The Hepatitis & AIDS Research Institute
                                              (HARI)
 
The Laboratory of Virology, presently located at the New York Blood Center, will re-locate to the Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research, where all of the past chimpanzee studies were carried  out. Almost all equipment and staff will be re-located there. This will then become one of the strongest research laboratories in West Africa.
 
The mission of HARI will include carrying out all laboratory aspects of HCV prophylactic and therapeutic immunization research, including determination of viral loads by quantitative real time PCR, assessment of cell mediated immunity (Elispot, blastogenesis, CTL assays etc), tests for virus neutralizing antibodies, immunofluorescence and histology studies, and clinical chemistry, and bacteriology related to chimpanzee health.
 
In addition this laboratory will carry out essential chimpanzee studies required for the development of prophylactic HCV vaccines, and immunotherapy of chronic HCV infections.

HARI is planning a trial, to be carried out in Africa and in Asia, to determine whether screening of entire populations, and antiretroviral treatment of all  who are infected, will  reduce the rate of new infections in the community. This is a new and exciting approach to possible control of the global AIDS epidemic.

Scientific members of HRF, HARI, and the Chimpanzee Sanctuary are available to lecture  on Hepatitis, AIDS Research, and Chimpanzee welfare.