Project Grant R01AI195093

Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Washington received a $670,230 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), effective May 7, 2026, with an ultimate completion date of April 30, 2031. The grant funds development of a rapid enzymatic assay platform designed to measure antiretroviral (ARV) drug levels in point-of-care settings such as pharmacies and clinics across sub-Saharan Africa. This innovation addresses a critical gap in HIV treatment and prevention adherence monitoring for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), a population accounting for approximately one in four new HIV infections globally. The enzymatic assay approach represents a paradigm shift from conventional centrally-analyzed drug level feedback (DLF) tests by enabling rapid measurement of ARVs based on their enzymatic activity, thereby providing accessible and inexpensive real-time feedback to support adherence counseling and clinical decision-making.

The project supports evidence-based outcomes by delivering objective biomarkers of drug exposure that facilitate candid provider-patient conversations about non-adherence and enable assessment of adherence-promoting interventions. By transitioning from slow, expensive, laboratory-dependent testing to rapid, field-deployable enzymatic assays, the grant deliverables are intended to improve treatment efficacy and prevention outcomes for vulnerable populations while addressing significant economic and accessibility barriers to current diagnostic tools in resource-limited settings.