# United States-East Africa HIV-Associated Malignancy Research Center (USEAHAMRC) for Career Development and the Prevention, Early Detection and Efficient Linkage to Care for Virus-related Cancers

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2021 · $1,001,132

## Abstract

In the field of HIV-associated malignancies, East Africa faces three intersecting problems common to
resource-limited settings. First, East Africa lacks effective primary and secondary prevention strategies for
cervical cancer and Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), two of the most common cancers not only among HIV-infected
persons but in the general population. Survival for both malignancies is poor due to multiple factors
including lack of screening, advanced disease stage at presentation, suboptimal diagnostic tests and fragile
linkage to care. Second, there is a paucity of local principal investigators to lead research related to HIV-
associated cancer. Third, there are no robust research networks to study primary and secondary prevention
of HIV-associated cancers in the region. To address this, eight institutions in the U.S. and East Africa will:
 Aim 1. Create a collaborative network of U.S.-based and East African-based scientists and
 institutions — the United States-East Africa HIV-Associated Malignancy Research Center
 (USEAHAMRC) — focused on career development and the performance of research related to
 prevention, early detection and efficient linkage to care for virus-related cancers;
 Aim 2. Support the career development of emerging African principal investigators, U.S.-based
 junior investigators and others in the USEAHAMRC in the performance of HIV and other virus-
 related cancer research; and
 Aim 3. Conduct novel research — led by our emerging African principal investigators — related
 to the prevention, early detection and efficient linkage to care for virus-related cancers.
The USEAHAMRC will build on prior work in U54 CA190153 to create a network of scientists from 4 U.S.
institutions (UCSF, Duke, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the National Library of Medicine) and 4
African institutions in 3 East African countries (Infectious Diseases Institute in Uganda; Moi University in
Kenya; Kenya Medical Research Institute; and Muhimbili University in Tanzania) (Aim 1). We will model our
career development activities after NIH-sponsored institutional mentored career development programs
(Aim 2). Managed by a Developmental Core, these activities will include professional enrichment to all
interested junior scientists at our participating institutions, mentoring of a select group of African and U.S.-
based junior scientists to compete for career development awards, and a Pilot Project program to attract
new junior scientists. Our African junior investigators will also lead two research projects (Aim 3): Project 1,
A Public Health Approach to Cervical Cancer Prevention in East Africa; and Project 2, Rapid Case
Ascertainment as a Tool for Epidemiologic Investigation and Efficient Linkage to Care in HIV-infected
Patients Diagnosed with Kaposi Sarcoma in East Africa. A Data Management and Biostatistical Analysis
Core (DMBAC) will support all of the science. Finally, an Administrative Core will oversee all operations.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10215455
- **Project number:** 5U54CA254571-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Andrew Ddungu Kambugu
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,001,132
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-07-13 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10215455

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10215455, United States-East Africa HIV-Associated Malignancy Research Center (USEAHAMRC) for Career Development and the Prevention, Early Detection and Efficient Linkage to Care for Virus-related Cancers (5U54CA254571-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10215455. Licensed CC0.

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