Diversity related Neuro-AIDS and Mental Health Research

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): HIV infection of the nervous system frequently results in neuropsychiatric complications and is a major cause of disability in the HIV infected population. To date there is no effective treatment for the illness and is further complicated by the fact that this infection disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities. Several barriers need to be overcome if we want to make a significant impact on this illness. Not only do we need to understand the social and cultural diversities that impact the spread of this infection and our ability to treat these populations, but even the pathophysiological studies and development of treatment strategies need to pay close attention to racial and ethic diversity. Few published studies suggest that host genetic factors may be critical in determining host susceptibility to HIV dementia and as the field of pharmacogenetics is evolving, it is also becoming clear that treatment strategies also need to be tailored based of host genetics. Another major barrier is the lack of scientists from racial and ethnic minority groups in the field of NeuroAIDS research. We have taken several steps to address each of these issues. We have developed a program on the premise that the principal barrier to diversity in science is not a lack of talent, but rather a lack of opportunity. We devised a course in NeuroAIDS that not only uses the state of the art technology and the best teachers and researchers in the field, but the subject content is specifically geared to address each of the issues and point out areas of research that are needed to accomplish these goals. This 12 week course will be webcast so that students will be able to take it from anywhere in the country and yet actively engage in a discussion with the teachers. This didactic course will be followed up with a laboratory based project for a duration of 3-6 months for select students to generate preliminary data for a application focused on neuro-AIDS. To accomplish these goals, we will exploit our existing collaborations with University of Puerto Rico and University of Hawaii to train students and postdoctoral fellows from racial and ethnic minorities. We will also train researchers at Johns Hopkins University in issues that face HIV infected populations of racial and ethnic minorities.