This federal Project Grant award, provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), supports research to investigate the molecular effects of cannabinoids on the blood-brain barrier in the context of HIV infection. The $1,398,514 grant, awarded on August 15, 2024 with an ultimate completion date of May 31, 2029, aims to elucidate the mechanistic basis for the context-dependent influence of cannabis on blood-brain barrier...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), provides $1,032,192 to Yale University to conduct research on the cell-type specific epigenomic effects of cannabis use in people living with HIV. The project aims to dissect the interactions between HIV infection and cannabis use, and identify potential druggable targets through comprehensive profiling of DNA methylation across different cell types. The...
This Project Grant award of $1,383,618 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under CFDA Program 93.279 - Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs supports research to investigate the microglia-mediated adverse effects of cannabis (specifically Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC) on prefrontal cortex maturation and cognitive function during adolescence. The research aims to: 1) identify the time course of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CNR1)-mediated molecular and morphological...
This Project Grant award of $1,742,971.00 was provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) to investigate the role of cannabinoids in modulating inflammasome activation and gut-brain axis dysregulation induced by cocaine use in chronic HIV/SIV infection. The primary objectives are to: 1) Investigate epigenetic mechanisms underlying cannabinoid-mediated reduction of cocaine-induced inflammasome activation in blood, brain,...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), provides $157,568 to Drexel University to elucidate corticolimbic circuit and neuroimmune mechanisms underlying HIV-induced dysregulation of reward-seeking behavior. The research aims to use optogenetic and chemogenetic techniques to stimulate the infralimbic cortex-nucleus accumbens shell circuit and modulate microglial function to rescue HIV-induced...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), provides $234,000 to Georgetown University to conduct research on the effect of opioids on HIV transcription and latency. The key objectives are to understand the mechanisms by which opioids like fentanyl, morphine, and methadone influence HIV proviral transcription in microglia and astrocytes, and to use a novel dual fluorescent and bioluminescent virus to...
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded a $2,312,085 Project Grant under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) to Trustees of Boston University, doing business as Boston University Medical Campus. The grant, awarded on September 30, 2024, will fund research to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which HIV infection and opioid exposure activate the NLRP1 inflammasome in human microglia cells, leading to neuroinflammation and the development of HIV-associated...
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded a $2,223,769 Project Grant under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) to the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) to investigate the individual and combined impact of HIV and opioids on inflammasome-mediated neuroinflammation and neurotoxicity. The 5-year study, which commenced on April 15, 2025, aims to uncover the mechanistic intersection between HIV and opioids that leads to more severe neurological...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under the federal Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), is funding a human laboratory study to investigate the effects of repeated cannabidiol (CBD) administration on the abuse-related and analgesic effects of smoked cannabis. The $541,080 award, effective August 1, 2024 through July 31, 2029, will support a randomized, counterbalanced study of 72 healthy adult cannabis smokers. Participants will receive...
This Project Grant award of $220,340 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) will fund research at Washington State University to investigate the role of microglia, a type of immune cell in the brain, as a mechanism underlying the cognitive deficits associated with adolescent cannabis use. The study aims to determine if microglial activation is necessary for the impairments in cognitive flexibility observed in adulthood...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), provides $146,922 to The Johns Hopkins University to evaluate the expression, function, and immunomodulatory potential of endocannabinoid receptors, including CB1, CB2, TRPV2, and PPAR-A, and cannabidiol (CBD), in microglia in the context of HIV. The goal is to investigate how these endocannabinoid system components modulate the HIV-induced microglial inflammatory response, which contributes to neurologic dysfunction in people living with HIV. The research will systematically test the hypothesis that HIV infection selectively impacts these endocannabinoid receptors on macrophage/microglia and that they mechanistically contribute to modulating HIV inflammatory responses. The award has an initial project period from December 17, 2024 to June 16, 2026.