UCSD receives USD 2.5m NIDA grant for Brain-FRAMe HIV research program

[University of California, San Diego](https://app.allsci.com/organization/ASC-OH-0000000779324-1.0-1772559499) has received a USD 2.5 million RM1 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to launch Brain-FRAMe, a multidisciplinary program examining how long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy and medication-assisted treatment affect brain health in people with HIV and active methamphetamine use disorder. The [award](https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11402886), issued in May 2026 and running through March 2031, is led by contact principal investigator [David J. Grelotti](https://app.allsci.com/researcher/ASC-PR-8965145322863-1.0-1765457341) in the Department of Psychiatry, alongside co-investigators Mariana Cherner, Scott L. Letendre, and Maria Cecilia Garibaldi Marcondes. The program addresses a persistent gap in HIV care: people with active methamphetamine use disorder frequently fail to achieve durable viral suppression on oral antiretroviral regimens due to adherence challenges. Brain-FRAMe tests whether the combination of long-acting injectable ART and medication-assisted treatment — including long-acting injectable naltrexone — can stabilize viral suppression while reducing methamphetamine use, and whether those changes translate into measurable improvements in neurocognitive function, mood, and impulse control. Four coordinated teams will follow the same participants over 52 weeks, integrating clinical implementation, neurobehavioral phenotyping, biophenotyping and pharmacology, and basic science mechanistic work. Biospecimens including blood and cerebrospinal fluid will support proteomic, transcriptomic, and pharmacokinetic analyses, with a centralized data integration group aggregating findings across teams. NIDA's use of the RM1 mechanism — typically reserved for large, coordinated research programs — reflects the scale and integrative ambition of the project. The award comes as long-acting injectable formulations have expanded the practical options for managing HIV in populations with inconsistent oral medication adherence, making the intersection of addiction medicine and HIV neurology an increasingly active area of clinical research. *** This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed and edited by the AllSci editorial team Explore more at AllSci News: [https://allsci.com/news/](https://allsci.com/news/) --- Spot something wrong? [Report an issue with this article](https://newsgen-prod.reframedata.com/feedback/hiv-research-grant-university-of-california-san)