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University of Minnesota AIDS Clinical Trials Unit to close

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HIV/AIDS testing
More than 2,000 volunteers have enrolled in HIV/AIDS studies at the University of Minnesota since the AIDS Clinical Trials Unit program began in the 1980s.
Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota

An AIDS research program at the University of Minnesota is being forced to close after 20 years of running clinical trials. The National Institutes of Health has cut back on domestic research funding for HIV/AIDS, but plans to perform clinical trials in developing nations.

The Minnesota ACTU is one of eight programs whose research grants have not been renewed by the NIH.

Hank Balfour is the principal investigator of the Minnesota ACTU and the University of Minnesota's International Center for Antiviral Research and Epidemiology. He says other public health concerns, like avian flu or bioterrorism, may be perceived to be greater threats.

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HIV/AIDS testing
More than 2,000 volunteers have enrolled in HIV/AIDS studies at the University of Minnesota since the AIDS Clinical Trials Unit program began in the 1980s.
Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota