# Building a Collaborative Research and Training Platform for HIV and Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases in Uganda

> **NIH NIH R21** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $174,753

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Sub-Saharan Africa bears the greatest burden of the global human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
epidemic. Uganda is no exception, with over 1.5 million persons with HIV (PWH), comprising 5.8% of the
population. Improved access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) has transformed HIV from a fatal condition to a
chronic disease with long-term survival approaching that of uninfected individuals. In this setting, increased
morbidity and non-AIDS mortality arising from non-communicable disease co-morbidities is a growing challenge
in the care of patients with HIV.
Rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) encompass a broad group of conditions commonly affecting
the muscles, bones or joints. Collectively, these disorders are the leading cause of years of life lived with disability
and the fifth highest driver of disability-adjusted life years globally. In Sub-Saharan Africa the burden of RMDs is
growing due to changing demographic patterns against a backdrop of resource limitation. The interplay of RMDs
and HIV remains a challenge: interactions between the two are diverse and relatively poorly understood, creating
barriers to management, and leading to negative health outcomes.
Written in response to “HIV-associated Non-Communicable Diseases Research at Low- and Middle-Income
Country Institutions (PAR-23-191)”, this proposal aims to establish a novel registry of patients with HIV and
RMDs, which will provide a unique platform for epidemiological and clinical studies of patients with co-morbid
HIV and RMD. Building upon the expertise of the study PIs in HIV, RA and osteoporosis, we further propose a
demonstration project focused on patients with co-existing HIV and RA to illustrate the feasibility of this platform
to support innovative hypothesis-driven research. The two independent but related aims will leverage a new
patient registry at the Rheumatology Clinic at Mulago National Hospital, a well-established HIV Clinic at the same
hospital, a rich history of collaboration between Makerere University College of Health Sciences and Yale
University School of Medicine, an outstanding Advisory Committee, and the infrastructure and network of the
Uganda Initiative for NCDs.
Taken together, the proposed project has significant public health importance. It will provide the prerequisite
data, training, and infrastructure needed to advance research on RMD burden among PWH. Creation of this
unique research and training platform will foster critical local capacity and an integrated network in Uganda for
future prospective studies investigating this important but previously under recognized problem. This will build
the foundation for future longitudinal studies to assess the burden, biology, spectrum, and the progression of
RMDs in HIV.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10998759
- **Project number:** 1R21TW012889-01
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Evelyn Hsieh
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $174,753
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-19 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10998759

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10998759, Building a Collaborative Research and Training Platform for HIV and Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases in Uganda (1R21TW012889-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10998759. Licensed CC0.

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