Early-stage investigator Mathhew Painschab, MD has received a NIH Director’s Pioneer Award (DP-1) for his proposal titled “Innovations in diagnosis for lymphadenopathy across HIV Centers of Excellence in Malawi”.
The DP-1 supports research from creative early-stage investigators who propose highly innovative, pioneering studies with potential to open new areas of HIV/AIDS related to coinfections, comorbidities, and complications. The award is intended to support the development of innovative, often risky, approaches to address significant problems in HIV CCCs research in areas of interest to one or more of the participating NIH Institutes.
Painschab’s primary focus of the study is to understand the causes of lymph node swelling and the barriers to diagnosis in people living with HIV in outlying HIV clinics in Malawi. The team plans to collect basic clinical and lab data, test for tuberculosis, and perform lymph node biopsies. Their goal is to predict whether patients have tuberculosis or potentially lymphoma or multicentric Castleman disease, which share similar symptoms and are common among people with HIV. They will also test the TINY machine, a novel diagnostic device from Cornell University, which detects viral DNA associated with lymphoma and multicentric Castleman disease. The TINY machine, previously validated for Kaposi sarcoma diagnosis in sub-Saharan Africa, operates on solar power or a Bunsen burner, making it suitable for areas with unreliable electricity. The team hopes to find viral patterns that could lead to more effective point-of-care diagnostics for these diseases.
Painschab previously applied for and received a CFAR Developmental Award, which funded a pilot study focused on the causes of lymphadenopathy in HIV clinics in Malawi. He used this pilot data to then apply for the DP-1 grant.