Mount Sinai Summer Institute for NeuroAIDS Disparities
MSINAD SCHOLAR GRANT REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS
Background:
Racial and ethnic minorities (REM) constitute a disproportionate majority infected by HIV in the United States. There is need for capacity in medical science to study HIV-associated disorders in REM populations, to understand how disease manifests and whether pathogenetic mechanisms are influenced by qualities or conditions associated with race and ethnicity. Highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) has not eradicated HIV-associated nervous system disorders. As life spans of people on HAART increase, the prevalence of HIV-related nervous system diseases is rising. The chronicity of these disorders, and their unique impact on functional ability, renders HIV neurobiology an important area of study. It is imperative that we understand the manifestations and pathogenesis of HIV-associated nervous system disorders in REM communities, as this is where the burden of disease is greatest in the 21st century.
Since psychiatric and cognitive disorders have as their primary output alterations in behaviors, socio-cultural modifications of behavior must be accounted for prior to defining disease entities and measures for their discovery. Once socially- and culturally-appropriate measures and definitions of HIV CNS disease are determined, do race and ethnicity modulate pathogenesis? As host responses to HIV (and more broadly, host immunologic reactivities) show genetically-determined variations, do race and ethnicity play a role in nervous system responses to HIV and neuroimmunologic perturbations? Do co-morbid conditions that segregate along racial and ethnic boundaries have a role in modulating CNS disease manifestations and/or progression?
The intention of this award is to support a junior faculty or pre- or post-doctoral fellow in becoming a successful contributor to the field of NeuroAIDS and health disparities research. The grantee’s research proposal must be focused on either behavioral or pathogenetic aspects of HIV-associated nervous system disorders in minority populations. Recipients of the award will be expected to attend a 6 week summer institute at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine focusing on didactic and practical training in neuroAIDS research. Upon graduation from the institute, scholars will be awarded grants of up to $20,000 to continue pursuit of their research questions at their home institution.
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