USF Pediatrician Dr. Patricia Emmanuel is lead investigator.

The new grant – the latest of three NIH Fogarty International awards to USF faculty — was spearheaded by USF Health’s Signature Interdisciplinary Program in Allergy, Immunology and Infectious Disease (SPAIID) and the USF-India Center for Health, HIV/AIDS Research and Training (CHART-India).

Dr. Emmanuel will work with the grant’s co-principal investigators Shyam Mohapatra, PhD, and Eknath Naik, MD, PhD. Dr. Mohapatra is the Mabel and Ellsworth Simmons Professor of Allergy and Immunology in the Department of Internal Medicine and the basic science director of SPAIID. Dr. Naik is an internist and infectious disease epidemiologist affiliated with the College of Public Health’s Department of Global Health.

“The grant will build upon and expand the existing HIV foundation and infrastructure laid by CHART-India,” says Dr. Naik. Since 1999, USF medical and public health faculty have established several CHART centers across India to care for people with HIV/AIDS, train staff and conduct research.

“The grant is a formal recognition of USF’s progress in the global arena and a sign that we are succeeding in integrating basic researchers and clinicians,” says Dr. Mohapatra. The project will involve collaborations of scientists and practitioners in infectious diseases and international medicine, allergy and immunology, pediatrics, public health and psychology.says.