Pilot Awards Recipients
Spring 2023
Pilot Award Recipient: Seshagiri Rao Nandula, PhD
Seshagiri Rao Nandula, PhD has received a pilot award to study the effect of HIV medications on cardiometabolic health in African American Veterans
Pilot Award Recipient: Xiping Zhan, PhD
Xiping Zhan, PhD has received a pilot award on HIV gp 120 Tat Toxicity Striatal Medium Spiny NeuronsFall 2022
Pilot Award Recipient: Michael Anthony Thomas, PhD
Michael Anthony Thomas, PhD has received a pilot award to study novel strategy to develop Ad-based HIV-1 vaccine
Pilot Award Recipient: Derek Dangerfield II, PhD
Derek Dangerfield II, PhD has received a pilot award to design a shared decision-making tool to improve PrEP initiation among Black Sexual Minority MenSpring 2022
Pilot Award Recipient: Kellan Baker, PhD, MPH, MA
Kellan Baker, PhD, MPH, MA has received a pilot award to develop Best Practices for Integrating HIV Prevention into Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Adults.Fall 2021
Pilot Award Recipient: Donaldson Conserve, MS, PhD
Donaldson Conserve, MS, PhD has received a pilot award to study Developing Confirmatory HIV Testing and Linkage to Care Intervention Strategies for Men in Tanzania
Pilot Award Recipient: Lee Campbell, PhD
Lee Campbell, PhD has received a pilot award to identify the effects of contemporary opioids on HIV proviral transcription and neuronal functionality
Pilot Award Recipient: Georges Haddad, PhD
Georges Haddad, PhD has received a pilot award to study the effects of cART on the HeartSpring 2021
Pilot Award Recipient: Yan Wang, DrPH, MD
Yan Wang, DrPH, MD has received a pilot award to study Substance use, mental health problems and HIV outcomes among female sex workers
Pilot Award Recipient: Alexander Zestos, PhD
Alexander Zestos, PhD has received a pilot award to study Assessments of potential impacts of cognitive deficits on drug use and their implications for HIV intravenous drug users
Pilot Award Recipient: Mark Laubach, PhD
Mark Laubach, PhD, has received a pilot award to study Effects of HIV1 Tat and Antiretroviral Therapy on the Rodent Frontal CortexFall 2020
Pilot Award Recipient: Thomas Heinbockel, PhD
Thomas Heinbockel, PhD has received a pilot award to study HIV Tat Protein in CB1 Receptor-Mediated Signaling in Central Olfactory Circuits.
Pilot Award Recipient: Ruth Kanthula, MD, MPH
Ruth Kanthula, MD, MPH has received a pilot award to study Prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis among female adolescent and young adults with perinatally acquired HIV infection.
Pilot Award Recipient: Chul Kim, MD, MPH
Chul Kim, MD, MPH has received a pilot award to study Evaluation of immune microenvironement in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer and HIV infection
Pilot Award Recipient: Katherine Chiappinelli, PhD
Katherine Chiappinelli, PhD, has received a pilot award to study Generation of a CRISPR/Cas9 system to silence latent HIV.Spring 2020
Pilot Award Recipient: Nickie Niforatos Andescavage, MD
Nickie Niforatos Andescavage, MD, has received a pilot award to study how HIV poses feto-placental development complications.
Pilot Award Recipient: Conrad Russell Cruz, MD, PhD
Conrad Russell Cruz, MD, PhD, has received a pilot award to study the possibility of engineered killer T-cells eliminating the HIV reservoir.
Pilot Award Recipient: Ana María del Río-González, PhD, MA
Ana María del Río-González, PhD, has received a pilot award to study the feasibility and acceptability of non-daily PrEP regimens among Latina transgender women in DC.Fall 2019
Pilot Award Recipient: Namita Kumari, PhD
Namita Kumari, PhD, has received a pilot award to study the restriction factor mediated control of HIV-1 in Sickle Cell disease.Pilot Award Recipient: Nicole Angotti, PhD
Nicole Angotti, PhD, has received a pilot award to study older adults living with HIV (PLWH50+) in Rural South Africa.
Pilot Award Recipient: Tamara Taggart, PhD
Tamara Taggart, PhD, has received a pilot award to study a community-based open contest approach to increasing PrEP among young persons.Pilot Award Recipient: Xionghao Lin, PhD
Xionghao Lin, PhD, has received a pilot award to study new classes of anti-HIV-1 drugs by targeting Tat dependent transcription to reach a functional cure by permanently inhibiting HIV-1.
Pilot Award Recipient: Carlos E. Rodriguez-Diaz, PhD
Carlos Rodriguez-Diaz, PhD, has received a pilot award to study PrEP uptake among Latinx GBMSM in Washington, DC.Pilot Award Recipient: Rachel Robinson, PhD
Rachel Robinson, PhD, has received a pilot award to study how increasing financial security could reduce HIV risk among MSM in Abuja, Nigeria.Spring 2019
Pilot Award Recipient: Rupali Doshi, MD, MS
Rupali Doshi, MD, MS has received a pilot award to study how traumatic life events and mental illness affect engagement in HIV care among people living with HIV in Washington, DC.
Pilot Award Recipient: Adeline Koay, MBBS, MSc
Adeline Koay, MBBS, MSc has received a pilot award to study if HIV exposure affects inflammation and gut dysbiosis in HIV-exposed infants.
Pilot Award Recipient: Matt Levy, PhD
Matt Levy, PhD, has received a pilot award to study psychological stress, related biomarkers, and atherosclerosis in women with HIV
Pilot Award Recipient: Kate Michel, PhD
Kate Michel, PhD, has received a pilot award to study quantifying the vaginal microbiome-immune relationship among natural HIV controllers.Fall 2018
Pilot Award Recipient: Blair Spence, MD
Blair Spence, MD, has received a pilot award to study antiretrovirals and neurocognition in HIV infected women.
Pilot Award Recipient: Sabyasachi Sen, MD, PhD
Sabyasachi Sen, MD has received a pilot award to study the impact of current HIV medication regimens on endothelial dysfunction.
