HIV-associated Lung Malignancy Research Center

In October 2020 Ugandan and Tanzanian researchers with Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center secured $5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute to establish an HIV-associated Malignancy Research Center (HAMRC) focused on lung cancer in East Africa.

This U.S and low- and middle-income Specialized Center Cooperative Agreement (U54) will investigate novel approaches to characterize lung cancer epidemiology, somatic mutation burden, HIV and accelerated aging, and use artificial intelligence to study lung cancer and the relationship to HIV-1 infection using radiological scans. At the forefront of this center include the establishment of national lung cancer diagnostic referral networks in Uganda and Tanzania, teleradiology, telepathology, technology transference, and training of early-career investigators and personnel.

Partner Institutions

United States

  • Case Western Reserve University

  • University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

Uganda

  • Joint Clinical Research Centre

  • Makerere University Lung Institute

  • Uganda Cancer Institute

  • Mulago National Hospital

Tanzania

  • National Institute for Medical Research

  • Muhumbili National Hospital

  • Ocean Road Cancer Institute

Principal Investigators

Robert A. Salata, MD, U54 Multi-Principal Investigator
Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center 

Stanton L. Gerson, MD, U54 Multi-Principal Investigator
Case Western Reserve University

Bruce J. Kirenga, MBChB, PhD, U54 Multi-Principal Investigator
Makerere University Lung Institute

Sayoki Mfinanga, MD, PhD, U54 Multi-Principal Investigator
National Institute for Medical Research, Muhimbili Centre