We welcome those interested in NIDA’s HIV research. Watch this space for messages from the ARP scientific leadership team on interesting new findings in the field as well as funding opportunities from NIDA.
July 2021
July 26, 2021: A review article in the New England Journal of Medicine reminds us that high rates of Substance Use Among Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) must be viewed in the context of differences in demographic characteristics, types of substances used, and patterns of use. The review, authored in part by NIDA Deputy Director Wilson Compton, found that bisexual MSM have higher rates of substance use and substance use disorders than other subgroups of MSM, and higher rates than heterosexual men. Use of methamphetamine, nitrite inhalants, and other drugs as part of sexual encounters in this population contributes to the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. The authors underscore that clinicians should operate within an established framework of stigma-free and trauma-informed care for MSM who use substances.
July 21, 2021: Research suggests interest in use of PrEP in rural settings - NIDA-funded research suggests that both oral and injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) have the potential to fill HIV prevention gaps for people who inject drugs (PWID) in rural settings. Survey findings among PWID in West Virginia, where an HIV outbreak is currently underway, showed that only 30% had heard of PrEP, and even fewer (3.7%) had used it. However, more than half were interested, including in PrEP injections. Making PrEP more widely available to people who use and inject drugs in West Virginia could be a powerful tool to address the HIV outbreak.
July 13, 2021: The NIDA funded study The Effect of Buprenorphine on HIV Viral Suppressionsuggests that initiation of buprenorphine in people with HIV increases the probability of viral suppression after accounting for both measured and unmeasured confounders. Investigators recommend increasing access to buprenorphine for people with HIV in HIV settings to improve treatment outcomes by training providers and addressing provider, system, and policy level barriers to adoption of buprenorphine.
June 2021
June 30, 2021: Findings from a longitudinal cohort study highlight the need for rapid ART initiation and adherence support among people who inject drugs within Asian settings. This unique look at injection drug use in the Asia-Pacific region underscores the need for policies enhancing HIV management, adherence support, along with prevention and harm reduction services tailored for the needs of this population group. The study was funded partly by NIDA with other NIH partners, and appears in the Journal of the International AIDS Society.
June 22, 2021: National HIV Testing Day is this Sunday, June 27th - A day to encourage people to get tested for HIV, know their status and get linked to care and treatment. Started in 1995, this year’s theme is “My Test, My Way” to emphasize there are different ways and places to get tested, including home with a self-test. Learn more at HIV.gov.
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June 14, 2021: “One Stop” Mobile HIV, Substance Use Clinics Coming to Five U.S. Cities - A clinical trial is underway in five U.S. cities to evaluate a model of delivering integrated health services through mobile health clinics. The study—known as INTEGRA, or HPTN 094—aims to assess whether this approach can improve HIV and substance use outcomes among people with opioid use disorder who inject drugs. These mobile clinics could become a model for expanding access to care and providing uninterrupted treatment. For more information, see the NIDA news release.
May 2021
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Drs. Matthew Akiyama and Hansel Tookes
May 21, 2021: Congratulations to Drs. Hansel Tookes and Matthew Akiyama, the 2021 NIDA HIV Avenir Awardees whose work focuses on innovative approaches to enhancing HIV care and prevention in people who use drugs. Dr. Tookes from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine will conduct a randomized controlled trial that evaluates a new Tele-Harm approach to engage and retain people who inject drugs in HIV care that is delivered via syringe services programs. Dr. Akiyama from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine will leverage hepatitis C virus clusters in socioeconomically marginalized populations to build improved prevention strategies for HIV and other blood-borne infections.
NIDA’s HIV Avenir Awardsare designed to stimulate innovation and potentially transformative research from early stage investigators. “Avenir” is the French word for “future,” as these awards represent NIDA’s commitment to supporting researchers who represent the future of science at the nexus of HIV and addiction.
May 17, 2021: Help spread the word: May 18th is HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, to recognize the many scientists, health professionals, community members and volunteers working together to develop a vaccine to prevent HIV.
Due July 30th, 2021:Epidemiology to End the HIV Epidemic
Applications should address the RESPOND pillar of the EHE initiative. We are seeking research to help us better understand HIV susceptibility and ongoing transmission in the United States using local and population-level epidemiology in collaboration with implementing partners.
Due July 30th, 2021:Prevention Strategies to End the HIV Epidemic
Research funded under this FOA will seek to reduce HIV incidence by supporting the goals of the DIAGNOSE and PREVENT pillars of the EHE initiative. We are looking for creative, multidisciplinary approaches to meet the needs of specific populations and localities. This opportunity will support projects to improve use of evidence-based HIV prevention interventions among populations in priority areas identified as highly impacted by HIV.
Due August 4th, 2021:Multidisciplinary Treatment Approaches to End the HIV Epidemic
Proposals should address the DIAGNOSE and TREAT pillars of the EHE initiative by exploring concepts for improved healthcare engagement that result in rapid and sustained viral suppression and improved outcomes for people with HIV. We are looking for methodologies that utilize implementation science to develop, implement, and evaluate creative, multidisciplinary approaches to healthcare delivery that more effectively engage and retain individuals in HIV care and treatment so that they achieve durable viral suppression.
March 2021
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Courtesy of NIH
CRISPR-Cas9 is a customizable tool that lets scientists cut and insert small pieces of DNA at precise areas along a DNA strand. This lets scientists study our genes in a specific, targeted way.March 22, 2021 - We’d like to congratulate NIDA’s Avant Garde Awardee Melanie Ott and her colleagues for their just published manuscript in CELL on how CRISPR diagnostics can augment gold-standard PCR-based testing for COVID-19 detection. This exciting research developed a way to use CRISPR-Cas13a to detect and quantify SARS-CoV-2 RNA from patient samples without the need for a pre-amplification step, and demonstrated how the signal can be efficiently detected with a portable, mobile phone-based device.
March 10, 2021 - New Funding Announcements:
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) for Multi-Level HIV Prevention Interventions: NIDA, along with the National Institutes on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) and Mental Health (NIMH) are offering funding opportunities to test the effectiveness of multi-level interventions to prevent HIV in high-risk health disparity populations in one or more geographic hotspots, including men who have sex with men (MSM), and/or minority transgender women, as these populations account for over half of new infections. Projects are generally expected to be clinical trials promoting PrEP use, condom use, and HIV testing in HIV-negative individuals. NIDA is especially interested in supporting research under this NOSI involving people who use drugs including members of key populations among whom drug use is a common HIV acquisition risk. Areas of special interest to NIDA are multi-level interventions that incorporate substance use treatment, harm reduction or other settings that commonly provide substance use services. Projects should use existing evidence-based HIV-prevention interventions or practices, either alone or in combination with new intervention elements. NIDA is looking for structural interventions to reduce HIV acquisition conducted in partnership with clinicians and service providers responsible for delivering HIV prevention services or programs at the local, state, or regional level.
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) Promoting Viral Suppression:NIDA, NIMHD and NIMH are also offering new funding opportunities that test interventions to promote ART initiation, ART adherence, and suppressed viral load for typically underserved people living with HIV in one or more hotspots. NIDA is interested in testing of interventions that directly engage sexual and/or injecting partners in ART adherence and HIV transmission prevention, as well as clinic-level intervention components to enhance cultural competency and reduce health-care related stigma and discrimination toward people living with HIV who are racial/ethnic or sexual and gender minorities. Proposals should include engagement of high risk populations and related subgroups, and should encourage collaboration with diverse local stakeholders. Projects that develop and test interventions to minimize delays in initiating or re-initiating ART services for people who use drugs are encouraged, as are proposals that incorporate cost-effectiveness analysis.
Please note the just released funding opportunityfrom our colleagues at the National Institute of Mental Health on research applications to optimize health communication strategies that advance HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure efforts, as well as research on communication, dissemination and implementation factors that are required for successful public understanding and acceptance of HIV-related interventions. Proposals are especially encouraged related to digital technologies, health disparities, as well as knowledge management and learning.
February 19, 2021 - Early stage and new investigators: We have posted the video from our January Symposium featuring previous HIV/AIDS Avenir Award recipients. Learn more about their innovative research as you prepare your own proposals. Note that applications are accepted in the summer and do not require preliminary data. The Avenir award provides up to $375,000 per year for 4 years to support cutting-edge and potentially transformative projects.
February 10, 2021 - Recent findings underscore that expanding public health insurance is one tool that can help curb the HIV epidemic. NIH-funded research demonstrates that Medicaid expansions were associated with increases in the percentage of people living with HIV who are aware of their status and pre-exposure prophylaxis use, suggesting that access to health care increases knowledge and implementation of prevention and treatment strategies.
February 5, 2021 - A multi-state research team has published new findings exploring women’s interest in long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy. Most women with a history of taking injectable medication would prefer the longer acting treatment, but those who have frequent medication-related injections and history of injection drug use might not, underscoring the need for further research to address patient-centered concerns related to injectable medication.
January 2021
January 28, 2021 - Findings from two studies this month relate to the use of methamphetamine, a drug known to be an important factor in the transmission of HIV by increasing sexual urges and decreasing behaviors that prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
A double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trial demonstrated that a combination of two existing medications, injectable naltrexone and oral bupropion, was safe and effective in treating adults with moderate or severe methamphetamine use disorder. Published in The New England Journal of Medicine, the research was done at multiple sites within NIDA’s Clinical Trials Network. The investigators found that the effectiveness of the combination is similar to the effectiveness of analgesics for treating pain and most medical treatments for mental health disorders. You can read more about this exciting development in Dr. Volkow’s latest blog.
Highlighting the growing need for this treatment, an analysis by NIDA scientists over an eight year period ending in 2018 showed a five-fold increase of methamphetamine overdose deaths among people ages 25-54, with the biggest increase among American Indians and Alaska Natives. This important finding underscores the urgency of continued research into targeted and culturally tailored treatments for stimulant use disorder, which currently has no FDA-approved medication.
January 15, 2021 - Early stage and new investigators: It’s time to start thinking about applying for the HIV/AIDS Avenir award, which provides up to $375,000 per year for 4 years to support cutting-edge and potentially transformative projects. Join us Wednesday, January 27thfor a virtual symposium featuring previous award recipients to learn about the innovative research funded through this program. Note that applications are accepted in the summer and do not require preliminary data.
December 2020
December 29, 2020 - Year-End Message from the ARP Scientific Team - The year 2020 was difficult indeed, but despite the challenges of COVID-19, NIDA’s AIDS Research Program moved forward with some impressive advances. At year’s end we learned that the NIDA-funded research on elite controllers was selected as one of nine runners up for Science magazine’s Breakthrough of the Year.
In addition, we celebrated progress through our sponsorship of a supplement to the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, Unraveling neuroHIV in the Presence of Substance Use Disorders, with ten NIDA-funded HIV-related scientific manuscripts. We saw a mid-year blog from NIDA Director Nora Volkow looking at the intersection of HIV with substance use disorders amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and on December 1st, NIDA honored World AIDS Day by announcing new infographic timelines highlighting the program’s historical impact since its inception in 2004. Finally, to bring ARP-stimulated research to the public more quickly, in 2020 we began posting online an ongoing selection of science highlights illuminating important advances in NIDA-funded HIV research.
The ARP team wishes all a Happy New Year filled with hope, and wants to give thanks to program staff and grantees who continue to pursue innovative science aimed at reducing the global burden of HIV. We’d especially like to mention staffer Andrea Czajkowski, who keeps things running day after day at NIDA’s AIDS Research Program.
December 14, 2020. Please note that the PAR-19-343 will now accept AIDS and AIDS-related applications, with a deadline extended to January 8, 2020. This "Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) Postdoctoral Career Transition Award to Promote Diversity” announcement is a terrific funding opportunity for nonprofits, small businesses, local governments and higher education institutions (particularly those serving diverse student populations), with interest in projects that have the potential to improve the lives of those most at risk for HIV.
December 10, 2020. We’d like to bring to your attention a NIDA funded study examining the challenges of managing pain for people living with HIV. This can be important for people who use or have a history of misusing drugs, especially opioids, and now that safe and effective HIV treatment allows people living with HIV to lead long, productive lives.
December 1, 2020, World AIDS Day. To celebrate World AIDS Day, NIDA has created two graphic timelines to honor the research and policy highlights that have advanced our scientific knowledge of the intersection of substance use and HIV transmission since NIDA’s AIDS Research Program was formed in 2004. One timeline identifies some of our high impact research findings, and the other identifies key policy and outreach milestones. These timelines not only reveal a history of program accomplishments but also forecast future achievements in research.
We also want to bring to your attention some new interesting research findings that examine the biological mechanisms of elite controllers—the tiny fraction of HIV patients who can suppress the virus without medication.
November 2020
November 18, 2020 - We are pleased to highlight two new NIDA/NIMHD co-funded opportunities:
First - we are seeking innovative projects that directly engage at risk populations, including structural interventions that can improve access to substance use prevention, treatment and harm reduction initiatives. We are especially interested in interventions that will include collaborations with diverse local stakeholders and address comorbidities such as intimate partner violence, marginal housing or serious mental disorders. See Multi-Level HIV Prevention Interventions for Individuals at the Highest Risk of HIV Infection
We are also seeking cost-effective care innovations for people who are HIV positive or suffer from substance use disorders, with a focus on harm reduction service settings in multiple geographic hotspots. Interventions could highlight novel approaches to PrEP delivery and/or clinic-level culturally competent components to reduce health care related stigma with a focus on racial/ethnic minorities, and/or sexual and gender minorities. See Promoting Viral Suppression among Individuals from Health Disparity Populations Engaged in HIV Care.
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Courtesy of NIH
