Reminder: Abstracts due next Thursday Aug 10th for the CFAR Fall Scientific Retreat

The 2023 CFAR Fall Scientific Retreat will be held on Thursday, September 14th in the Great Hall of the Trent Semans Center. All pre- and post-doctoral trainees, as well as junior faculty conducting HIV/AIDS-related research at Duke are encouraged to submit an abstract for a poster presentation. This is an opportunity to share your research design, progress, and new insights with others in the Duke University community and community members from the CFAR’s D3C (Duke Collaborative Community Council). Final results are not required, and ‘works in progress’ and posters that have been recently presented at other meetings are welcome. 

Submitted abstracts will be judged competitively, and one from each category will be selected to give an in-person TED-style talk during the Retreat (in lieu of a poster). In addition to their poster, each investigator will also be required to create an Infographic/Flyer of their work to communicate key messages from the poster to a broad audience in lay language. See the Call for Abstracts for more details, including formatting guidelines and resources as well as a link to the Qualtrics survey for abstract submission. Abstracts are due Thursday, August 10th. Abstracts selected for TED-style presentations at the Retreat will be announced by August 17th.

News from the CFAR

2023 Quantitative Methods for HIV Researchers Summer Interns reflect on the summer

As part of a five-year NIAID R25 research education grant to deliver training in quantitative methods for HIV/AIDS research, the Quantitative Methods for HIV Researchers Summer Internship program provides mentoring and research experiences in HIV/AIDS for Masters or PhD students from quantitative disciplines such as statistics, biostatistics, data science, mathematics, computer science, and engineering. The internship runs for 12 weeks during summer term and is designed to engage quantitative trainees in real-world HIV/AIDS research, providing the opportunity to conduct research in leading HIV/AIDS laboratories, co-mentored by both an HIV/AIDS researcher and quantitative science faculty. The program is popular — in 2023, we received over 50 applications. This summer, thirteen interns were paired with a Duke CFAR PI and Quantitative Mentor to support an ongoing research project.

We asked a few interns to share their experiences and reflect on the summer.

Stay tuned for more intern profiles in the next newsletter!

HANC Webinar - Diversity and Inclusion in HIV & AIDS Clinical Research: The Role of Language Justice (Pt 2)



Wednesday, August 2, 2023 |2-3pm EDT | Zoom

Agenda

• Recap of Part 1 (Pedro Goicochea, HANC)
• Participation of Hispanics and Latinx individuals in HIV vaccines/COVID-19 vaccines clinical research (Michele Andrasik, HVTN)

The enrollment of Hispanic and Latinx people in HIV clinical research is low; however, these populations account for the nearly 30% of HIV incidence in the US (CDC, 2023). The limited provision of Spanish language services in the context of HIV research may contribute to the low enrollment of Hispanic and Latinx individuals with limited English proficiency. Organized by the Latinx Caucus of the Legacy Project, this webinar will contribute to understanding how language can be a key tool to help facilitate the inclusion of more diverse participants in the conduct of HIV research.

This webinar will be very relevant to investigators, study coordinators, program officers and managers, protocol specialists, community educators and recruiters, other clinical research staff and the general public. 

Register for the webinar. 

Inter-CFAR Antiretrovirals for Prevention Working Group Webinar: Building Clinical Workforce Capacity to Deliver PrEP

Monday, August 7, 2023 | 12pm EDT | Zoom

The Inter-CFAR Antiretrovirals for Prevention Working Group invites you to participate in its upcoming webinar!

This series is moderated by Patrick Sullivan, Emory CFAR (Emory University Rollins School of Public Health) & Kenneth Mayer, Harvard University CFAR (Fenway Health)

Join the AFP webinar here or click on the link below

https://harvard.zoom.us/j/97013223992?pwd=cG1qUWZFNmVMeFhUblI4WGt4RW55QT09

Password: AFP

OUTSOUTH Queer Film Festival



August 10-13, 2023 |Carolina Theatre of Durham

The OUTSOUTH Queer Film Festival is the second largest LGBTQ+ film festival in the Southeast, attracting thousands of patrons to downtown Durham every year since 1995. OUTSOUTH Queer Film Festival celebrates a worldwide glimpse of today’s LGBTQ+ life, helps bring the community together and features entertaining and sophisticated films and filmmaking.

Browse the film schedule, which includes “Commitment to Life,” a documentary that dives deep into the true, twisty story of the fight against HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles. Director Jeffrey Schwarz (“I Am Divine,” “Tab Hunter Confidential,” “Boulevard! A Hollywood Story”) offers a densely researched close-up of people who devoted their lives to finding a cure for AIDS beginning in the early ‘80s, including the birth of APLA (Aids Project Los Angeles). Filled with captivating movie clips, in-depth interviews with the activists, and personal stories of Hollywood heavyweights like Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and David Geffen, this documentary delivers an intense, comprehensive look at the impact of a global health crisis on the rich and famous, as well folks from less privileged backgrounds in Southern California. “Commitment to Life” provides a sobering reminder that the HIV/AIDS fight is not over, while offering a hopeful view of how people can make a profound difference when they come together.

Learn more about the festival. 

Brief Report: Task-Shifting "Gold Standard" Clinical Assessment and Safety Planning for Suicide Risk Among People Living With HIV: A Feasibility and Fidelity Evaluation in Tanzania.

Knettel BA, Amiri I, Minja L, Martinez AJ, Knippler ET, Madundo K, Staton C, Vissoci JRN, Mwobobia J, Mmbaga BT, Kaaya S, Relf MV, Goldston DB.

J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2023 Aug 15;93(5):374-378. doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000003217.

Patient perspectives on the helpfulness of a community health worker program for HIV care engagement in Tanzania.

Knettel BA, Muhirwa A, Wanda L, Amiri I, Muiruri C, Fernandez KM, Watt MH, Mmbaga BT, Relf MV.

AIDS Care. 2023 Jul;35(7):1014-1021. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2021.1995840. Epub 2021 Oct 26.

Interventions to Improve Adolescent HIV Care Outcomes.

Mulawa MI, Knippler ET, Al-Mujtaba M, Wilkinson TH, Ravi VK, Ledbetter LS.

Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2023 Jun 10. doi: 10.1007/s11904-023-00663-z. Online ahead of print.

Pharmacokinetic serum concentrations of VRC01 correlate with prevention of HIV-1 acquisition.

Seaton KE, Huang Y, Karuna S, Heptinstall JR, Brackett C, Chiong K, Zhang L, Yates NL, Sampson M, Rudnicki E, Juraska M, deCamp AC, Edlefsen PT, Mullins JI, Williamson C, Rossenkhan R, Giorgi EE, Kenny A, Angier H, Randhawa A, Weiner JA, Rojas M, Sarzotti-Kelsoe M, Zhang L, Sawant S, Ackerman ME, McDermott AB, Mascola JR, Hural J, McElrath MJ, Andrew P, Hidalgo JA, Clark J, Laher F, Orrell C, Frank I, Gonzales P, Edupuganti S, Mgodi N, Corey L, Morris L, Montefiori D, Cohen MS, Gilbert PB, Tomaras GD.

EBioMedicine. 2023 Jun 8;93:104590. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104590. Online ahead of print.

Structural Racism and Racial Trauma Among African Americans at Elevated Risk for HIV Infection.

Burton KL, Ritchwood TD, Metzger IW.

Am J Public Health. 2023 Jun;113(S2):S102-S106. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2023.307223.

Supporting Adolescents With HIV in South Africa Through an Adherence-Supporting App: Mixed Methods Beta-Testing Study.

Mulawa MI, Mtukushe B, Knippler ET, Matiwane M, Al-Mujtaba M, Muessig KE, Hoare J, Hightow-Weidman LB.

JMIR Form Res. 2023 Jun 1;7:e47575. doi: 10.2196/47575.

Six-month blood pressure and glucose control among HIV-infected adults with elevated blood pressure and hyperglycemia in northern Tanzania: A prospective observational study.

Sakita FM, Prattipati S, Chick J, Samu LP, Maro AV, Coaxum L, Galson SW, Samuel D, Limkakeng AT, O'Leary PR, Kilonzo KG, Thielman NM, Temu G, Hertz JT.

PLoS One. 2023 May 8;18(5):e0285472. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285472. eCollection 2023.

Cellular and humoral responses to an HIV DNA prime by electroporation boosted with recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus expressing HIV subtype C Env in a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Wilson GJ, Rodriguez B, Li SS, Allen M, Frank I, Rudnicki E, Trahey M, Kalams S, Hannaman D, Clarke DK, Xu R, Egan M, Eldridge J, Pensiero M, Latham T, Ferrari G, Montefiori DC, Tomaras GD, De Rosa SC, Jacobson JM, Miner MD, Elizaga M; HIV Vaccine Trials Network 112 Protocol Team.

Vaccine. 2023 Apr 17;41(16):2696-2706. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.03.015. Epub 2023 Mar 17.

A survey of South Carolina pharmacists' readiness to prescribe human immunodeficiency virus pre-exposure prophylaxis.

Burns CM, Endres K, Derrick C, Cooper A, Fabel P, Okeke NL, Ahuja D, Corneli A, McKellar MS.

J Am Coll Clin Pharm. 2023 Apr;6(4):329-338. doi: 10.1002/jac5.1773. Epub 2023 Mar 2.

Multilevel Factors Influencing Interruptions in PrEP Use Among Young Women in Siaya County, Kenya.

Perry B, Molokwu N, Agot K, Ngoje DO, Strack R, Corneli A.

AIDS Educ Prev. 2023 Apr;35(2):141-157. doi: 10.1521/aeap.2023.35.2.141.

Impact of Policy Change on Access to Medication for Opioid Use Disorder in Primary Care.

Krupp J, Hung F, LaChapelle T, Yarrington ME, Link K, Choi Y, Chen H, Marais AD, Sachdeva N, Chakraborty H, McKellar MS.

South Med J. 2023 Apr;116(4):333-340. doi: 10.14423/SMJ.0000000000001544.

PMID: 37011580 Free PMC article.

Neonatal SHIV infection in rhesus macaques elicited heterologous HIV-1-neutralizing antibodies.

Hora B, Li H, Shen X, Martin M, Chen Y, Berry M, Evangelous T, Macintyre AN, Arus-Altuz A, Wang S, Singh A, Zhao C, De Naeyer N, DeMarco T, Kuykendall C, Gurley T, Saunders KO, Denny T, Moody MA, Misamore J, Lewis MG, Wiehe K, Cain DW, Montefiori DC, Shaw GM, Williams WB.

Cell Rep. 2023 Mar 28;42(3):112255. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112255. Epub 2023 Mar 14.

A qualitative analysis of family support for adolescent HIV care in South Africa.

Malo VF, Ritchwood TD, Hart LJ, Atujuna M.

AIDS Care. 2023 Mar;35(3):425-430. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2022.2121956. Epub 2022 Sep 17.

Don't see your paper listed? Make sure your publication is linked to the CFAR grant for funding. Visit the CFAR website for example text to use when acknowledging the CFAR and assistance by its Cores in your publications, abstracts, grant proposals, and presentations.

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