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Georgette Kanmogne, Ph.D. |
Although she has worked on many AIDS-related research projects, this one hits closer to home and closer to Dr. Kanmogne’s heart.
With the grant funding Dr. Kanmogne will establish collaborations with researchers in her home country of Cameroon and the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center in San Diego, to determine whether there is a correlation between the various HIV subtypes and a patient’s susceptibility to neurological complications and disease progression.
“I have so many friends and family members who have been affected by this disease,” said Dr. Kanmogne, assistant professor in the department of pharmacology and experimental neurosciences and principal investigator of the study. “This is very personal.”
In a twist of fate, Dr. Kanmogne’s home country is one of few where all three known strains of HIV and 11 subtypes of the HIV virus are found. Her year-long study will help determine whether particular genetic variants of the virus are more likely to cause HIV dementia, and to affect morbidity and mortality.
The HIV virus can enter the brain and cause various clinical and pathological abnormalities, ranging from mild cognitive and motor impairments to overt dementia. The epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic is in sub-Saharan Africa, home to 25 million of the 40 million people currently living with HIV/AIDS.
In this region, the HIV epidemic is characterized by a very high genetic variability, which often generates different viral combinations in infected individuals.
“It is important to determine the impact of such genetic variation on the epidemiology of neuroAIDS and disease progression,” Dr. Kanmogne said.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity for Dr. Kanmogne and significantly beyond the monetary component of the project,” said Howard Gendelman, M.D., chairman of the department of pharmacology and experimental neuroscience where the grant will be administered.
“Research in the area of HIV/AIDS is moving rapidly to a global level. The epidemiology, natural history, genetic diversity, treatment and progression of the disease is one that knows no cultural, ethic, religious or racial barriers,” Dr. Gendelman said. “If we are to succeed in eradicating HIV worldwide we must understand its natural host and the viral structure and diversity in many different settings.
“Georgette’s project, while focusing on behavioral and cognitive abnormalities that link to viral infection, squarely moves these issues forward in a significant manner. Her research also enhances the opportunities for our own research efforts as many of our investigators become more global in their own works.”
For this project, Dr. Kanmogne has assembled an international group of researchers affiliated with three institutions — UNMC, the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center at the University of California, San Diego and the University of Yaounde 1 in Cameroon, West Africa.
“My hope is that once the project is established we are then able to get more funding, perform in-depth neuroAIDS studies and establish long-term collaborations,” Dr. Kanmogne said
Dr. Kanmogne’s collaborators in the research include:
Cameroon:
- Alfred K. Njamnshi, M.D., professor, faculty of medicine, University of Yaounde 1, head of neurology department, Yaounde Central Hospital;
- Fidele Binam, M.D., professor, faculty of medicine, University of Yaounde 1, section chief, anesthesiology and critical care medicine, Yaounde Central Hospital;
- Calixte Kuate, M.D., neurologist, Yaounde Central Hospital.
HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center, University of California San Diego:
- Ronald J. Ellis, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor and member (Neuromedical Component) of the HNRC group;
- Thomas D. Marcotte, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry, HNRC manager;
- Allen J. McCutchan, M.D., professor and director, California Collaborative Treatment Group; HNRC co-director;
- Igor Grant, M.D, professor and executive vice chairman, department of psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, Director HNRC;
- and Mariana Cherner, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry
HNRC.