# NeuroAssessment Core

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $496,381

## Abstract

NEUROASSESSMENT CORE PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: The newly reorganized, streamlined
NeuroAssessment Core (NAC) will have the overall goal of supporting comprehensive neuromedical,
neurobehavioral and neuroimaging assessments for the characterization of HIV+ individuals and HIV- controls
in HNRC-affiliated studies. The Core will comprise 3 integrated subunits: Neuromedical (NM), Neurobehavioral
(NBh) and Neuroimaging (NI). We aim to facilitate and enhance multidisciplinary research in neuroAIDS by
providing a range of services, training and scientific consultation to projects such as investigator-driven R01s
and R21s, international neuroAIDS studies, and a variety of intra- and extramural investigations. Historically
the Core and its investigators have been leaders in the field, spurring the development of new methods and
adapting to the continually evolving scientific landscape. Consistent with this, the Core will provide resources to
support the Center's new themes of HIV persistence and cure, and how the human gut microbiome interacts
with HIV and its treatment to affect the CNS. Specific services relevant to HIV persistence and cure include
serial lumbar punctures to evaluate viral rebound following HIV reservoir interventions, and high volume CSF
collection and neurocognitive (NC) testing to assess effects of such interventions on brain functioning. The gut
microbiome will be characterized by collecting and processing samples of stool. Standard evaluations will
continue to include a structured neuromedical history, clinical and laboratory examinations, and establishment
of diagnoses of central and peripheral neurological complications of HIV. The NAC's NI Unit will provide
resources, including training, consultation, and technical support, for the detection and measurement of HIV-
related brain injury using a broad array of techniques, including structural, functional, and metabolite MRI and
PET imaging. This work will support investigations of the cognitive consequences and neuromedical correlates
of these effects; the underlying pathological mechanisms that give rise to this damage; and potential
biomarkers for treatment success. The NBh Unit will perform a comprehensive assessment of all participants in
the HNRC cohort that will include well-validated measures of NC functioning, psychiatric status, and everyday
functioning, in accordance with the HAND diagnostic guidelines. The NBh Unit's specific Resource Objectives
are to provide: 1) demographically-adjusted individual, domain, and global summary scores of NC functioning;
2) Determinations of NC change in individual participants using reliable and validated actuarial methods; 3)
Self-assessment and laboratory-based measures of everyday functioning; 4) Current and lifetime history of
mood and substance use diagnoses; and 5) Technical assistance, training, certification, consultation, and
career development mentoring. Data generated by the NAC range from NC performance and diagnostic
formula...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10071088
- **Project number:** 5P30MH062512-20
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** RONALD J. ELLIS
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $496,381
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → 2021-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10071088

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10071088, NeuroAssessment Core (5P30MH062512-20). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10071088. Licensed CC0.

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