Rubin Lab
Principal Investigator: Leah Helane Rubin
Institution: Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)
Primary Subfield: Neuroscience
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
PROJECT SUMMARY People with a history of injection drug use (PWID) often experience cognitive impairments and are 22 times more likely to acquire HIV than the general population. As the field pursues new strategies to mitigate cognitive complications in PWID and HIV infection, it will be critical to define the mechanisms by which HIV in the context of a history of injection drug use (IDUH) may impact blood brain barrier (BBB) integrity exacerbating cognitive complications. We focus on neuroimmune-blood brain barrier (BBB) interactions as playing a critical role in cognitive complications among PWID with and without HIV. BBB, formed by vascular endothelial and supporting cells, functions to regulate blood-brain exchange of substances and cells, and to protect the central nervous system from neurotoxins and pathogens. BBB impairment is independently associated with HIV, acute and/or repeated injection drug use and cognitive complications. To accomplish this proposal, we have established a multidisciplinary team with expertise in cognitive neuroscience, neuroimmunology, HIV, and substance use, and will leverage phenotypically well-defined PWID with and without HIV from one of the larg…
Active NIH Awards
- 1R01DA065468-01: Immune mechanisms impacting the blood-brain barrier in people who inject drugs with and without HIV (2026)
- 5P30MH075673-20: JHU Center for the Advancement of HIV Neurotherapeutics (JHU CAHN) (2026)
- 5P30MH075673-20: JHU Center for the Advancement of HIV Neurotherapeutics (JHU CAHN)- Clinical Core (2026)
- 5P30MH075673-19: JHU Center for the Advancement of HIV Neurotherapeutics (JHU CAHN) (2025)
- 5P30MH075673-19: JHU Center for the Advancement of HIV Neurotherapeutics (JHU CAHN)- Clinical Core (2025)
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