Penn Mental Health AIDS Research Center (PMHARC) Developmental Awards Program Pre-application Meeting January 29, 2015 PMHARC Priorities • Treatment of psychiatric disorders among people living with HIV infection who have co-occurring medical conditions—metabolic syndrome, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancers, HCV, TB, substance use disorders (alcohol and illicit drugs) • Novel, as well as conventional, treatments and/or interventions of psychiatric conditions to improve access to, and retention in, HIV treatment and improved adherence to antiretroviral medications • Adaptations of evidence based psychiatric treatment to the unique needs of HIV patient populations • Research that links the effective treatment of mental illness among people with HIV infection to improvements in biological measures of health status • Research focused on the treatment of HAND - HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders • Studies of interaction effects between psychiatric and antiretroviral medications Year 1 Pilots 17 Investigators 3 Institutions 3 Schools 6 Departments • The Impact of Personal Relevance and Depression on Brain and Behavioral Effects of HIV Prevention PSAs in HIVPositive MSM (Daniel Langleben, MD (Psychiatry), An-Li Wang, D.Phil. (Annenberg) Current Status: Data Collection • Evaluation of the HIV Treatment Cascade for HIV-Infected Persons with Mental Illness (Baligh Yehia, MD, MPP, MSHP (Medicine/ID), Kathleen Brady, MD (Philadelphia Department of Public Health), Benoit Dube, MD (Psychiatry), Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH (Epidemiology and Nursing), Robert Gross, MD, MSCE (Medicine/ID and Epidemiology) Current Status: Publication • Mid-Life Cognitive Function in HIV+ Individuals: Impact of Endocrine and Immune Status (C. Neill Epperson, MD (Psychiatry), Liisa Hantsoo, PhD (Psychiatry) Current Status: Data collection • Immune and Neuroimaging Biomarker Correlations between Depression and HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders in HIV-Infected Youth (Jennifer McGuire, MD (Neurology, CHOP), Brenda Banwell, MD (Neurology, CHOP), Tami Benton, MD (Psychiatry, CHOP), Linda Hawkins, PhD, LPC (Pediatrics, CHOP) Current Status: Data collection • Predictors of HIV-Associated Psychiatric Distress and Neurocognitive Decline in a Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Sample (Iman Martin, PHD, MPH, M.Sc. (Psychiatry), Ruben Gur, PhD (Psychiatry), Raquel Gur, MD, PhD (Psychiatry) Current Status: Publication • Treatment of Insomnia with Zaleplon in HIV Positive Patients with Comorbid Depression (Matthew Kayser, MD, PhD (Psychiatry), Michael Thase, MD (Psychiatry) Current Status: Data collection Year 2 Pilots 16 Investigators 4 Institutions 4 Schools 5 Departments • CSF and Plasma sCD163, FABP3 and sIR as Biomarkers of Neuropsychiatric Impairment in HIV-Seropositive Women Steven Arnold, M.D. (Psychiatry) Valarie Wojna, M.D. (Medicine/ Neurobiology) • Does the Severity of Substance Use Disorders Affect Neurocognitive Functioning of HIV+ Patients? Donna Coviello, Ph.D. (Psychiatry) George Woody, M.D. (Psychiatry) • Barriers to Engagement and Retention in Care among HIV+ Transgender Youth with Psychiatric Co-Morbidities Nadia Dowshen, M.D. (CHOP, Psychiatry) Fances Barg, Ph.D., M. Ed. (Community Health/Family Medicine) Marne Castillo, Ph.D. (Adolescent Medicine) Benoit Dube, M.D. (Psychiatry) Linda A. Hawkins, Ph.D. (Human Sexuality, Widener University) • The Impact of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on HIV care Retention Carmen McLean, Ph.D. (Psychiatry) Edna Foa, Ph.D. (Psychiatry) • A Pilot study of Lifestyle Modification for Weight Loss in Persons with Obesity, HIV/AIDS and Major Depression David Sarwer, Ph.D. (Psychiatry) Lucy Falconbridge, Ph.D. (Psychiatry) Rexford Akima, M.D., Ph.D. (Psychiatry/Medicine) • Computer-Assisted Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Depressed, HIV+ People Taking Antiviral Medications Michael Thase, M.D. (Psychiatry) Marna Barrett, Ph.D. (Psychiatry) Successful Applications • Responsive to the research priorities of the PMHARC (http://www.med.upenn.edu/pmharc) • Have clear potential to lead to larger, funded research initiatives • Utilize PMHARC Core services • Link early career investigators with established investigators • Link mental health and HIV/AIDS expertise • Contribute to specimen and data repository • Feasible to complete within one year Pilot awards • Penn Faculty, including Instructors. Post Docs and Senior Fellows at Penn are also eligible with a faculty sponsor. • $25, 000 awards—primarily personnel costs • Selected projects receive significant support from PMHARC Cores • Forms and application details can be found at: http://www.med.upenn.edu/pmharc – Application deadline: March 1, 2015 – Approximate start date: July 1, 2015 – Five pages: Abstract, Significance, Innovation, Approach, Human Subjects PMHARC Cores • • • • • • Administrative Core Developmental Core Clinical Assessment Core Intervention Core Laboratory Core Biostatistics Core Developmental Core • Director: Dave Metzger, PhD (dsm@mail.med.upenn.edu) • Co-Directors: C. Neill Epperson, MD (raquel@upenn.edu) and Raquel Gur, MD, PhD (raquel@upenn.edu) • Coordinator: Chelsea Voytek, MPH (chelseav@mail.med.upenn.edu) • Services – Solicit applications and support applicants – IRB applications • Protocols and consent forms – Mentoring on HIV and MH issues – Recruitment assistance • Advising on recruitment plan • Flyer design and Web-based bulletin board ( http://www.phabb.org ) • Recruitment referrals – Monthly monitoring and assistance during implementation Clinical Assessment Core • Director: Paul Crits-Cristoph, PhD (crits@mail.med.upenn.edu) • Co-Directors: Pablo Tebas, MD (pablo.tebas@uphs.upenn.edu) and Robert Gross, MD, MSCE (grossr@mail.med.upenn.edu) • Services – provides trained diagnosticians/evaluators to conduct clinical assessments – oversees administration of a core battery of behavioral measures – supports recruitment – provides access to assessment software and equipment Intervention Core • Director: Michael Blank, PhD (mblank2@mail.med.upenn.edu) • Co-Directors: John B. Jemmott III, PhD (jjemmott@asc.upenn.edu) and Michael Thase, MD (thase@mail.med.upenn.edu) • Coordinator • Services: – links with community partners – trains investigators and research staff to implement interventions for treatment of mental illness and HIV/AIDS and their comorbidities – consults on the design of HIV intervention projects Laboratory Biomarkers, Quantitative Pharmacology, Neuroimaging, and Neurobehavioral Characterization Core • Director: Steven Douglas, MD (DOUGLAS@EMAIL.CHOP.EDU) • Co-Directors: Ruben Gur, PhD (gur@upenn.edu) and Jeffrey Barrett, PhD (barrettj@email.chop.edu) • Services: – performs measurements and assays for all pilots and other studies focused on treatments of comorbid mental illness and HIV/AIDS – performs assessments that will define mental illnesses, HIV/AIDS, and the comorbid characteristics common to both – maintains a specimen repository, which includes plasma, serum, cells, and genomic DNA Biostatistics and Data Management Core • Director: Warren Bilker, PhD (WARREN@upenn.edu) • Co-Director: Knashawn Morales, ScD (knashawn@mail.med.upenn.edu) • Services: – Assistance with power calculations – Guidance on statistical and analytic methodologies – Support for effective data management