HIV and Aging Research Consortium

People living with HIV (PLWH) in the United States and other well-resourced health settings are living near normal life spans due to effective antiretroviral therapy (ART), which has dramatically reduced mortality. Despite this success, PLWH experience high rates of chronic aging-related health conditions and functional decline at ages 10-15 years younger than uninfected populations, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, renal and liver disease, certain malignancies, and cognitive decline.

Driven by a common goal to help support healthier aging among PLWH, the HIV and Aging Research Consortium (HARC) brings together experts from HIV and Geroscience to:

1. identify mechanisms that lead to chronic disease, premature morbidity, functional decline and geriatric syndromes in PLWH;
2. discover markers of the aging process in PLWH; and
3. explore interventions to prevent and slow premature aging in PLWH.

Supported by the National Institute of Aging (NIA), HARC focuses on building infrastructure for and scientific expertise in HIV-Aging and developing a new generation of HIV-geroscientist through mentoring. Support and expertise is provided through collaboration between leading centers for HIV and Geroscience in the US including:

• Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR)
• Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Centers (OAICs)
• Nathan Shock Centers of Excellence (NSC)
• Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute (MBI)

To find out more about these centers, please follow the links to the coordinating sites. For more information about local sites, please select “Complete Listing of Local Sites” at the top of the page.