CHARTER Plus: improving brain and mental health for people with HIV and substance use
Official title: CHARTER Plus: A resource for cutting-edge research on neurological function and mental health in people with HIV and substance use disorders across the lifespan
Funded at University of California, San Diego · NIH-11251656 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project builds a long-term resource of brain tests, mental-health measures, and stored samples to help adults with and without HIV better understand and protect their brain health across life.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Diego NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project start | February 1, 2022 |
| Project end | November 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,965,319 |
| NIH project number | 5R24MH129166-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11251656 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults (about 21+) living with HIV (long-term or recently diagnosed on antiretroviral therapy) or people without HIV with similar risk profiles or older adults at higher risk for dementia who are willing to attend visits and give biospecimens, including cerebrospinal fluid when appropriate.
✕Less likely to help
People under age 21, those unwilling or unable to provide biospecimens or attend in-person visits, or those seeking immediate clinical treatment rather than contributing data/samples are unlikely to benefit directly from participation.
What this research studies
You would be part of a group of 500 adults who get detailed brain, cognitive, psychiatric, and substance-use evaluations twice over five years. The project collects blood, urine, and other samples including cerebrospinal fluid when possible, and links those samples to clinical and behavioral data. Participants include people with long-term HIV, people recently diagnosed and on treatment, and people without HIV who match on age or risk factors including older adults at risk for Alzheimer’s. De-identified data and biospecimens are shared with approved researchers to fuel many future studies.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this resource could speed discoveries about why people with HIV develop brain and mental health problems and guide better prevention, diagnosis, and treatments.
How similar studies have gone: This work builds on the longstanding CHARTER cohort and other neuroHIV cohorts that have already provided important insights, so it extends proven approaches rather than being wholly untested.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Letendre, Scott L — University of California, San Diego
- Study coordinator: Letendre, Scott L
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.