The mission of the Basic Sciences Core (BSC) is to build and support collaborative HIV research and synergy between basic, translational, clinical, behavioral, and other multidisciplinary scientists, with a focus on NIH HIV/AIDS high priority areas. A major priority of the BSC is to provide services and scientific infrastructure that extend the capacity of investigators who lack the technical expertise or laboratory resources for their research. The BSC provides expanded and flexible consultation and laboratory services to local, national and international HIV/AIDS researchers based on evolving needs, and works to significantly expand the Core user pool through outreach and education. Laboratory services are aimed at HIV quantitation and characterization using diverse analytes, and assessment of host cell responses. Specific assays include quantitative real-time PCR, antigen and antibody detection, sequence, drug resistance and phylogenetic analysis and bioinformatics. The Core also provides access to and provision of reagents, such as virus stocks, cell cultures, and other molecular virology materials. Importantly, the BSC takes an active role in all levels of mentoring and training of both new investigators and those established, who wish to expand into HIV research, and if needed also assists in generating preliminary data for grant submissions, with the goal of creating a pipeline to independent NIH funding and published research