Mwccs leadership and coordination center

The National Institute of Nursing Research awarded a $300,000 cooperative agreement to The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco on July 25, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to establish and operate a Leadership and Coordination Center (LACC) for the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS).

The LACC will provide scientific, operational, and administrative oversight of the MWCCS, a longitudinal cohort study following over 5,600 men and women with and without HIV. Led by Drs. Todd Brown, Amber D'Souza, and Phyllis Tien, the center will oversee development and implementation of the Joint Unified Modular Protocol (JUMP), ensure participant safety, and coordinate study-wide activities in collaboration with the Observational and Safety Monitoring Board and the Data Analysis and Sharing Center at Johns Hopkins University. The LACC will also foster scientific innovation through a Science Hub on the MWCCS public website to facilitate multidisciplinary research, support ancillary studies, and mentor trainees and early-stage investigators.

The MWCCS comprises 13 clinical research sites across the country performing extensive phenotyping through annual visits and ancillary studies. Work is performed in San Francisco, California. The period of performance extends from July 25, 2026, through March 31, 2032.

Abstract

Advances in HIV medicine have extended the lifespan of people with HIV, but the burden of chronic disease, coinfections, and complications remains high despite effective antiretroviral therapy. Research across basic, socio-behavioral, and clinical domains is essential to uncover the complex mechanisms driving these outcomes. The multicenter aids cohort study (macs) and the women's interagency HIV study (wihs), now integrated as the macs/wihs combined cohort study (mwccs), have served as foundational platforms for advancing HIV science. Findings from the mwccs continue to inform clinical guidelines and public health strategies as the HIV population ages and faces new health challenges. The mwccs comprises a data analysis and sharing center (dasc) located at johns hopkins university and 13 clinical research sites across the country, following over 5,600 men and women with and without HIV through extensive phenotyping at annual visits and multiple ancillary studies. We propose to establish a leadership and coordination center (lacc) to provide scientific, operational, and administrative oversight of mwccs. Led by DRS. Todd brown, amber d'souza, and phyllis tien-longstanding scientific and administrative leaders with over 25 years of combined expertise in HIV clinical care, comorbidities, and cohort governance-lacc will ensure continued productivity, integrity, and innovation of the mwccs through four specific aims: 1) provide scientific and operational leadership by overseeing the development and implementation of the joint unified modular protocol (jump), ensuring participant safety, and coordinating study-wide activities in collaboration with the observational and safety monitoring board and the dasc; 2) foster scientific innovation through the launch of the mwccs science hub on our public website to facilitate multidisciplinary research, support ancillary studies, mentor trainees and early-stage investigators, and integrate participant perspectives into the research process; 3) strengthen data quality and outcomes ascertainment through standardized procedures for clinical data collection, training, certification, adjudication, and ongoing monitoring for protocol adherence across sites; and 4) expand communication and outreach by broadening access to mwccs research via targeted translation strategies and hosting an annual symposium to disseminate findings and build partnerships. Lacc introduces major innovations to strengthen mwccs infrastructure and impact, including a mentorship pipeline for clinical research site leaders, rotating science- and operations-focused executive committee meetings, centralized support for biomarker/omics consultations and quality assurance reading centers, and streamlined adjudication and manuscript tracking systems. A newly added social psychology expert will further enhance public outreach and science communication. Through these efforts, the lacc will maintain mwccs as a premier national research infrastructure supporting high-impact HIV science and broader investigations into aging, inflammation, and chronic disease among people with HIV.