Recording available: Medicine Grand Rounds Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Lecture with Dr. Okeke

On January 24th, Lance Okeke MD, MPH delivered the Duke Department of Medicine's Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Grand Rounds. His presentation was titled "One Final Push: How Equity-Informed Data and Implementation Science can end HIV in America." View the recording here.

News from the CFAR

Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein awarded Presidential Early Career Award

Congratulations to Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, PhD, who was awarded a presidential early career award by President Joe Biden.

Four Duke faculty members are among nearly 400 recipients of the 2024 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers.

Brinkley-Rubinstein is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences. She is a national expert in examining how the criminal legal system impacts people, families, and communities. During the pandemic, she co-founded the COVID Prison Project, one of the only national data projects that tracks and analyzes COVID testing, cases, and deaths in prison systems across the country. Additionally, Brinkley-Rubinstein is the PI of several NIH and foundation grants focused on substance use, HIV prevention, and mortality. In 2019, she co-edited a special issue of AJPH that explored how mass incarceration is a socio-structural determinant of health and more recently was invited by the National Academy of Medicine to attend its Annual Emerging Leaders Forum. Her work blends research and policy, which has recently culminated in providing expert consultation to congress relevant to prison standards and data reporting.  

“This recognition underscores the critical importance of highlighting and addressing disparities created and exacerbated by the criminal legal system,” Brinkley-Rubinstein said of the presidential award. “I am grateful for the opportunity to advance research that drives meaningful change toward health equity.” 

Established in 1996, the 5-year PECASE award recognizes scientists and engineers who show exceptional potential for leadership early in their research careers. The award recognizes innovative and far-reaching developments in science and technology, expands awareness of careers in science and engineering, recognizes the scientific missions of participating agencies, enhances connections between research and impacts on society, and highlights the importance of science and technology for our nation’s future. 

This year’s awardees are employed or funded by 14 participating agencies within the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Interior, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs and the Environmental Protection Agency, the intelligence community, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Congratulations on this honor, Dr. Brinkley-Rubinstein!

Read the full story.

CFAR-funded Study Highlights Challenges and Benefits of Integrating Opioid Use Disorder and Mental Health Treatment in HIV Care

An article from the Duke School of Nursing highlights findings from a study funded by a CFAR microgrant:

A recent study led by Brandon A. Knettel, PhD, published in PLOS ONE, sheds light on the perspectives of healthcare providers regarding the integration of opioid use disorder (OUD) and mental health treatment within HIV care. The study revealed significant barriers and potential benefits of such integration.

The intersection of HIV, OUD, and mental health issues presents complex challenges for both patients and healthcare providers. Knettel’s study aimed to understand the current state of integrated care by gathering insights from HIV treatment providers and social service providers. The goal was to identify barriers and strategies for effective integration to improve patient outcomes.

“While I was a Duke postdoc, I worked with Dr. Gita Suneja (now at the University of Utah) to interview people living with HIV who were then diagnosed with cancer,” Knettel said. “In that study, we came to understand how interrelated these different health challenges were, and how something like substance use or housing insecurity could have these immense downstream impacts on care engagement, quality of life, and survival.”

Knettel and his research team conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 21 providers, including both individual and group sessions. Participants were recruited from clinics in Mecklenburg County, an area significantly affected by both HIV and the opioid crisis. The interviews were analyzed using applied thematic analysis to extract common themes and insights.

Providers cited several obstacles to integrating OUD and mental health treatment into HIV care. These included limited referral options for medication-assisted treatment (MAT), social barriers such as housing and food insecurity, overburdened staff, stigma, and lack of provider training. Despite recognizing the benefits, many providers felt unprepared to implement integrated care due to these challenges.

“We were most surprised by the lack of consistent screening for substance use challenges in HIV care, and by the lack of referral pathways between HIV care and substance use treatment,” Knettel explained.

“Providers seemed to recognize that substance use was common among people living with HIV, and that people who were struggling with substance use were more likely to experience challenges in their HIV care engagement, but they were struggling to find the time and resources to connect people to substance use treatment,” he continued.

Substance use and mental health issues were identified as major barriers to engaging in HIV care. Providers noted that these challenges often disrupted treatment adherence and overall health outcomes. However, structured screening processes for substance use and mental health were rare, and even fewer organizations screened specifically for opioid use. Read more.

“We can start with employing and providing access to social workers and patient navigators, but we also need to support social services like food shelves, homeless shelters, and other programs that will provide an enormous return on investment in improving the overall health of patients and the community,” Knettel offered.

“Additionally, several of our participants supported the hiring and integration of mental health workers and substance use treatment in HIV care or improving immediate access to these services via telehealth,” he added. “These integrated models can improve access to care and remove barriers that prevent referrals from taking place or make referrals unsuccessful, which can have remarkable downstream benefits to long-term health.”

Read the full story.

Do you have news to share? We welcome any updates for us to share with the Duke CFAR community through our website and newsletter, including but not limited to: conference participation, awards, grant updates, reposts of articles/writeups about CFAR investigators and projects, photos of activities, and collaborations.

Tell us your news.

Inter-CFAR Antiretrovirals for Prevention Working Group Webinar Series: PrEP in Transgender Populations

Monday, February 3, 2025 | 12pm ET |Zoom

Tonia Poteat, PhD, MPH, PA-C, AAHIVS, DFAAPA (she/her)

Duke University School of Nursing

Duke Global Health Institute

Duke SGM Wellness Program

Duke CFAR Developmental Core

The RISE Lab

Sari L. Reisner, ScD, MA (he/him)

University of Michigan School of Public Health

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston

The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health, Boston

The Inter-CFAR Antiretrovirals for Prevention (AFP) Working Group was created to facilitate the sharing of new knowledge regarding the use of antiretrovirals to control the domestic and global HIV epidemic. 

The next AFP session is scheduled for April 7, 2025. This is an ongoing series which occurs on the first Monday of alternating months. AFP webinars are jointly moderated by Drs. Patrick Sullivan, Emory CFAR (Emory University Rollins School of Public Health) & Kenneth Mayer, Harvard University CFAR (Fenway Health). Access past recordings at the HU CFAR YouTube page or the Emory website.



Join the February 3 webinar.

ID Grand Rounds: Development of a package of care to reduce mortality in patients with advanced HIV disease in Southeast Asia

Monday, February 3, 2025 | 4pm ET | Hanes House Room 131 & Zoom

Presenter: Thuy Le, MD, DPhil

"Development of a package of care to reduce mortality in patients with advanced HIV disease in Southeast Asia" 

Zoom Information

https://duke.zoom.us/j/98686770700?pwd=SXd1bm1YditFdWxmM0pkclRlQlljdz09 

Meeting ID: 986 8677 0700

Password: 205062

Immunology for Quants Seminar Series: HIV disclosure in the social networks of adolescents with HIV in Cape Town, South Africa

Wednesday, February 5, 2025 | 12pm ET | Zoom

The Immunology for Quants (I4Q) Seminar Series is primarily targeted at faculty, staff and students working in quantitative fields who are interested in learning more about immunology and immunology assay platforms, but all are welcome.

The lecture format will be informal and typically consist of discussing or answering questions relating to immunology figures or whiteboard sketches of immune processes or assays.

Upcoming Seminar Details

Title: HIV disclosure in the social networks of adolescents with HIV in Cape Town, South Africa

Speaker: Marta Mulawa

Date and Time: Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at Noon

Marta Mulawa, PhD, MHS, is an assistant professor in the Duke University School of Nursing with a secondary appointment in the Duke Global Health Institute. Dr. Mulawa received her PhD in Health Behavior at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received her MHS in International Health with a focus on Social and Behavioral Interventions from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Prior to her faculty appointment, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Duke's NIH-funded Interdisciplinary Research Training Program in AIDS (IRTPA). Dr. Mulawa’s research focuses on improving population health by examining and addressing social and behavioral determinants of HIV treatment and prevention outcomes in global settings. To inform the development of these HIV interventions, her research also aims to improve our understanding of how social networks influence various HIV-related behaviors.

Zoom link: https://duke.zoom.us/j/95599493765?pwd=cR2kcqkatniEgk1uKfqsT6IGV64bjk.1

Join Us!

• Enhance your understanding of immunology
• Engage with experts and peers
• Expand your interdisciplinary knowledge

Learn more about I4Q.

DGHI Event - Lives on Pause: Implications of a U.S. Retreat from Global Health Funding

Wednesday, February 5, 2025 | 12pm ET | Trent 040 & Zoom

In his first weeks in office, U.S. President Donald Trump has taken several steps to signal a dramatic shift in U.S. participation in global health programs around the world. In addition to ordering the U.S. to withdraw from the World Health Organization and global agreements to mitigate climate change and prevent future pandemics, the administration issued a pause on all foreign aid, which has created uncertainty about the short- and long-term future of programs such as PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which provides access to lifesaving HIV medications for millions of people around the world.

This Think Global panel will explore the implications of these actions and the changing landscape of global cooperation on public health. Moderated by DGHI director Chris Beyrer, M.D., the panel features experts on global health policy and financing, as well as researchers who will speak to the on-the-ground impact of programs such as PEPFAR. 

Speakers



Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH, (moderator), an internationally recognized epidemiologist who has worked on the front lines of HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 treatment and research, became director of the Duke Global Health Institute in August 2022.

Sarah Bermeo, PhD, MA, MPA, is a political economist and associate professor of public policy and political science at Duke University’s Sanford School, where she co-directs the Duke Program on Climate, Resilience, and Mobility. Her research focuses on the intersection of international relations and development, including foreign aid, migration, and climate change.

Dorothy Dow, MD, MSc is a physician-scientist whose research focuses on prevention and treatment of HIV in pediatric populations including prevention of mother-to-child transmission and adolescent and young adult populations. Her current projects target the intersection of HIV treatment adherence and mental health. 

Jirair Ratevosian, DPH, is a senior global health security and development leader with over 20 years of experience in public service, non-profits, the private sector, and diplomacy.

Gavin Yamey, MD, MPH, MA, has contributed extensively to global health and health policy research. He was the Principal Investigator on a $1.1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the launch of PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Dr. Yamey has served as a commissioner on four Lancet commissions, including the Lancet Commission on Tuberculosis and the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health.

This is a hybrid event with both in-person and remote attendance options. Attendance in person is encouraged. Lunch will be available.  

Attend in person or register for the Zoom webinar.

Inter-CFAR Health Equity Working Group Meeting

Wednesday, February 12, 2025 | 12 - 1pm ET | Zoom

Topic: Community-Engaged Research—Models and Practice

Event Details:

📅 Date: February 12, 2025

🕚 Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET 

📍 Location: Virtual Meeting

What to Expect—

• Purpose: Discover the spectrum of community-engaged research (see The Community-Engaged Research Framework)
• Expert Insights: Hear 10-minute presentations on community-engaged HIV research:
• Dr. Amy Corneli will share examples of community-informed and community-involved research
• Dr. Sarah Wilson will share examples of shared leadership and community-led research
• Interactive Breakout Sessions: Engage in a guided discussion with the speakers about how community-engaged research can enhance your research program. 

No RSVP required.

Join the call.

Save the date: Palm Springs Symposium on HIV/AIDS

March 6-8, 2025 | Palm Springs, CA

The UCLA-CDU CFAR, UCI Center for Virus Research, and the UCLA AIDS Institute are excited to announce that the annual Palm Springs Symposium on HIV/AIDS will be taking place on Thursday, March 6th to Saturday, March 8th in Palm Springs, CA. The aim of this conference is to provide the latest information and to facilitate discussion between researchers both in HIV/AIDS and in related disciplines. The 2025 meeting will address various aspects of HIV infection, ranging from basic aspects of HIV replication, host restriction factors and immunity, immunopathogenesis, and approaches to preventing and controlling infection.

Please mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details, including the agenda, speakers, and registration information. We hope you can join us for this inspiring and insightful event!

Learn more about the symposium.

Funding and Training Opportunities

Emerging Research Pilot RFP for HIV-affected Adolescents

We are excited to share a funding opportunity through the Prevention and Treatment through a Comprehensive Care Continuum for HIV-affected Adolescents in Resource-Constrained Settings - Implementation Science Network (PATC³H-IN).

 🌟 Announcing the Emerging Research Pilot (ERP) Request for Proposal (RFP)! 🌟

The ERP Program, through PATC³H-IN, is dedicated to designing and implementing future research to address emerging scientific priorities. 

The first ERP RFP has opened for applications, focusing on scientifically meritorious research projects. 

🔍 High Priority Areas Identified for Funding:

1. Youth Engagement in Research and/or Clinical Practice
2. Long Acting Injectables (LAI) for Treatment and Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)
3. Mental Health

All proposals must include one or more PATC³H-IN-affiliated investigators on the team. Investigators who are not affiliated with PATC³H-IN are required to identify a PATC³H-IN-affiliated investigator and provide a letter of support. Please see the Clinical Research Centers (CRCs) page for more information on investigators to contact.

📅 Key Dates:

• January 31, 2025: Letters of Intent due
• February 7, 2025: Questions due
• March 12, 2025: Proposal submissions due
• June 12, 2025: Scientific merit review
• June 30, 2025: Notification of award

To view the entire RFP requirements, please visit the PATC³H-IN website. 

Learn more about the PATC³H-IN opportunity.

Applications due Feb 17 for the Latino Scholars for HIV/AIDS Research Education Summer 2025 Program

Applications for the Latino Scholars for HIV/AIDS Research Education (SHARE) 2025 summer program are open until February 17th.

This program is an innovative 10-week summer mentored internship and learning experience for eligible undergraduate students and recent graduates. Based in Washington, DC, at the George Washington University, the goal of this program is to support students interested in pursuing further studies in HIV/AIDS and substance use-related research and committed to serving Hispanic/Latino communities. 

The application deadline is February 17, 2025 at 5:00PM EST

Learn more about the SHARE program and how to apply.

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