# Mentoring in patient-oriented research on the U.S. substance use and HIV syndemic

> **NIH NIH K24** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2024 · $213,369

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
In many settings worldwide, harmful substance use coincides with other epidemics of communicable and non-
communicable disease. Merrill Singer first theorized in 1996 the concept of a “syndemic”, which manifests
when epidemics co-occur, are driven by harmful social conditions, and synergistically interact to amplify the
burden of disease. The theory of syndemics has gained significant traction in the field, but existing empirical
work has been criticized on both conceptual and empirical grounds. Until this gap in the literature is filled,
efforts to develop clinical and structural interventions to reduce harmful substance use will remain limited. The
objective of this K24 application is to characterize the syndemic of polysubstance use, HIV, and other
communicable and non-communicable diseases among participants in the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort
Study, while enhancing the applicant's mentorship skills and expanding his capacity to provide mentorship to
more Early-Stage Investigators seeking to conduct patient-oriented research on substance use-associated
syndemics. The rationale for submitting this K24 application at this time is that the applicant's funding follows
an academic physician-scientist “soft money” model, and new leadership roles have increased the number of
prospective trainees seeking his research mentorship. Three specific aims will be achieved: Aim 1—Mentoring:
The applicant will create a novel research mentoring program and expand his mentoring portfolio by providing
mentorship in the conduct of patient-oriented research on substance use-associated syndemics to 3–5
additional Early-Stage Investigators, per year. Aim 2—Career Development: The applicant will undertake new
training in the estimation of psychological symptom networks and simulation modeling, while building his skills
as a mentor by completing courses informed by validated curricula in mentoring science. Aim 3—Research:
Novel methods developed for the estimation of psychological symptom networks will be used to characterize
the syndemic of polysubstance use, HIV, and other communicable and non-communicable diseases among
participants in the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study. Simulation modeling will be used to identify the most
effective hypothetical clinical and structural intervention strategies for addressing the syndemic. The key
significance and innovation of this proposal is its novel application of methods to characterize substance use-
associated syndemics and to identify concrete strategies for intervention. If this K24 is awarded, the expected
contribution is that the applicant will be able to fulfill a greater proportion of current requests for mentorship;
make fundamental contributions to resolve longstanding challenges in understanding substance use-
associated syndemics, leading to novel strategies for clinical and structural intervention; and use the K24-
supported research studies as training vehicles for junior investigators inte...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11009351
- **Project number:** 1K24DA061696-01
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** ALEXANDER C TSAI
- **Activity code:** K24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $213,369
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11009351

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11009351, Mentoring in patient-oriented research on the U.S. substance use and HIV syndemic (1K24DA061696-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11009351. Licensed CC0.

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