HIV-associated cognitive disorders remain prevalent, even among HIV positive individuals who receive highly active anti-retroviral treatments. There is a wealth of HIV-related neuroscience research at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), especially focused on oxidative stress as a critical pathogenic mechanism for neurological damage. Despite this rich environment, no definitive therapeutics for HIV-associated cognitive disorders have yet been developed. There is also an unfilled need to develop surrogate markers and more robust and simpler screening instruments for neurological diseases, which could eventually be used in resource-limited areas or by non-neurologists. Potential collaborations at Johns Hopkins are currently limited by the lack of a central organizing structure for this type of research and resources to facilitate cross-disciplinary and translational research. The JHU NIMH Center will address these needs to provide a resource to catalyze interdisciplinary research in HIV neuroscience. The goals of the JHU NIMH Center are to: 1. To facilitate collaborative research in HIV-related neuroscience with the goal of developing a definitive therapy for HIV-associated cognitive disorders based on targeting oxidative stress pathways. 2. To increase resources for HIV-related neuroscience research at JHU and to enhance the productivity of HIV-related neuroscience research locally, nationally and internationally. 3. To encourage high-risk, innovative developmental research in Neuro-AIDS, especially of a cross disciplinary nature. 4. To provide resources to encourage new investigators locally, nationally, and internationally to enter the field of HIV Neuro-AIDS research by providing educational and skill-developing resources for investigators to improve their expertise in detecting and treating HIV-related neurological complications. 5. To use focused throughput screening, using in vitro models to identify novel compounds useful for treatment of HIV-associated cognitive dysfunction with the over-arching theme of oxidative stress. 6. To identify and validate surrogate biomarkers based on proteomics and lipidomics[PSB1].
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