A History of Research

1998The Lifespan/Tufts/Brown Center for AIDS Research is inaugurated with NIH funding, under the leadership of Professor of Medicine Charles C. J. Carpenter, MD. The new center principally supports research on treatment and prevention of AIDS among underserved populations—women, people who use intravenous drugs, racial and ethnic minorities, and people in prison. The center continues today as the Providence/Boston CFAR, a partnership between Brown, Lifespan, and Boston University.

1999 The Division of Gastroenterology establishes the Liver Research Center to further the work of researchers on the molecular basis of liver diseases. Professor of Medical Science Jack R. Wands, MD, is named director of the center, which focuses on the molecular relationship between chronic hepatitis B and C infections and hepatocellular carcinoma, and houses numerous established studies in the genomics and pathogenesis
of HCC.

2000 The National Center for Research Resources awards a five-year grant to establish a COBRE for Genetics and Genomics under the direction of principal investigator John M. Sedivy, PhD, professor of medical science. Intended to build research infrastructure and increase biomedical research capability at recipient institutions, the COBRE grant is the first awarded to the University—and one of the first awarded anywhere. In 2005, it will become the COBRE Center for Cancer Signaling Networks with a second five-year grant. Professor of Medical Science Walter Atwood, PhD, is principal investigator for the renamed center, which conducts investigations on the chemical signals that initiate cellular responses leading to the development of such diseases as ovarian and liver cancers.