Morgan Byrd, MPH, PhD, a postdoctoral associate in the Duke Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences, has been awarded a Developmental Core Grant from the Duke Center for AIDS Research (CFAR).
The $60,000 pilot grant will support her project, “MOSAIC: Mycobiome and Oral microbial Signatures Associated with Incident and persistent oral HPV in Children and adolescents by HIV history.”
The study will examine oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, a major risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer, among 671 children and adolescents with varying HIV histories, including those living with HIV, those exposed to HIV but uninfected, and those not infected with HIV. Byrd's research will investigate how fungal communities and their interactions with oral bacteria may influence the development and persistence of oral HPV infection, with the goal of improving understanding of cancer risk in youth affected by HIV.
Through CFAR's Microgrant and Pilot Grant programs, the Developmental Core Awards support innovative HIV-related research and help investigators generate preliminary data, build collaborations, and advance promising ideas toward future funding opportunities.