# Optimizing the Use of Long-Acting Antiretrovirals for Youth Living withHIV

> **NIH NIH K23** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $198,720

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ ABSTRACT
Youth with HIV and adherence struggles stand to benefit from long-acting antiretrovirals (LAARV), soon to be
available in the U.S., more than other groups. Youth living with HIV between 13 and 29 years of age are less
engaged in all steps of the HIV care cascade, resulting in exaggerated HIV-related disparities in health and an
low rates of overall viral suppression in this group. Stigma, mental health issues, deficits in cognition and
executive functioning, and obstacles within multiple categories of social determinants of health can hamper
youths’ ability to sustain antiretroviral adherence and reap the benefits of this technology for themselves, their
families, and their social networks and communities. The primary goal of this project, nested within the funded
trial International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Group (IMPAACT) 2022, is to develop an
independent scholarly research program addressing the optimization of the use of LAARV in youth, with the
ultimate goal of designing practical interventions to maximize their benefit. This four-year training and research
program will consist of: 1) employing novel methods to understand the role of biopsychosocial and cognitive
factors in the success of LAARV and potentially establish predictors of the efficacy of LAARV based on various
pre-use characteristics in youth; 2) developing and piloting novel bioassays to enable in-the-field collections of
Dried Blood Spot (DBS) or Dried Plasma Extractor (DPE) LAARV measurements for use in clinical trials or as
therapeutic drug monitoring among YLHIV receiving LAARV; and 3) Learning and leveraging population PK
modelling approaches to understand the sources of PK variability in YHIV on LAARV. The training will include
formal coursework, direct mentoring, and guided practice-based experience with new methodologies in
biostatistics, cognitive neuroscience, quantitative pharmacology and assay development, and advanced
population pharmacokinetics. By gaining training from her mentors and collaborators in all these methods, Dr.
Weld will establish herself as a clinician-researcher in long-acting infectious disease therapeutics equipped to
assess new delivery strategies and technologies as they emerge, and capable of transforming her field.
Results of the investigations conducted during the award period will establish a foundation for the subsequent
design of interventional studies to improve HIV-related outcomes in youth with less-frequent dosing strategies,
and submission of further funding proposals to support this line of inquiry.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10487556
- **Project number:** 5K23AI165290-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Ethel Derby Weld
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $198,720
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-10 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10487556

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10487556, Optimizing the Use of Long-Acting Antiretrovirals for Youth Living withHIV (5K23AI165290-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10487556. Licensed CC0.

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