Dr. Trevor Crowell, a senior HJF clinical investigator with the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) was awarded a three-year NIH R01 grant to leverage four MHRP cohorts to apply advanced machine learning analytic techniques to investigate COVID-19 vaccine uptake and impact on HIV and neurobehavioral outcomes. The project will inform preparedness for future pandemics, including prioritization of resources to maintain resiliency of healthcare systems and public health messaging to vulnerable and potentially hesitant communities. The period of performance began on 4/14/2023.
The proposed research will leverage four HIV-focused cohort studies spanning the United States, Thailand, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Nigeria to quantify and describe the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with HIV (PLWH) with a focus on neurocognitive health, and to measure the effectiveness of vaccination as a biologic tool to mitigate some of these effects. In the short term, the proposed research will improve ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic by exploring COVID-19 contributes to adverse neurobehavioral and HIV-related outcomes, identifying individuals who are most at risk for these adverse outcomes, identifying potentially modifiable risk factors, and evaluating SARS-CoV-2 vaccination as one biological tool to improve neurobehavioral and HIV-related outcomes. In the long term, this research will inform preparedness for future pandemics, including prioritization of resources to maintain resiliency of healthcare systems, public health messaging to vulnerable and potentially hesitant communities, and strategies to improve neurocognitive health.