New US centre to accelerate discoveries about HIV-associated brain injury
A new US$3m research centre will study HIV-related brain injury and seek biomarkers that could support new diagnostics and potential treatments.
The New York-New Jersey Center for Actionable NeuroHIV Biomarkers, known as NYJ-CAN-BIO, is being developed through a four-year grant.
The centre will give researchers access to expertise, training and technologies to investigate how HIV affects the brain.
Established by Weill Cornell Medicine and Rutgers Health, it could uncover molecular markers, known as biomarkers, that may enable new diagnostics and lead to potential therapies for neurological complications linked to HIV.
Lishomwa Ndhlovu, co-director of the centre, said: “People don’t often think of HIV as a disease that affects the brain, yet HIV can have profound and lasting effects on brain health and daily functioning, even in the era of effective treatment.
“I’m honoured that NIMH has given us the unique opportunity to move cutting-edge research forward that we hope will ultimately transform the lives and care of people with HIV.”
Ndhlovu added: “There are still no effective therapies that specifically prevent or mitigate ongoing brain injury.
“Our goal is to close this critical gap by defining the mechanisms of brain injury and identifying new opportunities for targeted intervention.”
Antiretroviral therapy (ART), which prevents HIV from replicating, has substantially reduced severe forms of dementia associated with the virus.
However, HIV can persist in reservoirs in the body, including the brain, and can cause cognitive and behavioural difficulties, depression and motor impairment.
The centre will give researchers from different fields access to shared molecular and computational tools for studying neuroHIV, which refers to HIV involvement in the central nervous system.
Researchers also plan to use techniques for culturing human tissues, including organoids or “mini brains”, to investigate how HIV affects brain cells.
Pilot funding will be available to junior investigators and researchers who are new to HIV research across the two institutions.
The US$3m grant has been awarded by the National Institute of Mental Health to Weill Cornell Medicine and Rutgers Health.
Tricia Burdo, co-director of NYJ-CAN-BIO, said: “This award is an important recognition of the strength of our collective vision and the value of bringing together complementary expertise across Rutgers, Weill Cornell and the broader New York-New Jersey research community.”
Once the programme is established, the team plans to seek further funding to expand the centre into a mental health hub for people with HIV across the two regions.
