# Pittsburgh HIV Mentored Training for Investigation of Co-morbidities and Cure (HIV MeTrICC)

> **NIH NIH K12** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2021 · $415,675

## Abstract

ABSTRACT: Chronic sequelae of long-term HIV infection and treatment including heart, lung, blood, and sleep
(HLBS) co-morbidities are increasingly important causes of morbidity and mortality. Latent HIV and maladaptive
inflammation also persist despite successful ART. Therefore, we propose a new training program in HIV-related
research, the Pittsburgh HIV Mentored Training for Investigation of Co-morbidities and Cure (HIV MeTrICC), led
by Drs. Alison Morris, Dr. John Mellors, and Solomon Ofori-Acquah. They have an outstanding training record
for PhDs and MDs, and their research experience spans the spectrum from basic to translational to clinical with
expertise in lung, blood, and vascular co-morbidities and HIV cure. HIV MeTrICC will be an interdisciplinary,
intensive mentored research training and career development experience focused around two interrelated
training tracks – HLBS Co-morbidities and HIV Cure with the following objectives: 1) To provide intensive
mentoring in HIV-associated HLBS Co-morbidities and HIV Cure. Our team of established Mentors will offer
unique multidisciplinary mentoring and career guidance to Scholars in the conduct of HIV research projects.
Scholars will choose Mentors from the MeTrICC Co-morbidities and HIV Cure tracks. Tracks will be highly
interactive. 2) To provide didactic training to foster progression to an independent career in HIV-related
research. Formal training will encompass a broad spectrum of research methodologies, technologies, and
analytical approaches to basic, clinical, and translational HIV research. Scholars with varying levels of prior
research experience will be supported by Individual Development Plans geared to their needs. 3) To provide
opportunities for training in Inner-city HIV and International HIV settings. Scholars will be able to choose
from two different focus areas if relevant to their career plan. For the Inner-city HIV focus, we partner with the
University of Maryland and the NIH to provide experience with the District of Columbia Partnership for AIDS
Progress, the nation’s largest urban HIV cohort study. For our International HIV focus, we utilize several sites in
Africa with ongoing basic, clinical, and translational research. 4) To provide access to large, multi-center HIV
studies: Scholars will have access to large cohort studies including the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, the
Women’s Interagency HIV Study, the Strategic Timing of Antiretroviral Therapy pulmonary substudy, the
Pittsburgh HIV Lung Research Cohort, and the Pharmacokinetic and Clinical Observations in People over 50
sleep Substudy. 5) To support scholars in preparation of an independent research proposal: The program
will ensure that Scholars rapidly develop grant-writing skills and submit competitive grant applications to help
them secure HIV research funding. We will support five post-doctoral Scholars (MDs and PhDs) for a period of
2 to 3 years based on initial level of experience (i.e. post-docs vs junio...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10223924
- **Project number:** 5K12HL143886-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** John W Mellors
- **Activity code:** K12 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $415,675
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-15 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10223924

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10223924, Pittsburgh HIV Mentored Training for Investigation of Co-morbidities and Cure (HIV MeTrICC) (5K12HL143886-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10223924. Licensed CC0.

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