The International NeuroHIV Cure Consortium (INHCC)—a longstanding cohort study examining neurobehavioral and immunologic changes during acute HIV infection—has named Miller School of Medicine’s Adam Carrico, Ph.D., professor and director of the Division of Prevention Science and Community Health in the Department of Public Health Sciences, as one of its 23 world-renowned collaborators.

“Being named as a collaborator represents an exciting opportunity to examine behavioral and biological factors relevant to the establishment of the HIV reservoir and to advance our understanding of the determinants of poorer immunologic responses to anti-retroviral therapy (ART),” said Dr. Carrico.

Established in 2014, the INHCC facilitates scientific exchange among investigators in a diverse array of fields and leverages all aspects of the research portfolio through multidisciplinary studies that focus on acute and chronic HIV infections and HIV remission studies.

The consortium is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

“Currently, I am working closely with the INHCC team to test for methamphetamine metabolites on stored urine samples to validate self-report measures,” Dr. Carrico said. “This will lay the foundation for a planned R01 proposal to examine whether and how methamphetamine users display poorer immunologic responses to ART during acute HIV infection.”

In response to recent increases in methamphetamine use in Thailand and Southeast Asia, Dr. Carrico will also assist the INHCC in examining the rates and predictors of increasing methamphetamine use in this cohort.

Dr. Carrico’s clinical and translational research program targets the intertwining epidemics of substance use and HIV and AIDS.

His clinical research focuses on boosting the effectiveness of motivational enhancement interventions, such as contingency management and motivational interviewing for HIV and AIDS prevention with people who use stimulants such as methamphetamine.

Dr. Carrico’s translational research in neuroimmune pharmacology examines the bio-behavioral pathways whereby substance use may amplify risk for HIV acquisition and clinical HIV progression. Most recently, his team is conducting one of the first cohort studies to examine the bio-behavioral pathways whereby methamphetamine and HIV could increase the risk of infection with the novel coronavirus.

Written by Amanda Torres

Published on December 9, 2020