOUT THE CENTER

The Pacific Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Research is part of a larger vision to establish research excellence in tropical medicine and infectious diseases. The Center is one of five pillar programs within the Asia-Pacific Institute for Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases. The other four anchor or pillar programs include the Pacific Center for AIDS Research, which is comprised of the RCMI-supported Pathobiology of HIV-Associated Disorders activity and the Hawaii HIV Immunology and Vaccine Core, the Retrovirology Research Laboratory, the Hawaii AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (ACTU) and the Hawaii NeuroAIDS Specialized Neuroscience Research Program (SNRP); the Pacific Rim Biodefense Center; the Pacific Asia Center for Disease Ecology; and the Pacific Center for Vaccine and Gene Therapy Research. The Center will galvanize the University of Hawaii at Manoa's position as a center of excellence for research and training in infectious diseases and as a regional reference center for the diagnosis and control of new, emerging and re-emerging microbial threats.

The Mission of the Pacific Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Research is to:

Serve as a center of excellence for research and training in infectious diseases and as a regional reference center for the diagnosis and control of new, emerging and re-emerging microbial threats, which are relevant to the peoples of the Asia-Pacific region.

The Specific Aims of the Pacific Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Research for this grant period are to:

• Build institutional capacity by mentoring a cadre of promising young faculty to conduct research on infectious diseases of medical importance to the Asia-Pacific region.
• Improve research competitiveness by enhancing the capacity for mentoring and expanding the capability of the technical support infrastructure through centralization of laboratory space and research-support operations.
• Diversify the research breadth and transdisciplinary scope of the Center through the development of international field sites, targeted recruitment and retention of funded faculty with complementary expertise.