Duke CFAR Newsletter - October 26, 2022
In this newsletter:
News from the CFAR
Upcoming Events
Funding Opportunities
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November 8th is Election Day, and early voting has already started. As shared by President Price, voting is perhaps the most important—and easiest—way to participate in our democracy and shape the future of our local communities and our nation, and this year Duke is offering a number of opportunities to make your voice heard.
Through November 5, anyone eligible to vote in Durham County can use the early voting site at the Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center, 2080 Duke University Road. The polls will be open from 8 a.m. through 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Early voting will close at 3 p.m. on Saturday, November 5. The Karsh Center is a short walk from West Campus, and ample free parking is available. Note that during North Carolina’s early voting period, you can visit any polling place in the county where you are registered.
Duke Votes is an excellent resource for all things related to voting. Here you can check your current voting status, how to vote by mail or in person on election day and also find resources for voting in your home state, if you aren’t voting in North Carolina.
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Dr. Sarah Wilson and Community Collaborator Mr. Joaquín Carcaño awarded EHE supplement to address PrEP uptake and maintenance among Latines | |
Last month, as part of their support of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative, NIH announced 66 awards to institutions participating in the NIH-funded Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) and the NIMH AIDS Research Centers (ARC) programs. This was the fourth year of NIH investments in EHE-focused research projects. These new awards total $26 million and will support research in 33 of the EHE priority jurisdictions to strengthen research-community collaborations and enhance the implementation science knowledge base needed to end the HIV epidemic. All projects involve partnerships between CFAR/ARC investigators and local health officials and community groups in one or more EHE jurisdictions.
Sarah (Sadie) Wilson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and Associate Director of the SBS Core, received an award with Co-PI Joaquín Carcaño, Director of Health Equity Policy at Latinos in the South. Their project, Equity-focused implementation mapping to improve PrEP uptake and maintenance among Latines, is one of the supplements awarded in the category of equity-focused approaches to reduce HIV-related health disparities. Their project will be based in Mecklenburg County, which is currently the only EHE priority jurisdiction in North Carolina.
Latine communities (a gender-inclusive term for individuals with Latin American heritage) are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic in the United States. Specifically, Latines who could benefit from pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) are less likely than the general population to be prescribed PrEP (14% vs. 23%). Despite the efficacy of PrEP, there are a number of barriers to successful adoption and sustainability of PrEP usage among Latines who would benefit from this medication. These include multi-level barriers: structural (e.g., lack of health insurance), community-level (e.g., PrEP awareness, HIV stigma, LGBTQ+ stigma), and individual (e.g., trauma, acculturative stress).
Given health equity-related barriers to receiving PrEP, their study seeks to convene a workgroup that is focused on including the community, engaging with community, and consulting experts to create a plan to increase the rates at which Latines in Mecklenburg County who could benefit from PrEP start on the medication and keep taking it. The team will study the acceptability and feasibility of this community- and equity-focused approach.
The project team, led by Dr. Sarah Wilson and Mr. Joaquín Carcaño, has extensive experience in implementation science, HIV prevention community-level interventions, and health equity research. Mr. Carcaño is a native of the Rio Grande Valley along the Texas-Mexico border and a queer, transgender Mexican-American man. During his time in Austin getting his Bachelor’s degree, he was a volunteer hospice worker at a residential hospice for those in the final stages of AIDS-related illnesses. In 2016, Mr. Carcaño became the lead plaintiff in the North Carolina HB2/HB142 lawsuit which restricted access to public facilities for the transgender community and removed anti-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ community. In August 2018, he joined the Latino Commission on AIDS, Latinos in the Deep South staff as the Director of Community Organizing working regionally from North Carolina to Louisiana. He is a member of Nuestra Voz, the LGBTQ community advisory board of El Centro Hispano in Durham, North Carolina, is a board member of Equality NC, and is a recent addition to the Southern AIDS Coalition board of directors. He has a long history of successful collaboration with Dr. Wilson on local community LGBTQ+ fundraising events. Dr. Wilson is the Duke CFAR Associate Director of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Core, and leads the Duke CFAR in community engagement efforts.
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Session 3 of Virtual Interactive Seminar Series: Why Behavioral Interventions Work (or Don't Work)
Mechanism-Focused Behavioral Science From Theory Selection to Study Design and Implementation
Tuesday, November 1, 2022 |9:30-11am ET
Presenters:
In this final session, participants will learn about applying a mechanistic approach in completed and ongoing behavioral HIV studies. Dr. Sikkema will describe the arc of her behavioral intervention research, leading to study designs that aim to assess mechanisms of action. Dr. Sikkema will be joined by Drs. Talea Cornelius and Jeffrey Birk, of the Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) program, to discuss core questions about designs for mechanistic studies, as discussed in the second session of the seminar series.
Register for the webinar.
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Save the Date: Social & Behavioral Sciences Core Rocket Talk
Wednesday, November 9th, 2022 | 12-1pm ET
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Join the Duke CFAR SBS Core on Wednesday, November 9th from 12:00 – 1:00 pm for our next Rocket Talk as we discuss communicating scientific research and findings through media as part of a series of talks around Science Communication.
To join the SBS Core listserv and get updated on events and other news, email cfar-sbs-core-request@duke.edu
Zoom information
Meeting URL:
https://duke.zoom.us/j/93356262130?pwd=MXM2MkVTQk5BTFJUZk9Wa3BKSnZNdz09
Meeting ID: 933 5626 2130
Passcode: 542718
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10th International Workshop on HIV Persistence during Therapy
December 13-16, 2022 |Miami, FL
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The 10th International Workshop on HIV Persistence during Therapy, is scheduled to be in-person on December 13-16, 2022, at the Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel in Miami. Since the first edition of this workshop in 2003 in St Maarten, the issues of HIV Persistence and reservoirs have become increasingly relevant, not only for the biologist but also for the clinician facing the problem of long-term control of this persistent retroviral infection.
Several meetings have now included reviews on these topics in their program, but this biennial workshop is unanimously recognized as THE reference workshop on HIV reservoirs and eradication strategies.
Learn more about the workshop.
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Travel grant opportunity through the Duke Global Health Institute - deadline Oct 31
The Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) is pleased to offer travel awards of up to $5000 each to Duke faculty to pursue global health research opportunities in low, lower- and upper- middle-income countries (a listing of eligible countries can be found at the World Bank website) OR focused on health disparities in the American South. These awards are aimed at faculty looking to explore new collaborations by conducting a site visit.
Proposal due dates: October 31, 2022 or earlier
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. If you wish to travel soon, you can submit earlier.
For questions, please contact Kelly Deal
Learn more about the travel grant and apply.
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Call for applications for the fifth cohort of the NIH-funded CFAR Adelante Program - deadline Nov 10
The NIH, in collaboration with the Emory & DC CFARs, is now accepting concept proposals for the 2023-2025 CFAR Adelante Program!
Adelante - meaning forward or onward in Spanish – is funded by the NIH/NIMHD and administered through two NIH-funded Centers for AIDS Research (CFARs): District of Columbia and Emory University. Through this program, the NIH strives to promote the mentored development of early-career investigators who focus on HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care in Latina/x/o and/or Hispanic communities.
The Adelante program supports 2-year Adelante Teams consisting of a scholar (Early Stage Investigator), a CFAR-affiliated mentor, and a collaborating partner representative who is from a Community-based Organization that serves Hispanic and/or Latina/x/o populations. Adelante teams should be supportive, diverse, and interdisciplinary. Proposed research should be community-based and reflect local Hispanic and/or Latina/x/o-community needs, as identified by science and the local community.
Research proposal topics may include but are not limited to:
- Developing, testing, and implementing strategies to improve HIV testing and entry into prevention services by Hispanic and/or Latina/x/o people.
- Long-term prevention strategies specific to Hispanic and/or Latina/x/o populations for HIV-relevant coinfections and comorbid conditions across the lifespan
- Effective socio-behavioral interventions to achieve uptake of HIV prevention and treatment strategies by Hispanic and/or Latina/x/o people and reduce health disparities among the population.
- Implementation research tailored specifically for Hispanic and/or Latina/x/o populations that are designed to ensure that biomedical and other prevention and treatment strategies are initiated as soon as possible, that retention and engagement in treatment services are increased, and/or that maintenance of optimal prevention and treatment responses are achieved.
- Research that examines HIV-related health and social issues in Hispanic and/or Latina/x/o populations, such as other infectious or non-infectious conditions and substance use or mental health disorders that are clearly linked with HIV (transmission/acquisition, pathogenesis, morbidity and mortality, stigma) in sub-populations or settings with high HIV prevalence or incidence.
Applicants may request up to $100,000 in direct costs per year ($200,000 over two years) plus applicable indirect costs, not to exceed direct costs per year. This funding may be used for salaries, technical support, laboratory supplies, equipment, and research- or training-related activities including but not limited to enrollment in training classes or workshops, travel to the CFAR Mentor's institution, or travel to the research field site.
You can find the complete RFA and more information about the program on the Adelante website.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Allison O'Rourke (orourkea@gwu.edu) the Pre-award Project Coordinator or Maria Cecilia Zea (zea@gwu.edu) Adelante Science Officer.
Concept proposals are due Thursday, November 10, 2022.
Resources at Duke
The DOCR Service Center has a core team of 7 clinical research professionals who are bilingual in Spanish and English who offer translation and interpretation services as well as serve as clinical research coordinators. If any prospective applicants for this award would need services to support their project please contact Maria Manson (maria.manson@duke.edu) for an estimate.
Learn more and apply.
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CFAR Special Funding RFP addressing intersection of HIV and Monkeypox
The Duke Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) is soliciting applications for grants of up to $60,000 Direct Costs for one-year research projects that address the intersection of HIV and the Monkeypox Virus. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to support research aimed at evaluating all issues at the intersection of the current monkeypox outbreak and people living with HIV (PLWH). Proposals on basic biology, pathogenesis/immunology, epidemiology, clinical care, vaccines, and sociobehavioral considerations, will all be considered. For more information, see the RFP.
The application deadline has been extended through December 30, 2022 with funding contingent on available funds.
Learn more on our website.
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