1991

• Dr. Jack DeHovitz and Dr. Howard Minkoff establish the STAR Program with the overall goal of integrating HIV-related care, research and clinical education.
• SUNY’s University Hospital of Brooklyn becomes a New York State Designated AIDS Center.
• Development of the STAR Clinic (now STAR Health Center) – first outpatient HIV clinic on the SUNY Downstate campus – established with Ryan White Title III (now Part C) funding and institutional support.
• First year of the Women’s AIDS Cohort Study (WACS) – prospective study examining the manifestations of HIV disease in women under the direction of Dr. Howard Minkoff.
• Development of SUNY AIDS Clinical Trials Unit – first adult clinical trials unit in Brooklyn (emphasizing trials for women and minorities).

1992

• Development of Central/East European HIV Education Center through funding from the World AIDS Foundation.
• The Health and Education Alternatives for Teens (HEAT) Program begins serving the needs of HIV positive and at-risk adolescents under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Birnbaum.

1993

• Development of The HIV Center for Women and Children, to help coordinate the activities of all HIV-related programs directed by SUNY Downstate faculty.
• Development of the HIV Clinical Education Initiative – providing on-site training to area health care providers in HIV disease through funding from the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute.
• Development of the New York State International Training and Research Program, focused on building HIV and infectious diseases research capacity in Central Europe and in later years, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, through funding from the Fogarty International Center.

1994

• The NIH funds the STAR Program as a site for the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) under the direction of Dr. Howard Minkoff. The WIHS is a collaborative, multi-site, longitudinal study to investigate the natural history of HIV infection in US women, and represents one of the largest prospective cohort studies of HIV-positive and HIV-negative women in existence. The original six sites were located in California (Los Angeles, San Francisco), Chicago, IL, the Washington, DC area and New York City (Bronx and SUNY-DMC in Brooklyn).
• Development of the Co-Located HIV/Gynecologic Care Program – providing both HIV and gynecologic care to HIV infected women (now STAR-Downstate’s Family Centered Health Care program).

1995

• Two clinical textbooks, HIV Infection in Women and Primary Care of Women and Children with HIV: A Multidisciplinary Approach, edited by HIV Center faculty are published.
• The Maternal and Pediatric Services of Brooklyn (MAPS) program is funded through HRSA’s Special Projects of National Significance program to develop a model system for the prevention of perinatal HIV transmission at three Brooklyn hospitals.

1997

• The Health and Education Alternatives for Teens (HEAT) Clinic is selected as a Clinical Science Group site as part of the NIH-funded Adolescent Medicine HIV/AIDS Research Network.

1998

• STAR Clinic consolidates with the in-patient HIV care unit at University Hospital of Brooklyn under the direction of Dr. DeHovitz.
• Adult clinical trials are offered to STAR Clinic patients.

1999

• STAR Clinic is renamed the STAR Health Center, reflecting a renewed vision of providing first-rate interdisciplinary health care to all persons with HIV disease.
• The Special Treatment and Research (STAR) Program is awarded targeted Ryan White funding from a Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) initiative for a new outreach project entitled—Educating People at Risk (EPAR).

2000

• The CDC funds SUNY Downstate’s first large-scale, randomized community-based HIV/STD behavioral intervention project.

2001

• The STAR Health Center receives funding for the development of the first clinic in Brooklyn for the treatment of people co-infected with HIV and hepatitis C.
• The STAR Health Center begins providing comprehensive mental health/substance use treatment through funding from the NYS Department of Health AIDS Institute.
• The HEAT Program is awarded Ryan White Title IV (now Part D) funding through HRSA to establish a comprehensive care network to identify, enroll, and retain HIV-positive youth in medical care, and establish a youth service provider network in Brooklyn.

2003

• Dr. Tracey Wilson is awarded 3 years of funding from the CDC to conduct “Implementation of IDSA/CDC Guidelines for HIV Prevention,” a demonstration project to assess the effectiveness of guidelines to incorporate sexual and drug use risk reduction activities into the HIV medical care setting.

2006

• SAMHSA funding is received to develop and implement substance abuse, HIV and hepatitis prevention interventions for minority and reentry populations in Brooklyn.

2007

• The American International Health Alliance (AIHA) awards funding to establish a partnership with the Centre for Health Systems Research and Development at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa, establishing an “HIV/AIDS Twinning Center” to build capacity in HIV and TB research – part of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
• Tracey Wilson, PhD, receives funding from the CDC to participate in a multi-center study of the effect of a clinic-wide intervention in HIV primary care.

2008

• STAR Health Center begins the provision of substance abuse treatment to both HIV+ and HIV- adults in Central Brooklyn through SAMHSA funding. Interventions included the use of buprenorphine, Seeking Safety and acupuncture.
• The Treatment Adherence Program is established to increase HIV treatment knowledge and adherence among HIV seropositive patients, and reduce HIV-associated morbidity and mortality.
• Funding is received from the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health to train researchers to address the problem of cervical cancer among HIV seropositive and seronegative women in Central and Eastern Europe. This project built upon the research training infrastructure provided by the New York State International Training and Research Program (NYS-ITRP), a cooperative program of SUNY Downstate, the SUNY Albany School of Public Health, and the New York State Department of Health.
• The STAR Program receives funding from the NYS Department of Health AIDS Institute to serve as a state-wide Prevention and Substance Use Center under the Clinical Education Initiative (CEI), providing state-of-the-art education and training workshops on prevention and substance use to front-line clinicians throughout New York State.

2009

• On December 1, 2009, SUNY Downstate commemorated a quarter century in the fight against HIV/AIDS with a special World AIDS Day program. The program, entitled “A Quarter Century of HIV Care, Prevention and Research,” featured opening remarks by John C. LaRosa, MD, SUNY Downstate’s President, who noted that “as part of Downstate’s 150th anniversary celebrations, we thought it fitting on World AIDS Day to look at what Downstate has accomplished in the fight against HIV/AIDS.” Ron Bayer, PhD, an expert on medical ethics in the treatment of AIDS, spoke about the first 25 years of the AIDS epidemic and moderated a panel discussion featuring Downstate healthcare professionals. Each discussed their experiences delivering HIV/AIDS care over the past quarter century.

2010

• In collaboration with Family Medicine, the STAR Program implements Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) to prevent substance use and HIV in populations age 50 and above.
• Funded by Ryan White Part A, the Care Coordination Project is initiated in the STAR Health Center. The project utilizes intensive medical case management, including home visits and DOT to encourage maintenance in care and adherence to treatment.

2011

• The STAR Program receives funding through SUNY Stony Brook to develop a Brooklyn-based program to screen and treat first responders to the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center.
• Through HRSA AETC funding, an HIV track in Categorical Medicine is established in collaboration with Downstate’s Internal Medicine Residency Program with the goal of training the next generation of physicians in the care and treatment of HIV.
• Through funding from the NYS Department of Health, the Adolescent Education Program begins implementation of two evidence-based interventions to prevent teenage pregnancy.

2012

• The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) awards funding to SUNY Downstate’s NYS International Training and Research Program (NYS-ITRP) through the CDC, to support HIV prevention interventions in Ukraine.
• The Health and Education Alternatives for Teens (HEAT) Program receives funding from HRSA’s Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) Program to identify, engage and retain HIV+ transgender youth in care.
• The STAR Program receives funding from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) to implement the Community Promise, Prevention with Positives, Pilot Program to evaluate the implementation of a clinically based program to reduce risk behaviors among people with HIV.

2013

• The STAR Health Center receives Level 3 recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a patient-centered medical home (PCMH). Level 3 designation is the highest achievable recognition for a medical group, awarded only to programs that pass a rigorous review process. 
• Funding is awarded by HRSA AETC for the development of an HIV Track in SUNY Downstate’s PA Program. Like the HIV Track in the Department of Medicine’s residency program, the goal is to expand the capacity of primary care providers to care for people with HIV.
• The NIH awards a 5th five-year cycle of funding to the Brooklyn site of the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), now under the direction of Dr. Howard Minkoff and Dr. Deborah Gustafson, and adds four southern sites: Atlanta, GA; Chapel Hill, NC; Miami, FL and Birmingham, AL/Jackson, MS.
• Development of a social media project to reach men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender young adults at risk for substance use and HIV.

2014

• STAR Health Center begins provision of new services including high resolution anoscopy for the detection of anal dysplasia and anal cancer; provision of PrEP for HIV negative partners of people with HIV; and hormone therapy for transgender patients.

2015

• The Supportive Counseling and Family Stabilization project expands services to include home-based supportive counseling to encourage maintenance in care.
• STAR Health Center receives funding to support screening and newly approved treatment for Hepatitis C.
• Inauguration of STAR Health Center’s LGBTQ Health Initiative to provide primary medical care and to address specific medical and mental health needs of LGBTQ populations. 
• Jessica Yager, MD, MPH, begins  collaboration with Yale University on the NIDA-funded Working with HIV Clinics to adopt Addiction Treatments using Implementation Facilitation (WHAT IF?) research project.
• STAR is awarded funding from SAMHSA to create the SUNY Downstate SBIRT Training Center to train resident physicians in the Departments of Medicine, Family Medicine, and Psychiatry in the College of Medicine and physician assistant and midwifery students in the College of Health Related Professions in the skills necessary to provide evidence-based screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) to patients who are at risk for a substance abuse disorder.

2016

• The Adolescent Education Program (AEP) is awarded funding to conduct the “AEP Youth Health Advocate” (YHA) Program. The AEP provides a wide range of HIV, STD, HCV, pregnancy and substance use prevention services to vulnerable minority youth ages 13-24. 
• The STAR Program is awarded funding from NYC DOHMH through Public Health Solutions (PHS) to provide “Evidence-Based Interventions for Biomedical Prevention in Clinical Settings” via Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). The program provided supportive services, care coordination, patient navigation, and clinical care.  
• The STAR Program was awarded funding from NYC DOHMH/PHS to establish a Center of Excellence (COE) to provide post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV (PEP).  
• The STAR Program was awarded funding to establish a Status-Neutral Care Coordination Program, to provide care coordination services to HIV negative individuals at risk of acquiring HIV.
• The STAR Program was awarded funding to provide harm reduction services to address the specific needs of HIV positive persons who struggle with recent and/or a history of addiction, allowing clients to receive support and education, structured around risk reduction. 

2017

• The New York State International Training and Research Program (NYS-ITRP) was awarded an additional $1.5 million 5-year grant to develop and implement the “Ukraine HIV Research Training Program” to build capacity in implementation science research that addresses gaps in HIV care in Ukraine. This program aims to decrease the burden of HIV disease through the systematic HIV-related research training of investigators and by increasing in-country training capacity.  Our key collaborating institutions in Ukraine are the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy School of Public Health (SPH NaUKMA) and the Ukrainian Institute for Public Health Policy (UIPHP).
• Under the direction of Dr. Jessica Yager, STAR Health Center was awarded funding from the NYS Department of Health AIDS Institute’s Corrections to Community Care Continuum. The project provides comprehensive care to previously incarcerated HIV+ individuals coming home to Brooklyn. This grant is the first step in the development of Back to Brooklyn, a model of care to provide immediate access to comprehensive medical care, behavioral health care and support services to the previously incarcerated.

2018

• The “STAR Health Center Integrated Mental Health and Primary Care Services Project.”  is established with SAMHSA funding to identify and adults with a serious mental illness and/or co-occurring disorders and engage them in both primary care and behavioral health services at the STAR Health Center. Interventions include Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. 
• The STAR Program holds a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new primary care clinic for people living with HIV and AIDS at Brookdale Hospital Medical Center. The new clinic, STAR Health Center -Brookdale (STAR-Brookdale), formerly known as the Treatment for Life Center, is a collaborative effort between SUNY Downstate and Brookdale Hospital Medical Center. The partnership between the two medical centers aims to provide enhanced clinical training, as well as expanded services such as care coordination, home visits, mental health, and substance use counseling at the STAR-Brookdale site.

2019

• SAMHS grant is obtained to train and certify medical, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant students in the administration of Medication Assisted Treatment for opioid addiction once they enter practice.
• Sabina Hirshfield, PhD, receives SUNY Downstate funding to study racial and ethnic disparities in HIV testing and PrEP uptake among Black and Latino men who have sex with men in New York State.
•  Dr. Hirshfield receives funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to conduct “Supporting Treatment Adherence for Resilience and Thriving (START): A mHealth intervention to improve ART adherence for HIV-positive stimulant-using men.”

2020

• The NYS Department of Health AIDS Institute awards grant to Dr. Hirshfield to conduct “Maximizing HIV viral suppression via home collection of DBS for VL quantification.”
• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $1.5 million, five-year grant to the STAR Program at SUNY Downstate, the University at Albany School of Public Health, and the Partnership for Research and Action for Health (PRAH), a non-governmental organization in the country of Georgia, to a support Georgia’s HIV prevention efforts. The grant supports doctoral training in public health and implementation at both UAlbany and Tbilisi State University, and short-term training implementation science. 
• A three-year grant from SAMHSA is received to train and certify medical, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant students in the administration of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for opioid addiction once they enter practice. 
• The STAR Program received an award of $250,000 from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) via Deloitte Consulting Overseas Projects, LLC to train Ukrainian health care administrators, in concert with colleagues at SUNY Albany to develop health cadres with required skills to support effective management of healthcare in Ukraine. 

2021

• The Enhanced Data to Care Program (eD2C) at STAR-Brookdale, funded by the national Ending the Epidemic in the US initiative through NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene/Public Health Solutions, uses multiple data sources to identify, outreach, and re-engage PWH who are out of care, never in care or or at risk of falling out of care; provides outreach, patient navigation and intensive case management to PWH who return to care at STAR-Brookdale.