# Clinical Core

> **NIH NIH P30** · TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH · 2020 · $615,347

## Abstract

Summary
Despite the gains in clinical management, HIV-1 infection is still a life-long disease characterized by reservoirs
harboring proviral DNA in a latent/persistent state and occasional clinical complications associated with long-
term infection. Because of these therapy-refractile reservoirs, the course of HIV-1 disease is subject to a
number of comorbidities, including substance abuse, the aging process, and a host of secondary infections
and clinical conditions. Another pressing problem in the HIV-1-infected population is the development of HIV-
associated neurologic disorders (HAND) with associated cognitive impairment following HIV-1 brain
penetration, which likely serves as a critical reservoir that develops in a vast majority of individuals despite
therapy. Given these observations, investigators within and outside of CNAC have been using the Clinical and
Translational Research Support Core (CTRSC) resources to address questions relative to: (1) development of
a genetic-based strategy directed toward the elimination of HIV-1 to cure HIV/AIDS, (2) understand the genetic
makeup of the virus that remains in an ART-controlled patient and in the cellular reservoirs including the brain,
(3) design of gRNAs to deliver precise and personalized excision technology, (4) how ART is changing the
presentation and severity of neuropsychological impairment, (5) biomarkers that may link to and be underlying
mechanisms of HAND, and (6) how selected immune modulators may alter viral reservoir formation and/or
affect immune activation and inflammation that underlie chronic HIV disease and HAND. The CTRSC will
coalesce resources at two major Universities to build the expanded research support enterprise now
designated the Drexel/Temple CNS AIDS Research and Eradication Study (CARES) Cohort. The
Drexel/Temple CTRSC will involve the use of the Drexel/Temple CARES Cohort as well as the extensive
experience of CTRSC investigators in bridging both the basic science and translational research during the
past decade at Drexel and Temple to serve investigators within and outside the CNAC. Because of the unique
two-site design for patient recruitment, a parallel leadership structure has been developed and used to oversee
research support activities in the CTRSC. The Core Aims will be focused on (1) Clinical Medicine and
Database Management; (2) Cognitive Performance and Neuropsychology; (3) Virology, Immunology, and
Immune Activation; and (4) Viral Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics. Overall, efforts will focus on
providing patient samples and a well-characterized clinical data management system with a wealth of biologic,
immunologic, virologic, and genomic data that will facilitate NIH-supported investigations at Temple/Drexel, as
well as the projects funded by the Developmental Core. The CTRSC will also provide clinical samples as well
as cellular and molecular reagents and bioinformatic information to facilitate research support provided in the
Basic Scienc...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9931312
- **Project number:** 5P30MH092177-10
- **Recipient organization:** TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** Brian Wigdahl
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $615,347
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9931312

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9931312, Clinical Core (5P30MH092177-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9931312. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*