About Drew CARES
A private-public partnership between Charles R. Drew University (CDU) and Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, the Drew Center for AIDS Research, Education, and Services (Drew CARES) is a diverse, multidisciplinary group of Los Angeles-area educators, researchers, and clinical providers who are working to end the HIV epidemic. We are thought leaders and idea generators. We represent CDU’s groundbreaking activities in HIV.
The researchers at Drew Center for AIDS Research Education and Services (Drew CARES) fight the HIV epidemic by studying the behavioral and clinical aspects of HIV diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Not only does our research strengthen the work of scientific collaborators and community partners, it also improves the quality of the services we offer and provides rich learning opportunities for students, residents, and fellows to become involved in all aspects of the research process.
Our research has substantially advanced the understanding of the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic in underserved communities. Research by Drew CARES is respected worldwide and has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the California HIV/AIDS Research Program (CHRP), the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the Los Angeles Department of HIV/STD Programs (DHSP), and other national, state and local funding agencies. Our research findings have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Lancet, Archives of General Psychiatry, the American Journal of Public Health, AIDS, and other prestigious journals.
Drew CARES provides an excellent environment for researchers to work together with communities of color to address health disparities. Drew CARES researchers are experts in a range of disciplines, spanning biological and medical sciences, behavioral and social sciences, and public health. Drew CARES has fostered groundbreaking collaborations with both community-based organizations, governmental entities, and academic institutions in the U.S., including the University of California Los Angeles, the University of California San Francisco, the University of Southern California, St. John’s Well Child and Family Services, Bienestar Human Services, L.A. Centers for Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the Center for Health Justice, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, and JWCH Institute, Inc.
Domestic Research
Domestic initiatives include studies to test the efficacy of new interventions for key populations, including, but not limited to, Black and Latino men who have sex with men (MSM), Black and Latina women, transgender women of all race/ethnicities, and people leaving incarceration among others. These studies are designed to shift paradigms in prevention and treatment by using comprehensive and community-based approaches to address health disparities, incorporating culture into the development and implementation of interventions, and providing relevant data to inform HIV-related policy and practice.
International Research
Drew CARES is dedicated to not only improving the health of the underserved locally, but around the world. CDU researchers have been funded to develop highly successful initiatives that encourage HIV prevention, testing, education, and engagement in care. International research efforts are largely based in sub-Saharan Africa, including Angola, Rwanda, Zambia, and South Africa. Prior project locations also include Belize and Jamaica. Funding sources have included the U.S. Department of Defense, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)/President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and NIH. CDU’s researchers have provided capacity-building and intervention programs that are essential to ending the HIV epidemic by helping underresourced parts of the developing world to reach 90-90-90 targets. 90-90-90 refers to diagnosing 90% of those living with HIV, rapidly linking 90% of them to HIV care, and suppressing the HIV virus in 90% of this group.
