About Pilot Research Grants

Up to 5 pilot grants of $20,000 each will be awarded each year. Grants are given on a competitive basis to mentees of minority background conducting neuro-AIDS research. Awardees of these grants have been called “Scholars.”

The progress of these scholars is closely watched and reviewed each month at the Executive Committee meetings. Feedback and advice as appropriate is provided to each of the scholars.

Previous Research Scholars: Summer Acevedo, Melissa Angsalda, Juliana Perez-Laspiur and Jose Rodrigues

Previous Pilot Grant Awardees: Jose Rodrigues, Marilou Andres, Valerie Toodle, Crystal Watkins, and Charlene Gamaldo

2009 Course: Pilot Projects or JHU Research Training	Student Name & Dates; Mentor	Home Institution
Pilot Grant: Imaging Immune Mechanisms of Depression Older HIV Patients	Crystal Watkins, MD, PhD (African American Minority)	JHU
Pilot Grant: An Expanded Look at the Relationship between HIV-associated Neuropathy and Insomnia	Charlene Gamaldo, MD (African American Minority)	JHU
2008 Course: Pilot Projects or JHU Research Training	Student Name & Dates; Mentor	Home Institution
JHU Trainee: Techniques/methodologies to generate primary neuronal cell cultures from rat brain and learn to conduct neurotoxicity assays	Juliana Perez Laspuir, PhD (Hispanic Minority) 7/13/2008-7/28/2008; Mentor: Joseph Steiner	University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, School of Medicine
JHU Trainee: Proteinomics techniques; how to properly analyze proteins in CSF.	Summer Acevedo, PhD (Hispanic Minority) Requests Summer, 2009 Mentor Request: Avi Nath	University of Puerto Rico, San Juan School of Medicine
Pilot Grant: Elucidation of the neuroprotective effects of triazoles against HIV	Valerie Toodle (African American Minority) Graduate Student	JHU
Pilot Grant: ApoE expression in the CSF of patients with HIV	Marilou Andres, PhD (Filipino Minority) Assistant Research Professor	University of Hawaii
Funded R25 Pilot Grant: (Originally submitted as a Center Developmental Project): Neuroprotective effect of tobacco cembranoid (4R)-2,7,11-cembratriene-4,6, diol: Therapeutic implications for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND)	Jose Rodriguez, PhD (Hispanic Minority) Associate Professor	Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine
2007 Course: Pilot Projects or JHU Research Training	Student Name & Dates; Mentor	Home Institution
JHU Trainee: Use of peptide-nucleic acid probes in conjunction with staining cell surface markers and flow cytometry to quantitate HIV-infected cells; Abstract submitted: 2009 CROI R31 application predoctoral fellowship	Melissa Agsalda, PhD (Filipino Minority) Candidate; 6/24/2008-8/1/2008 Mentor: Amanda Brown, MD, PhD	Univ. of HI, Leahi