Third Coast CFAR Pilot Awards

2024

Joshua Craft, MD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Targeting hypoxia-induced factor 2 alpha for proteasomal degradation in latently infected cells to enhance proviral reactivation for HIV cure

Yogesh Goyal, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Ultrasensitive and high-throughput detection of HIV isoform-ome in single host cells

Marc Mendillo, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: The role of the HAPSTR1/HUWE1 axis in HIV-1 susceptibility in CD4+ T cells

alithia zamantakis, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Exploring the Relationship Between Gender Affirming Care and PrEP Uptake and Adherence

Juan Pablo Zapata, PhD, Northwestern University 
Title of Study: Adapting and Testing a Single Session Intervention for KIU! HIV Intervention for Young Men Who Have Sex with Men  

2023

Aniruddha Hazra, MD, University of Chicago and Howard Brown Health
Title of Study: Preventing HIV Among People Living with Mental Illness Identifying as Sexual and Gender Minorities Via Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP): A Mixed Methods Study of Patients and Mental Healthcare Providers in Chicago

Joshua Schrock, PhD, MPH, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Marijuana-driven adipokine signaling as a regulator of systemic inflammation among participants living with and without HIV in the RADAR cohort

2022

Yogesh Goyal, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Connecting rare cell states with HIV-1 susceptibility in single CD4+ T cells

Ricky Hill, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Transgender men’s perspectives on HIV risk and HIV prevention interventions

Mary Clare Masters, MD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Associations between plasma biomarkers of the Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype (SASP) and frailty in older persons with HIV

Robin Nusslock, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Functional connectivity in the brain’s frontoparietal central executive network and resilience against comorbidities of HIV

Jeremy O’Sullivan, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: HIV-1 modulation of human mast cell phenotype, function, and survival

Elissa Sarno, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Partner Risk Heuristics and HIV-related Risk among Young Men Who Have Sex with Men

Harita Shah, MD, University of Chicago
Title of Study: A Needs Assessment of HIV-related Individual & Structural Social Determinants of Health in the Latinx Population in Chicago and Cook County, IL

Chisu Song, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: State-of-the-art proteomic analyses of A3G and -B to inform innovations in HIV cure and non-AIDS defining cancer research

2021

Lauren Beach, PhD, JD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: CVD Analyses Designed to Elucidate Consequences of Comorbidities, Environment, SDOH, and HIV at Howard Brown Health (CADENCES HIV-HBH)

Yu Fen Chen, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Cerebral Small Vessel Disease in Early HIV Infection

Ramon Lorenzo-Redondo, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Development of an Experimental System to Study the Role of HIV-1 Recombination in the Maintenance and Round of the Tissue Reservoir

Aderonke Pederson, MD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Exploring the Impact of HIV Stigma and Depression Stigma on HIV Treatment Outcomes Among African Immigrants Living with HIV

Julia Rosebush, DO, University of Chicago
Title of Study: Mental Health, COVID-19-related Anxiety, and HIV Care Engagement: Exploring the Experiences of Black Youth Living with HIV

2020

Neda Laiteerapong, MD, MS, University of Chicago
Title of Study: Patient Outcome Reporting for Timely Assessments of Life with HIV and Anxiety (PORTAL HIV-A)

Jade Pagkas-Bather, MD, University of Chicago
Title of Study: Examining Preferred ARV Implementation Strategies Among Young Black MSM: A Multilevel Approach

Maria Pyra, PhD, University of Chicago and Howard Brown Health
Title of Study: Persistence, Risk, and Decision-Making Among a PrEP Using Cohort: A Mixed-Methods Study

Jessica Ridgway, MD, MS, University of Chicago
Title of Study: Population Management Approach to PrEP at Community Health Centers (PMAP)

2019

Margaret Danilovich, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Feasibility of High Intensity Walking for Older Adults with HIV

Kambiz Ghafourian, MD, MPH, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Prevalence of Clonal Hematopoiesis and Risk of HFpEF in Persons Living with HIV

Ramon Lorenzo-Redondo, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Assessing the best viral sampling method for an accurate detection of the tissue viral reservoir dynamics

David Moskowitz, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Investigating the role of parents in adolescent PrEP utilization

Kimberly Stanford, MD, MPH, University of Chicago
Title of Study: HIV prevention and linkage to PrEP through Emergency Department syphilis screening

2018

Inger Burnett-Zeigler, PhD, Northwestern University and Emily Miller, MD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: eMPoWEr (Mindfulness-based intervention for Pregnant WomEn living with HIV)

Ann Carias, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Pilot studies to optimize the evaluation of rectal cytokines and target cells for future studies of high-risk minority MSM in Chicago

Jia Chen, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Defining the role of EphA2 and EphA4 in HIV-associated Kaposi’s sarcoma

Amy Johnson, PhD, Northwestern University, Lurie Children’s Hospital
Title of Study: HerPrEP: Adaption and acceptability of a mobile PrEP knowledge app for young Black women

Danijela Maric, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Spatial visualization and characterization of the SIV infected cell foci in rhesus macaque mucosal tissues using deep tissue imaging techniques

Darnell Motley, PhD, University of Chicago
Title of Study: Assessing the experience of accelerated pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery to young Black men who have sex with men and young transgender women at high risk for HIV infection

2017

Chad Achenbach, MD, MPH, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Telomere Length and Associations with Age-related Diseases Among HIV-infected Individuals on ART

Carlos Gallo, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Using Computational Linquistics to Amplify the Effects of Text Messaging-based HIV Interventions

Rayid Ghani, MS, University of Chicago
Title of Study: Combining Human Knowledge and Machine Learning to Increase Retention in Care for HIV Patients

Aditya Khanna, PhD, University of Chicago
Title of Study: Towards an Effective PrEP Diffusion Model: Identifying Criteria for Peer Change Agent Selection

Aaruni Khanolkar, PhD, MBBS, Northwestern University, Lurie Children’s Hospital
Title of Study: Evaluation of immune function fitness in vertically-infected HIV+ patients with early ART initiation

Joshua Leonard, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Engineered Extracellular Vesicle-mediated Delivery of Targeted Nucleases to Inactivate HIV Proviral DNA

Sally McFall, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Sensitivity and Specificity Testing of a qPCR-based Tuberculosis Detection Method that May Be More Sensitive than Culture

Moira McNulty, MD, University of Chicago
Title of Study: Towards Implementation of Hybridized HIV Testing Strategies to Optimize Care Continuum Metrics

Jessica Ridgway, MD, MS, University of Chicago
Title of Study: Predictive Modeling for Retention in HIV Care

2016

Hossein Ardehali, PhD, MD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Insights into the Mechanism for HIV-related Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction

Alida Bouris, PhD, University of Chicago
Title of Study: PrEParing our Youth: Parent and Adolescent Perspectives on Parental Involvement in PrEP Decision-Making among Younger Black MSM and Transgender Women

Matthew Feinstein, MD, Northwestern University and Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Heart Failure Phenotyping in a Novel, Ethnically Diverse HIV Cohort

Chisu Song, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Blocking Vif-independent APOBEC3G Degradation: Mechanisms and Anti-HIV Effects

Hao Zhang, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Preventing HIV Sexual Transmission through in vivo Functional Optical Imaging

2015

Michael Newcomb, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Understanding the Promotive Effects of Parent-Child Relationships on HIV Risk Behavior in Young Men Who Have Sex with Men

Valentina Stosor, MD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Characterizing a Chicago Cohort of Persons Infected with HIV and Viral Hepatitis

Harry Taylor, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: Evaluation of mTOR-dependent dNTP pool depletion as a novel anti-HIV-1 therapeutic strategy

Derek Walsh, PhD, Northwestern University
Title of Study: The role of microtubule regulatory proteins in Human Cytomegalovirus infection