Who We Are

The DOD HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP) has facilitated the establishment of this mini-residency in HIV/AIDS clinical management located in San Diego, California for foreign military medical personnel currently dealing with HIV/AIDS in their country. In July 2002, a consortia of physicians and educators at University of California, San Diego (UCSD), San Diego State University (SDSU), Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) and Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) established the International HIV/AIDS Education and Training Program to assist countries with the strengthening or development and implementation of HIV prevention programs.

Education for allied military healthcare providers and public health professionals as the major focus, this program utilizes the expertise and experience of faculty and staff from UCSD, SDSU, and the Naval Medical Center to provide clinical management, diagnostic and behavioral training. The Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP) has provided funding for this program.

NMCSD - HIV Evaluation Unit, began in 1985 and has been the military's largest comprehensive HIV Center. Actively involved and leading in patient care, education, treatment and clinical research, the center has produced over 200 scholarly works related to HIV infection. The center serves as an educational resource to trainees from the NMCSD internal medicine residency and infectious disease fellowship, as well as utilizing medical students and residents for Scripps Green and Camp Pendleton hospitals. In addition, the division manages an ongoing two-year infectious disease fellowship program. As a leader in patient education, the NMCSD has developed a comprehensive two-week training program for patients educating them on the pathogenesis of HIV, military policies and procedures. safer sex, pharmacology, effects of drugs and alcohol, nutrition and other HIV related topics.

UCSD has been among the leading academic institutions worldwide in HIV research since early in the AIDS epidemic. Following seminal observation on zidovudine therapy and the cognitive impact of HIV infection in the mid-1980’s, UCSD emerged as a leader in the diagnosis and treatment of HIV and its clinical and behavioral complications. Internationally recognized programs were developed during the 1990s and grounded in productive collaboration by multidisciplinary groups of investigators. Over the past 16 years, UCSD faculty members have made a large number of primary, and often seminal, observations in the areas of basic virology, clinical virology and pathogenesis, experimental therapeutics, neurobehavioral and health services research.

The UCSD Owen Clinic, established in 1982, is a multidisciplinary primary care clinic for adults with HIV infection. The clinic currently cares for over 2600 patients with support of the Ryan White Care Act. The Owen Clinic is the home of the San Diego AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC) which provides clinical training through a "mini-residency" program for physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and registered nurses.

SDSU is the oldest and largest institution of higher education in the San Diego region and the second largest in the state of California. Founded in 1897, SDSU now offers baccalaureate degrees in 78 areas of study, master's degrees in 61, and doctorates in 13. It is a competitive national research university that ranks 33rd nationally in the number of advanced degrees awarded.