Grant: Project Grant

People living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH, HIV) face a higher burden of aging related chronic lung disease. There are signals of aging in the cells of the lung that we can capture and use to predict those PLWH who may go on to have more severe lung disease. Whether the rate of aging in the lung occurs faster in PLWH even after they are placed on anti-HIV medications is still unknown, but we suspect that this rate will slow once their HIV infection is treated and if certain inhaled medications such as steroids are avoided. We will also use novel imaging techniques such as an optical biopsy to see the relationship between airway damage and aging.