The CNS HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER) study was funded in September 2002 in response to NIMH RFA 00-AI-0005 to explore the changing presentation of HIV neurological complications in the context of emerging antiviral treatments such as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

CHARTER’s study aims were to determine how central and peripheral nervous system complications of HIV are affected by different histories and regimens of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Participants received comprehensive neuromedical, neurocognitive, and laboratory examinations, with a subset undergoing host/viral genetic characterization and neuroimaging. In order to have a broad representation of participant characteristics, CHARTER was conducted at six performance sites nationally whose activities were coordinated by the University of California San Diego (UCSD), the principal grantee institution, which included several technical, scientific, and administrative cores to guide the work.

In September 2015, the CHARTER study resources, including specimens and data, were combined with the resources of the National NeuroAIDS Tissue Consortium (NNTC). The CHARTER database as well as data/specimen request management responsibilities were transferred to the NNTC Data Coordinating Center (DCC). The physical specimens were transferred to the California NeuroAIDS Tissue Network (CNTN) at UCSD. CNTN is also a participating site of the NNTC. The DCC is a partnership between the Univeristy of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and the Emmes Corporation, led by Dr. Howard Fox of UNMC. For more information on the relationship between CHARTER and NNTC, click here.