# MSM and Substances Cohort at UCLA Linking Infections Noting Effects (MASCULINE)

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2021 · $1,825,475

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
HIV treatment and prevention approaches are evolving in response to advancements in pharmacotherapies. Yet
in the United States substance using members of key populations such as men of color who have sex with men
(MoCSM) face socio-behavioral barriers that inhibit access and adherence across the HIV Care and Prevention
Cascades that produce HIV relevant biological changes. Elucidation of how substance use affects basic,
biological, behavioral, and social aspects of HIV is vital to advance HIV prevention and treatment. In response
to NIDA RFA-DA-18-011 Cohort Studies of HIV/AIDS and Substance Use (U01), the University of California, Los
Angeles (UCLA) seeks to continue the MSM and Substances Cohort at UCLA Linking Infections Noting Effects
(MASCULINE or the “mSTUDY”) established in 2013 and to extend the scientific opportunities it offers for another
five years. Our proposed competitive renewal will sustain and dynamically refresh the cohort of substance-using
HIV-seropositive (HIV+) and high-risk HIV-seronegative (HIV-) MoCSM by retiring older, non-substance-using
members and adding younger substance-users. If renewed, this cohort will continue to add specimens to our
well-characterized, extensive biobehavioral repository and to provide a platform for high-impact science.
Substance use continues to effect adherence to treatment and prevention regimens thereby sustaining high
prevalence networks. Proposed investigators lead the science on studying associations between drug use,
behaviors, and infectious disease and will contribute a broad portfolio of interdisciplinary work from immunology
and basic science to epidemiology, prevention and treatment. This cohort of MoCSM will characterize: (i) effects
of substance use on acquisition of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs: gonorrhea, Chlamydia,
syphilis); (ii) the extent to which substance use in MoCSM facilitates behaviors that transmit HIV compared to
non-drug using MoCSM (iii) the effects of substance use and HIV on the mucosal environment; (iv) effect of
substance use on HIV disease progression; and interactions between substance use and HIV infection on the
inflammatory response. We identify the direct ways stimulants, cannabis and other substance use in
combination with specific behaviors can change HIV transmission and progression dynamics in multiple
compartments via immune function and the microbiome. The application also proposes to expand an already
robust biorepository with specimens available for the broader research community. This cohort will be comprised
of 514 MoCSM with repeated data visits. At least half will be active substance users and younger than age 30.
With a fully enrolled cohort, the mSTUDY has begun to produce high impact publications and spinoff research
projects with newly integrated datasets of large sample sizes. The next cycle will further stimulate basic and
biologically innovative science from collaborating investigators, ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10144409
- **Project number:** 5U01DA036267-09
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Pamina Mae Gorbach
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,825,475
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-09-30 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10144409

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10144409, MSM and Substances Cohort at UCLA Linking Infections Noting Effects (MASCULINE) (5U01DA036267-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10144409. Licensed CC0.

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