New York State International Training & Research Program

National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. (NDRI) is a not-for-profit organization located in New York City and was established in 1967 to advance and utilize scientific knowledge toward innovative solutions for substance abuse, mental health problems, HIV/AIDS and related medical and social concerns, especially among high-risk populations. NDRI's focus has broadened to reflect the changing nature of urban problems and includes HIV/AIDS prevention and epidemiology, at-risk youth, correlates of urban violence, health needs of drug users, and evaluation of a broad range of service and preventive programs. The interdisciplinary staff and international network of collaborators consists of investigators with expertise in sociology, psychology, anthropology, epidemiology, ethnography, medicine, statistics, and public health. NDRI is composed of nine Institutes and Center, including a Training Institute that has delivered over 1,000 training programs to over 20,000 individuals.

The New York Blood Center (NYBC) is the premier training site for specialists in transfusion medicine in New York, and offers both one- and two-year traineeships. The Center's research arm, the Lindsey F. Kimball Research Institute, is one of the world's leading centers for basic and applied research in hematology and transfusion medicine, dedicated to the study of blood and blood transfusion, and the prevention, treatment and cure of blood-borne and other diseases. Research at NYBC engages 208 scientists and staff working in 17 specialized laboratories. The Laboratory of Epidemiology is currently engaged in five large ongoing projects, three of which are part of an NIH-sponsored multi-center research program for prevention of HIV infection. The Laboratory of Molecular Diagnostics and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases are focused on nucleic acid amplification technologies for the genotyping of blood donors and for the study of infectious diseases that may be transmitted by blood transfusion. Infectious diseases currently under study include HTLV I/II, HIV, HCV, non-enveloped viruses such as Hepatitis A, as well as surveillance for transfusion transmitted diseases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recognized as the lead federal agency for protecting the health and safety of people - at home and abroad, providing credible information to enhance health decisions, and promoting health through strong partnerships. CDC serves as the national focus for developing and applying disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and education activities designed to improve the health of the people of the United States.