# Surviving the HIV Epidemic (S/HE) in metropolitan Washington DC - Advancing  knowledge through cohort studies

> **NIH NIH U01** · GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $18,015

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
We propose to compare phosphatidylethanol (PEth) and Ethyl glucuronide (EtG), and
self-reported alcohol use in all participants in the MWCCS and new enrollees and
examine their association with 1) HIV outcomes including antiretroviral therapy (ART)
adherence and 2) clinical outcomes including liver disease as measured by vibration-
controlled transient elastography (VCTE), cardiac arrhythmias and dysfunction, and
neurocognitive impairment.
Specific aims:
• To compare sex and race/ethnicity differences in PEth, EtG, and self-reported alcohol
use
• To examine the association of PEth, EtG, and self-reported alcohol use with liver
 steatosis and liver fibrosis measured by VCTE.
• To examine the association of PEth, EtG, and self-reported alcohol use with
 Echocardiograpy measured cardiac dysfunction.
• To examine the association of PEth, EtG, and self-reported alcohol use with
 neurocognitive impairment.
We also propose to expand the MWCCS interview to include more detailed information
regarding alcohol use to compare with the objective measures PEth and EtG.
We will perform objective measures of alcohol use, including:
• EtG: Use urine samples routinely collected during core visits and stored in the
 national repository. Testing will be performed at Brad’s lab at NYU.
• Peth: Collect 1 mL of whole blood in a grey top for dried blood spots to be
 prepared in your specimen processing lab. UCSF will budget for all testing costs
 and provide supplies to the sites.
We will perform single copy HIV RNA testing:
~ 75% of the participants have an undetectable VL based upon a cut-off of
20. By going down to a single copy, we will have a continuous value of HIV
VL. It will also allow us to see whether ART adherence might attenuate the
association of alcohol with lack of viral suppression. Testing will be performed on
reposited samples at the Pittsburgh site.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10131505
- **Project number:** 3U01HL146205-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** SEBLE G KASSAYE
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $18,015
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10131505

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10131505, Surviving the HIV Epidemic (S/HE) in metropolitan Washington DC - Advancing  knowledge through cohort studies (3U01HL146205-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10131505. Licensed CC0.

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