In 1988, the Center for AIDS Research at Albert Einstein Cancer Center was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Researchers at the Center were the first to identify pediatric AIDS as a distinct disease and established the first day-care center in the world for children with AIDS. The NIH-funded CFAR program emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, especially between basic and clinical investigators, translational research

Today, The Einstein-Rockefeller-CUNY Center for AIDS Research (ERC-CFAR) is one of 19 NIH-funded Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR).