CIRAR - Center for Interdisciplinary Research to Reduce Antimicrobial Resistance

Many of the traditional treatments for common infections are no longer effective because of the fast-growing problem of antimicrobial resistance, first associated with hospitals, but increasingly widespread in the community. Antimicrobial resistance is now a global problem of major concern. The Center for Interdisciplinary Research to Reduce Antimicrobial Resistance (CIRAR), initially funded in 2004 by a planning grant from the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health (Grant # P20 RR020616), is now an established, ongoing Center supported by the Columbia University School of Nursing. Since 2007, a total of 14 projects affiliated with CIRAR have been externally funded. In 2007 and 2008, five projects affiliated with CIRAR were funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research, NIH and two were funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (Click here to download the funding announcement). In 2009, four additional CIRAR-affiliated projects have been funded: an AHRQ Conference Grant, an IICTR CaMPR award funded by the NCRR, a 5-year R01 funded by the NIAID, and a 2-year RC1 Challenge Grant funded by the NCHMD. CIRAR continues to prepare biomedical researchers and others in interdisciplinary research with a focus on the prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance.

Contact CIRAR:

Elaine Larson, RN, PhD, FAAN, CIC
Director, CIRAR
Columbia University School of Nursing
630 West 168th Street, Box 6
New York, NY 10032
Phone: 212-305-0723
Fax: 212-305-0722
E-mail: ell23@columbia.edu

*~ CIRAR NEWS ~*

The CIRAR 2009-10 Seminar Series is ongoing - Visit the Seminars page for details.

"Appropriate Care of URI in Children of Latino Immigrants: The ACURI Project," an RC1 Challenge Grant and the first CIRAR affiliated ARRA Stimulus grant, was funding by the NIH/NCHMD, PI: Dr. Melissa Stockwell. View the web page for this NIH/NCHMD funded project.

"Risk Factors for Spread of Staphylococcus aureus in Prisons," a new CIRAR affiliated 5-year R01, was funded by the NIH/NIAID. Multiple PIs include CIRAR Steering Committee Members, Dr. Franklin Lowy and Dr. Elaine Larson. View the project's web page.

CIRAR sponsored the AHRQ-funded Conference Grant, "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Changes in Reimbursement for Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs): Setting a Research Agenda" on April 24, 2009 at the New York Academy of Sciences. Visit the CMS Conference web page for information on speakers and participants, view the photos, and download the presentations!