PRISE Center
Fall 2024 Newsletter
We advance health equity through community partnerships and
transformative implementation research
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PRISE Center Welcomes New Co-Director, Jennifer Velloza. | |
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Dear Colleagues,
We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Jennifer Velloza as a new co-director of the PRISE (Partnerships for Research in Implementation Science for Equity) Center!
Dr. Velloza is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Global Health and Infectious Disease Epidemiology and brings a wealth of expertise as an implementation scientist and epidemiologist. Her research, teaching, and mentoring work focuses on advancing global mental health, particularly its intersection with HIV and STI prevention among adolescent girls and young women.
At UCSF, Dr. Velloza's impact extends across multiple roles, including her roles as core faculty for the Implementation Science & Health Systems Core at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) and Co-Director of the UCSF Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) ImS Interest Group.
In her current National Institute of Health (NIH)-funded projects, Dr. Velloza uses implementation science, epidemiology, and behavioral science methods to design, evaluate, and scale up integrated psychotherapy and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery models. She collaborates primarily with teams in South Africa and Kenya for this work.
In her capacity as Co-PI on a newly funded (July 2024) R01 award, Dr. Velloza and the research team aim to assess the effects of a multisectoral climate-smart agricultural intervention on the reproductive and sexual health of adolescent girls and young women in Western Kenya.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Velloza to the PRISE Center team! 🎉
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PRISE Center Staff Announcements | |
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The PRISE Center is excited to welcome Aliza Adler to our team! Aliza joined the PRISE Center in June 2024 as a Research Data Analyst. She oversees data management and analysis for Dr. Velloza’s research portfolio and provides data analysis and visualization support to other PRISE Faculty.
Prior to joining the PRISE Center, she spent over five years managing research and evaluation projects for Innovating Education in Reproductive Health, a program of the UCSF Bixby Center that creates video curricula on sexual and reproductive health topics for medical learners. Her research interests span the field of public health, but she is particularly interested in using data to increase equitable access to healthcare, specifically within stigmatized sectors of care. She holds an MPH in Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health and a Graduate Data Science Certificate from the University of California, San Francisco.
Outside of work, Aliza enjoys spending her days dancing, cooking, and spending quality time with her friends, family, partner, and cats — ideally in the warm sunshine if the weather permits.
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Tiese Etim-Inyang joined the PRISE Center in July 2023 as a Program Coordinator and has been instrumental in managing our PRISE-HL T32 training program for postdoctoral scholars, our CDPH ImS Training award, PRISE Center communications, and implementation of numerous workshops and events. We’re delighted to announce her promotion to Program Manager.
Prior to joining the PRISE Center, Tiese worked in global health at UCSF for nearly 5 years supporting malaria elimination efforts in countries within Southern Africa and Southeast Asia. Tiese holds an MPH in Global Health Practice from the University of South Florida, Tampa.
Outside of work, Tiese is an avid traveler and travel writer and enjoys documenting her experiences around the world.
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Leah Murphy joined the PRISE Center in August 2021 as a Senior Program Manager to help launch the Center. As the PRISE Center has expanded, Leah’s role has expanded with it and we’re delighted to announce she will now be the Director of Operations and Strategy. She will continue overseeing Center staff, budget, operations, and implementation of our strategic plan.
Leah has over 14 years of experience in public health and social service program implementation, evaluation, and management of large multi-sectoral initiatives. Prior to working at UCSF, Leah worked for Sonoma County Health and Human Services Departments for 7 years, University of Washington/I-TECH for 3 years on Country-led health systems strengthening initiatives in Haiti and Zimbabwe, and as a clinical and public health dietitian in domestic and global settings. Leah holds a certificate in Implementation Science from UCSF, an MPH from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and is a certified registered dietitian nutritionist.
Outside of work, Leah enjoys trail running, traveling, and watching her 2 sons play baseball and basketball.
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Welcome to the PRISE T32 2024-2025 Cohort | |
We are thrilled to welcome our 2024/2025 cohort to the PRISE T32 Training Program! | |
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Rebecca Sugrue, PhD
PRISE T32 Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Rebecca Sugrue received her PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. She conducts novel research on the impacts of air pollution and climate-related hazards on respiratory health.
As part of Dr. Neeta Thakur’s CLEAR Lab, Dr. Sugrue seeks to illuminate the inequity of respiratory health impacts of air quality degradation due to increasing wildfire smoke events. She specifically explores how local decision-making and climate resilience planning influence the effectiveness of interventions designed to mitigate these health impacts, with a special focus on environmental justice (EJ) communities. She is committed to advancing the intersection of environmental and health sciences, aiming to inform policies that address existing health burdens through evidence-based environmental interventions.
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Arturo Gasga, MD
PRISE T32 Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Arturo Gasga received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency and Chief Residency and is currently a Cardiology Fellow at UCSF.
Dr. Gasga's work focuses on improving cardiovascular care across safety net healthcare settings by leveraging technology and implementation science. Dr. Gasga is excited to gain skills in implementation science that will allow him to develop and implement strategies to improve access to evidence-based cardiovascular care in underserved communities.
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Giovanni Ramos, PhD
PRISE T32 Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Giovanni Ramos received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, Irvine.
Dr. Ramos is an incoming Assistant Professor in Clinical Science in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley (July 2025). His research aims to advance mental health equity among racially and ethnically minoritized populations by identifying risk and resilience factors that affect their mental health outcomes, enhancing the cultural and contextual fit of evidence-based treatments through data-driven approaches, and using digital tools to increase the accessibility of mental health services in disenfranchised communities.
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PRISE Faculty Grants: Climate and Health | |
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Congratulations to PRISE Center Co-Director Dr. Neeta Thakur, and the CLEAR lab for an award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: Driving Environmental Justice: Community Monitoring of Diesel Truck Emissions and Impacts on Asthma Morbidity in Immigrant Communities.
The AIM of this project is to increase understanding of the short-term health effects of diesel exhaust pollution for individuals with asthma.
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Congratulations to PRISE Center Co-Director Dr. Jennifer Velloza, who, alongside contact PI Dr. Sheri Weiser, and Co-PI Dr. Marcianah Onono, received an award from the National Institutes of Health: Assessing the effects of a multi-sectoral climate-smart agricultural intervention on the reproductive and sexual health of adolescent girls and young women.
The AIM of this project is to examine the effectiveness and implementation of a Shamba Maisha ("Family Life" in KiSwahili; SM) intervention, including the provision of a water pump and agricultural implements for use at home, training in climate-adaptive farming agriculture delivered at school-based demonstration farms, and adolescent-caregiver relationship strengthening training.
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Upcoming Events & Opportunities | |
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PRISE Center Global Implementation Science Seminar Series
Don't miss a chance to attend the PRISE Center Global Implementation Science (ImS) Seminar Series! Gain invaluable insights from global health experts at UCSF as they share how their studies apply implementation science methods and quasi-experimental research designs in global research settings. Seminar details and Zoom registration link are below. Please note that registration is required to attend these sessions.
The Global ImS Seminar Series is hosted by the UCSF PRISE Center, and co-sponsored by the UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences.
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Speaker: Dr. Ingrid Chen
Topic: Applying the COM-B behavior change model to delivering volatile pyrethroid spatial repellents and insecticide-treated clothing to forest-exposed populations in Mondulkiri Province, Cambodia
Location: Online/Zoom
Date/Time: October 29th, 12 pm - 1 pm PST
Session Overview:
Southeast Asia is progressing towards its 2030 malaria elimination goal but needs new interventions to stop forest malaria. In this session, Dr. Chen will discuss the application of the COM-B model and behavior change wheel framework to support tailored vector control product rollout of a volatile pyrethroid spatial repellent (VSPR) and insecticide-treated clothing (ITC) amongst forest-exposed populations in Modulkiri Province, Cambodia.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Ingrid Chen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Trained as an organic chemist, Ingrid has been conducting malaria research since 2011, with interdisciplinary expertise spanning from drug discovery and clinical trials (phase 1 and 2) to implementation, cost-effectiveness, antimalarial delivery within the informal private sector, and more. Since joining the UCSF's Malaria Elimination Initiative (MEI) in 2013, Ingrid led the Primaquine Rollout Group, the Antiparasite Rollout Group (APROG), and the scientific sections of the Lancet Commission on Malaria Eradication. Her current research focuses on spatial repellents, a product class that can accelerate the trajectory to malaria eradication while addressing other vector-borne diseases.
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Speaker: Dr. Kieran O'Brien
Topic: Azithromycin mass drug administration for child survival: efficacy and implementation
Location: Online/Zoom
Date/Time: December 11, 1 pm - 2 pm PST
Session Overview:
Azithromycin mass drug administration (MDA) has been a core component of trachoma control programs in endemic areas for decades. The AVENIR cluster-randomized trial aimed to compare the impact of targeting children 1-59 months vs 1-11 months of age with azithromycin MDA on mortality and resistance to provide evidence for the next round of guidelines updates. In this session, Dr. O'Brien will describe the mortality outcomes from the AVENIR trial along with the implementation research that was embedded to support the transition of this intervention from trial to program settings at scale.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Kieran O’Brien is an epidemiologist and Assistant Professor at the UCSF Proctor Foundation. Her research focuses on improving the effectiveness of community-based interventions for child health and ocular disease in resource-limited settings through the integration of randomized controlled trial and implementation research methodology.
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NIH Webinar Series
Methods Mind the Gap
Speaker: Marta I. Mulawa, Ph.D, M.H.S., Duke University School of Nursing
Topic: Evaluating Synergies in Multilevel Interventions: Mental Health in Schools as an Exemplar
Location: Online/Zoom
Date/Time: October 18, 2024 11:00 AM PST
Learn more, and register for this webinar by clicking the button below:
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PRISE Center Fall Grant AIMS Review
Date and Time: November 19, 2 - 3 pm PST
Location: Online (Zoom)/In-Person
We are excited to offer our next PRISE Center AIMs Review session! The purpose of this session is to provide constructive feedback on our junior colleague’s NIH (R and K awards) grant AIMs, especially those that include an implementation science (ImS) AIM. Everyone learns a lot from one another, and we hope you will join the session!
Grant writers! If you plan to submit an NIH R or K award that includes an ImS AIM and would like to participate in the review session, please send Tiese tiese.etim-inyang@ucsf.edu an e-mail with the topic, grant type, and draft of your AIMs by EOD Friday, October 18th. This helps Tiese and the PRISE Center find the best-fitting reviewers. Please note that we will only be able to review 3 AIMs page submissions during the session.
PRISE Center AIMS Review “At-A-Glance”
What is it?
A one-hour meeting for faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and other trainees who want to have their NIH (R or K award) grant AIMs reviewed, serve as a reviewer, or learn more about the grant process. Grants chosen for review will have at least one implementation science (ImS) AIM.
Who can request a peer review of a grant?
Any PRISE Center Affiliate, including faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and other trainees.
What types of grants will be reviewed?
NIH R awards or K awards. This review session is best suited for grants with an ImS AIM.
What would be submitted?
For R award: AIMS page only.
For K award: AIMS page, candidate statement, and training plan.
What does the review include?
The grant review is a concept review of the AIMs only. Those requesting a review should indicate the grant topic and type of award and submit their draft AIMS page. Ideally, reviewers will be matched to the applicant’s subject-matter discipline and/or ImS expertise to provide feedback on the ImS AIM.
For K Awards only: Feedback will also be provided on the training plan, and the candidate statement. Feedback on the candidate statement will be provided to the grant writer via email, not in the open session.
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UCSF welcomes everyone, including people with disabilities, to our events. To request reasonable accommodations for our events, please contact Tiese Etim-Inyang, PRISE Center Program Manager, by emailing tiese.etim-inyang@ucsf.edu as soon as possible. | |
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Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Dissemination and Implementation Funding Initiatives
PCORI currently offers three funding opportunities to support projects that facilitate the uptake and integration of evidence from PCORI-funded studies, in the context of related evidence, into real-world practice.
PFAs Open Dec.3, 2024
Letter of Intent due Jan.14, 2025 (5 pm EST)
Applications due May 6, 2025 (5 pm EST)
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PCORI Virtual Applicant Town Halls for Upcoming Research Funding Opportunities
PCORI plans to host virtual town halls that are geared toward future applicants who are interested in learning more about upcoming funding opportunities. Please see below for some relevant town halls, and button links to register for each session
Phased Large Awards for Comparative Effectiveness Research - Dec.9, 2024
Advancing the Science of Engagement in Research - Dec.6, 2024
Broad Pragmatic Studies - Dec.13, 2024
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NIH Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health Funding Announcements
These FOAs encourage investigators to submit research grant applications that will identify, develop, test, evaluate and/or refine strategies to disseminate and implement evidence-based practices into public health, clinical practice, and community settings. In addition, studies to advance dissemination and implementation research methods and measures are encouraged. These FOAs expire in 2025. Check notice for details.
R01 Research Project Grant
R03 Small Grant Program
R21 Exploratory/Development Research Grant Award
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What We're Reading:
PRISE Center Faculty, Affiliate & Staff Publications
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Lovinsky-Desir S, Riley IL, Bryant-Stephens T, De Keyser H, Forno E, Kozik AJ, Louisias M, Matsui EC, Sheares BJ, Thakur N, Apter AJ, Beck AF, Bentley-Edwards KL, Berkowitz C, Braxton C, Dean J, Jones CP, Koinis-Mitchell D, Okelo SO, Taylor-Cousar JL, Teach SJ, Wechsler ME, Gaffin JM, Federico MJ. Research Priorities in Pediatric Asthma Morbidity: Addressing the Impacts of Systemic Racism on Children with Asthma in the United States. An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2024 Oct;21(10):1349-1364. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202407-767ST. PMID: 39352175; PMCID: PMC11451894.
Hernandez AM, Khoong EC, Kanwar N, Lopez-Solano N, Rodriguez JA, De Marchis E, Nguyen OK, Casillas A. Lessons learned from a multi-site collaborative working toward a digital health use screening tool. Front Public Health. 2024 Jul 8;12:1421129. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1421129. PMID: 39040864; PMCID: PMC11260723.
Lightner JS, Chesnut S, Cabral HJ, Myers JJ, Brooks RA, Byrne T, Rajabiun S. Advancing Patient Navigation for HIV: Advancing Patient Navigation for HIV Evaluating Models of Care for Housing and Employment. AIDS Behav. 2024 Aug 22. doi: 10.1007/s10461-024-04464-2. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39172185.
Bepo L, Nguyen OK, Makam AN. Disparities in Use of Novel Diabetes Medications by Insurance: A Nationally Representative Cohort Study. J Gen Intern Med. 2024 Jul 31. doi: 10.1007/s11606-024-08961-x. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39085578.
Jain JP, Heise MJ, Lisha NE, Moreira CH, Glidden DV, Burkholder GA, Crane HM, Jacobson JM, Cachay ER, Mayer KH, Napravnik S, Moore RD, Dawson-Rose C, Johnson MO, Christopoulos KA, Gandhi M, Spinelli MA. Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Substance Use Disorder Risk Among People Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Enrolled in HIV Care in the United States: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024 Aug 26;11(9):ofae491. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae491. PMID: 39252870; PMCID: PMC11382144.
Velloza J, Ndimande-Khoza N, Mills L, Concepcion T, Gumede S, Chauke H, Verhey R, Chibanda D, Hosek S, Weiner BJ, Celum C, Delany-Moretlwe S. Integrating a mental health intervention into PrEP services for South African young women: a human-centred implementation research approach to intervention development. J Int AIDS Soc. 2024 Jul;27 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):e26274. doi: 10.1002/jia2.26274. PMID: 38965973; PMCID: PMC11224591.
Adler A, Biggs AM, Kaller S, Schroeder R, Prata N, Scott K, Ralph L. The association of experiences of medical mistrust and mistreatment and ever considering self-managing an abortion. Elsevier. 2024. doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2024.110697.
Galaviz KI, Sanders M, Gil O. Editorial: Implementation science to address health disparities and improve the equitable implementation of proven interventions. Front Public Health. 2024 Jan 11;11:1356063. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1356063. PMID: 38274519; PMCID: PMC10809850.
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Thoughts or questions? We’d love to hear from you!
Connect with us at PRISE@ucsf.edu
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Follow us on Twitter @ImSatUCSF
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