Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded $438,950 under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) to the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, operating through the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha. The award, made on May 1, 2026, supports an R21 exploratory/developmental research grant with a project completion date of April 30, 2028. The research investigates the mechanisms underlying polysubstance use (PSU) in HIV-positive adolescents following social defeat, with a focus on how concurrent use of methamphetamine and oxycodone affects central nervous system function through mitochondrial dysfunction.

The primary deliverable under this Project Grant is research elucidating the role of mitovesicles—a novel class of extracellular vesicles released from mitochondria—in inducing central nervous system dysfunction in HIV-positive adolescents who engage in polysubstance use following psychosocial stress. The research will utilize HIV transgenic rat models to examine molecular mechanisms associated with mitochondrial perturbation and generate foundational knowledge to inform prevention and treatment approaches for substance use disorders in this vulnerable population. The project addresses a significant public health priority identified by NIDA by advancing understanding of the complex interactions between HIV infection, psychosocial stress, and emerging polysubstance use epidemiology affecting adolescents.