• Program Mission

The Divisions of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center are dedicated to providing the highest quality in clinical service, promoting excellence in clinical training, conducting innovative basic and applied research, and developing breakthrough approaches to meet emerging challenges in infectious diseases. 

• History and Overview

The Division of Adult Infectious Diseases at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is one of the complementary Divisions serving under the aegis of the Department of Medicine. The Division of Adult Infectious Diseases was established in 1970, when its fellowship program was initiated under the direction of Lucien B. Guze, M.D., Chief of the Division.  Over its history, the Division has focused on consultative service for the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in the broad areas of Infectious Diseases and Antibiotic Use, to provide outstanding post-graduate training to Infectious Diseases Fellows and Interns, to teach medical students from UCLA, affiliated campuses, and visiting trainees and students from other centers, to supervise graduate and undergraduate training from a variety of institutions, and to conduct research that significantly advances the discipline of infectious diseases and translates to improved patient care.  The Divisional Faculty hold appointments in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The Division is also home to 4 physician infectious diseases Fellows, numerous post-doctoral Ph.D. fellows, the Harbor-UCLA Infection Control Program, many international visiting scientists, numerous research associates and technicians, and a highly-efficient administrative staff.

Under the leadership of our next Division Chief, John E. Edwards, Jr., M.D. the Division has focused on integrated themes in microbial pathogenesis, host defense, prevention, and optimal treatment of serious infections.  Examples include opportunistic fungal infections, vascular infections due to bacterial or fungal pathogens, infections due to multi-drug resistant pathogens, and vaccines & immune therapies versus such infections. Interaction of microorganisms with endothelial and other host cells, mechanisms of pathogenesis, molecular and cellular immunity and inflammatory responses, and development of novel anti-infective agents and strategies have been central areas of concentration.  Divisional research funding historically and presently has been diverse, obtained from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, American Heart Association, U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, along with intramural grants and contracts from pharmaceutical / biotechnical entities.  The Division enjoys fruitful collaborations with other institutions within and beyond the United States. Under the leadership of our current Division Chief, Scott Filler, M.D., the Division has continued to expand with numerous new Ph.D. faculty and post-doctoral students and, in 2019, a move to a new $70 million research building on campus as the anchor tennant.

The Division of HIV Medicine was established in 2001 when Eric S. Daar, M.D. joined the Medical Center to oversee clinical and research activities related to HIV and AIDS.  He has led the mission of the HIV program in providing clinical services, training, and research in HIV medicine.  Research in the Division of HIV Medicine focuses on clinical and pathogenesis-based studies to better define strategies for management of HIV infection and the factors that influence the natural history of disease.  The Division provides care for over 800 HIV-infected out-patients at the Harbor-UCLA campus, and 200 patients at the Long Beach Comprehensive Care Tom Kay HIV Clinic.  The Division also provides in-patient HIV consultative services for patients admitted to the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.  Funding for research in the Division is from the NIH, University wide AIDS Research Program, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the pharmaceutical industry.  The Division clinical staff includes nursing, case manager, dietitian, and social worker expertise.  The research staff includes investigators, coordinators, research assistants.  The Division also includes an efficient administrative staff. 

• Institutional Setting

The clinical service, training & research environment at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and the UCLA Center for Health Sciences encompasses investigators in nearly every discipline of medicine and biomedical research.  The UCLA Center for Health Sciences in Westwood is 30 minutes north of the Harbor-UCLA campus, and UC Irvine is 45 minutes south.  The Harbor-UCLA Medical Center campus is the original site of the UCLA School of Medicine, and is a landmark UCLA teaching hospital closely affiliated with the County of Los Angeles.  The Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and its research institution, the Lundquist Institute for BioMedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA, collectively support an environment for basic, translational, and clinical investigations.

The Division of Infectious Diseases has continued to flourish expand over the last few decades and outgrew its previous facilities. As of 2019, the Division now occupies the 2nd floor brand new MRL (Medical Research Laboratory), on the Harbor-UCLA campus. The MRL is a state of the art medical research lab with ample space for conferences, faculty, and research and administrative staff.  The Division of Infectious Diseases group continues to conduct innovative research intended to make key discoveries that can be translated into improvements in preventing and treating infection.  These collectively efforts ultimately benefit patients and the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center environment, including ­enhancing clinical care, medical training, and community service missions.   

The Division of HIV Medicine is located in the CDCRC facility on the campus of the Lundquist Institute for BioMedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA, a short campus walk from the Medical Center.  It houses the faculty and clinical research staff offices, and support the Division laboratory for pathogenesis-based clinical research. A goal of the Division is to advance the current understanding of HIV pathogenesis and develop new strategies to manage HIV infection and its complications.