Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre Collaboration
To support and sustain the Department of Retrovirology’s mission, The Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre (TRCARC) and The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. (Foundation) entered into an agreement for the purpose of supporting a medical research collaboration jointly conducted at the TRCARC’s facility and the Foundation’s offices in the Department of Retrovirology, United States Army Medical Component-Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (USMAC-AFRIMS) in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Molecular Epidemiology Research Laboratory (MERL) is a state of the art molecular facility with high-throughput sequencing and real-time PCR capabilities located in the TRCARC Campus on Rajdumri Road in Bangkok, Thailand. The laboratory was established on 1 December 2006 as part of a research collaboration between the AFRIMS’ Department of Retrovirology and The Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre in a joint effort to fight against HIV/AIDS. MERL is currently supervised by CPT Miguel A. Arroyo and assisted by Mr. Vatcharain Assawadarachai with the main objective of conducting the surveillance of the HIV-1 diversity in South and Southeast Asia.
This building is the Anonymous Clinic on the campus of the TRCARC , which was renamed on 15 December 2006 for Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s 4th Cycle Birthday (age 48 years). Pictured from left to right is CPT Miguel A. Arroyo (Chief, Molecular Epidemiology Research Laboratory), Ms. Kultida Poltavee (Technician), Ms. Devynn Birx-Raybuck (Summer Student), and Mr. Vatcharain Assawadarachai (Technician).
Pictured below is the Molecular Epidemiology Research Laboratory.
Here the MERL team is seen working hard on their research protocol in the conference room in the shared office space with Southeast Asia Research Collaboration with Hawaii (SEARCH) at TRCARC.