# Tanzania AIDS Malignancies Training and Research Program (TAMTRP)

> **NIH NIH D43** · LSU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER · 2024 · $99,945

## Abstract

Despite the progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, women around the world remain disproportionately
affected by HIV. More than half of the HIV cases globally are women, and young women are as twice as
likely as young men to acquire HIV. Biological factors have all been suggested to increase women’s risk to
HIV, and are compounded by social factors such as stigma, social norms, and barriers to accessing sexual
and reproductive health services. Consequently, women living with HIV (WLWH) experience mental health
illnesses like stress, depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms at higher rates than their male
counterparts and more often than HIV-unaffected women. These mental health issues affect not only the
well-being and quality of life of WLWH but have implications for HIV management and transmission
prevention. While mental illnesses have significant impact on management of HIV disease, data on the
burden of mental illnesses and their impact in SSA where most of the PLHIV are residing is lacking. The lack
of well-trained HIV researchers in mental health and women’s health has also contributed to the low
understanding of comorbidities affecting WLWH in SSA. Therefore, there is a need to build research capacity
in HIV and mental health particularly among WLWH by investigating the impact of depression on health of
WLWH in SSA countries like Tanzania, where HIV prevalence is still high at 4.4% in the general population
but higher in women at 5.6%. The ongoing Tanzania AIDS Malignancies Research and Training Program
D43 (TW012277) provides a unique opportunity to train young investigators in the field of HIV-associated
malignancy research to address some of the challenges highlighted. We are proposing to mentor a junior
female faculty oncologist who can lead a study in establishing the burden and impact of depression on health
of WLWH in the country. We hypothesize that WLWH, especially those diagnosed with cancers, will have
high rates of depression, and this condition will negatively influence their ability to control HIV disease. To
test this hypothesis, the team will: a) enroll women (HIV+/HIV-, and cancer+/cancer-) at Ocean Road Cancer
Institute in Tanzania and establish the burden of depression among WLWH by using a validated depression
assessment tool, PHQ-9. Information on ART use and its adherence, CD4 counts, HIV viral load, and HIV
disease stage will also be systematically documented; b) assess the impact of depression on health of WLWH
by analyzing severity of depression and how it affects outcomes of WLWH in terms of ART adherence, HIV
plasma viral load suppression, and HIV disease stage. The proposed study will provide a unique opportunity
for a new investigator (Dr. Queen) to acquire new skills in HIV, mental health, and women’s health research
as a stepping-stone to embark on HIV/AIDS research career and improve research capacity in Tanzania.
The generated mental health and outcomes data will be important preliminary data...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11122458
- **Project number:** 3D43TW012277-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** LSU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Julius David Mwaiselage
- **Activity code:** D43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $99,945
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2024-09-05 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11122458

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11122458, Tanzania AIDS Malignancies Training and Research Program (TAMTRP) (3D43TW012277-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11122458. Licensed CC0.

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