Project Grant R01AI201480

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine $776,872 on August 3, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to support research on serological correlates of survival in HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis.

The research investigates plasma immunoglobulin measures associated with survival and treatment response in people with HIV and cryptococcal meningitis, a devastating CNS infection caused by Cryptococcus neoformans that accounts for 19 percent of AIDS-related mortality globally. The project builds on prior findings showing that Cryptococcus neoformans elicits distinct antibody responses across asymptomatic latency, antigenemia, and active disease states, and that glucuronoxylomannan-IgG levels correlate with survival in antigenemia and trend toward association in meningitis. The work addresses a critical gap: despite improved outcomes from antigen screening, antiretroviral therapy, and antifungal drugs, mortality remains high and clinicians lack tools to guide management decisions—such as when to initiate corticosteroids or intensify antifungals—for patients who do not improve on standard therapy.

Place of performance is Bronx, New York. The period of performance runs through July 31, 2031. Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a private tax-exempt educational institution and serves as a child entity within the Montefiore Medical Center corporate structure, with a substantial federal research portfolio concentrated in the NIH ecosystem.