# Heavy cannabis use, neurocognition and PrEP care engagement among young Black sexual minority men

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · 2024 · $62,320

## Abstract

Project Abstract
We propose to conduct research that will determine the impact of relevant behaviors on HIV prevention among
Young Black Sexual Minority Men (YBSMM), such as heavy cannabis use. Data from our group and others
demonstrate heavy cannabis use as prevalent and increasing in YBSMM, is associated with HIV acquisition,
use as a sex-drug, greater likelihood of membership in an HIV transmission cluster, and decreased HIV testing.
We propose to explore mechanisms, specifically neurocognitive impacts of heavy cannabis use, linking heavy
cannabis use to HIV prevention outcomes, and whether motivations for cannabis use, amidst a changing
cannabis regulatory, social acceptance and legal landscape, modify its effects on HIV prevention. In the
proposed study, we will rigorously examine links between heavy cannabis use, neurocognition, sex behavior
and PrEP care engagement. First, we will elucidate the effects of cannabis use on neurocognition –
specifically, brain systems supporting risk/reward (RR) processing, as well as higher order organizational
functions collectively referred to as executive function (EF) in YBSMM. Second, we will explore how cannabis
use, directly and via neurocognitive impacts, is associated with HIV prevention, and particularly PrEP care
engagement (primary outcome). The proposed study will integrate and expand these lines of research within
the context of traditional health department and CDC supported HIV prevention programs that engage YBSMM
in the South Side of Chicago and adjacent suburbs, home to the largest contiguous majority Black population
in the US. We will use rigorous objective measures to assess cannabis use (e.g., quantification of cannabis
metabolites in plasma), neurocognition (e.g., neuroimaging) and PrEP outcomes (e.g., EMR measured
persistence), and triangulate that data using validated survey measures. We will also rigorously account for
other substance use, as a proportion of YBSMM who use cannabis also use other substances (e.g., alcohol),
and there is increasing recognition of the need to study substance use as it occurs in real-world settings,
including polysubstance use. We will assess these factors longitudinally over 1.5 years (3 times 9 months
apart) in a cohort of 280 YBSMM, to permit examination of within-individual biological changes and the
dynamic nature of cannabis use and its association with prevention care outcomes. We aim to: 1) Determine
cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between cannabis use and neurocognition (i.e., neural response
to risk/reward processing and executive function) in a cohort of YBSMM; 2) Evaluate overall, direct and indirect
(via neurocognition) associations between cannabis use and PrEP care (e.g., persistence [primary]) and HIV
transmission behaviors (e.g., group sex [secondary]); and 3) Determine whether motivations for cannabis use
modify associations between cannabis use and HIV prevention outcomes. Identifying neurocognitive
mechanisms through w...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11086383
- **Project number:** 3R01DA057351-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarah K Keedy
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $62,320
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-09-15 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11086383

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11086383, Heavy cannabis use, neurocognition and PrEP care engagement among young Black sexual minority men (3R01DA057351-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11086383. Licensed CC0.

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