Since the advent of the AIDS epidemic in 1981, the research programs at Case Western Reserve University and its primary affiliate, University Hospitals of Cleveland, have made numerous contributions in advancing the treatment of people infected with HIV and the prevention of new HIV infections. The establishment of the University Hospitals Special Immunology Unit in 1985, the Case Western Reserve/University Hospitals AIDS Clinical Trials Unit in 1987, and the Case Western Reserve/University Hospitals Center for AIDS Research in 1993 created the necessary infrastructure and focus to provide a dynamic environment fostering multiple avenues of interdisciplinary and translational research.