ERC Einstein Rockefeller CUNY Center for AIDS Research

PROJECT SUMMARY
ERC-CFAR: BIOMARKER AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY CORE (BATC)
To support the overarching goal of the ERC-CFAR to end the HIV epidemic, the Biomarker and Advanced
Technology Core (BATC) provides state-of-the-art technologies, services and consultations to enhance our
understanding of HIV biology and mechanisms and accelerate the development of novel approaches for
prevention and cure. The BATC supports implementation research to improve the effectiveness of pre-exposure
prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and treatment as prevention (TasP). The BATC
infrastructure supports established and early stage HIV/AIDS researchers as well as new investigators who are
expanding their research to include HIV/AIDS-related studies at Einstein, Rockefeller, and CUNY. The leadership
provides unique consultation services that leverage their experience to identify opportunities within and outside
the BATC. The BATC provides cutting-edge services for our investigators and members of the HIV and Mental
Health Scientific Working Group to accomplish their research, mentors and trains the next generation of HIV
investigators, recruits established investigators into HIV research, and forges new collaborations across Einstein,
Rockefeller and CUNY and other regional academic centers. The Aims of the BATC are: 1) Provide
investigators with technological support to examine and evaluate novel approaches to prevent, treat and
cure HIV infection and to characterize HIV pathogenesis. The BATC provides a wide array of services
including biomarker assays and measurement of antiretroviral drug adherence, which are critical for PrEP, PEP
and TasP studies. The BATC analyzes body fluids, culture supernatants and cell lysates for immune molecules
and antiviral drug pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics using high-throughput multiplex platforms, ELISAs, and
mass spectrometry. The BATC provides isolated cell types from human leukopaks and from blood from people
with HIV (PWH). The BATC serves as a liaison with the Clinical and Translational Science Core to process blood
from PWH leukapharesed at Einstein or Rockefeller to isolate and freeze various cell types for future use by
ERC-CFAR investigators. The BATC will customize assays for HIV RNA/DNA quantification and import and
establish cutting edge technologies; 2) Provide investigators with state-of-the-art technologies in the
Protein Sciences to support studies of HIV biology, mechanism, and treatment. The BATC provides critical
protein reagents for development of novel biologics for HIV eradication, protein antigens to study cellular and
humoral immunity, and large quantities of materials for structural and biochemical characterization of proteins
and assemblies critical for HIV infection and life cycle. It provides unique cell-based assays to characterize
receptor-ligand interactions, including those linked to antibody dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity, a critical
aspect of vaccines and immunotherapies; 3) Implement and evaluate the utility and feasibility of new
technologies for inclusion within BATC. The BATC implemented bioinformatics services and is
evaluating new technologies for inclusion within the BATC, including metabolomics and proteomics.

Grant Number: 5P30AI124414-10
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Joan Berman