A research team led by Boston University medical professionals received a $10 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to study the effects of alcohol on HIV patients, according to a Sept. 26 press release by the BU School of Medicine.
The research team, led by BUSM professor Jeffrey Samet, will conduct a five-year consortium on behalf of the Uganda Russia Boston Alcohol Network for Alcohol Research Collaboration on HIV/AIDS, according to the press release. The study will examine the relationship between alcohol and HIV infestation in the Boston area, as well as in Russia and Uganda.
BU School of Public Health professor Debbie Cheng and Boston Medical Center doctor Richard Saitz will join Samet in the study. The team also includes researchers from BMC, the University of California at San Francisco and the University of Pittsburgh.
“We are all very excited to have the opportunity to work to advance our understanding and treatment options for individuals with HIV infection and alcohol use,” Samet said in an email interview.
The study not only aims to answer questions about how alcohol affects HIV, but also what approaches in addition to antiretroviral treatments could be used to reduce alcohol-related risks, Samet said. “Such questions about the complex relationship between HIV and alcohol need to be addressed in order to accelerate the development of more effective treatments.”
Carly Bridden, administrative director for the program, said in an interview that Samet’s team promotes “innovative and rigorous” research about HIV and alcohol.
“Dr. Samet drew upon existing research partnerships to create a multidisciplinary collaborative team,” Bridden said.
The three HIV-infected cohorts, Bridden said, were chosen because they demonstrated “distinctive strengths and well-characterized alcohol consumption.”
“We have included the cohorts from Russia and Uganda because they have well-characterized alcohol consumption patterns and allow the study of clinical issues that would not be possible in the United States, yet have important implications for U.S. HIV-infected populations,” Cheng said in an interview.
Bridden said that the Boston, Ugandan and Russian cohorts plan to focus on alcohol’s impact on bone health, the progression of HIV infection and the body’s inflammatory markers, respectively.
The project will begin planning activities over the next six months with anticipated study launches and subject recruitment to follow, she said.
“Questions about the complex relationship between HIV and alcohol need to be addressed in order to accelerate the development of more effective treatments,” Samet said in the press release.
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