Core and Cohort Updates
Admin Core
Pictured above (l-r): Rich Saitz and Lucero Leon-Chi; Julia Canfield
After another successful URBAN ARCH Annual Meeting and in recognition that the cohorts have completed recruitment, the Admin Core has been encouraging and supporting the study teams as they develop analyses and publications. In May, the PI of the Admin Core, Jeffrey Samet, presented on URBAN ARCH to faculty on the Boston University Medical Campus during a seminar on global health research. Jeffrey Samet is co-chair with Kendall Bryant (NIAAA) of the 2015 Research Society for Alcoholism (RSA) symposium “Medical Consequences of Alcohol Use among People Living with HIV,” with presentations from the Uganda and Russia ARCH cohorts as well as from VACS and the Florida SHARC consortium. The Admin Core has also been actively working with CHAART consortia investigators and NIAAA to develop a satellite meeting at the 2015 Research Society for Alcoholism (RSA) Meeting to discuss the future of HIV/alcohol research.
The Admin Core recently celebrated two staff achievements: Lucero Leon-Chi graduated from the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) with her MPH degree. The Admin Core wishes Lucero the best of luck in her future endeavors! Julia Canfield received the 2015 Award for Student Excellence in Public Health Practice from BUSPH for her practicum project at the Bisexual Resource Center.
BDM Core
The BDM Core is actively working on analyses with each of the cohorts for numerous abstracts and manuscripts. We are delighted to have Ethan Ayres and Kan Liu, both BUSPH May 2015 graduates, interning with us. Ethan, an Epidemiology concentrator, has been accepted to Columbia University Medical School for the fall. His fluency in Russian was a great help with several data management tasks for the ARCH Russia cohort and ZINC trial. Kan, a Biostatistics concentrator, will be assisting over the summer with data management for the ARCH Boston cohort and the sample repository.
Pictured above: Greg Patts, URBAN ARCH Statistical Manager, presenting at the 2015 Annual Meeting
Uganda Cohort
As of June 1st 2015, Uganda ARCH has concluded enrollment with a total of 484 subjects. Uganda ARCH has conducted 358 6-month assessments, 239 12-month assessments, 147 18-month assessments, 80 24-month assessments, 30 30-month assessments, and 4 36-month assessments. There are currently 131 active participants and we plan to conclude follow up by October, 2015. Follow up rates continue to be exceptionally high and the study is running smoothly.
Dr. Julian Adong arrived San Francisco from Uganda this week to complete her participation in the UCSF International Traineeships in AIDS Prevention Studies (ITAPS) program. She will be at UCSF for the next 3 weeks for the scientific writing workshop component of the ITAPS program, culminating in the completion of a manuscript. Using data from URBAN ARCH Uganda cohort, Dr. Adong is working on the topic: “Does spirituality predict changes in alcohol use and is this effect mediated by depressive symptoms?’
Pictured above (l-r): Judy Hahn and Kinna Thakarar
Russia Cohort and ZINC RCT
As of June 1st 2015, Russia ARCH has enrolled 354 participants and conducted 207 six-month assessments, 133 twelve-month assessments, 77 eighteen-month assessments and 42 twenty four-month assessments. As of June 1st 2015, ZINC enrolled and randomized 253 participants and conducted 106 six-month assessments and 50 twelve-month assessments. Now that recruitment is complete, the team is moving full-steam ahead with follow-up assessments.
The team is actively pursuing data analyses, abstract submissions and manuscript preparation. Three abstracts were accepted for presentation at the 38thAnnual Scientific Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism and another three were accepted for presentation at the 77th Annual Meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, both in June. Another abstract, “Use of an Android Phone App for Automated Text Messaging in International Settings” (Forman et al.), was presented at the Society for Clinical Trials in Arlington, Virginia in May.
On April 7, 2015, Drs. So-Armah, Samet, and Edelman, and Ms. Bridden traveled to the University of Massachusetts Medical School to meet with Dr. Gyongyi Szabo and her team, where Drs. So-Armah and Edelman presented their work examining substance use, HIV and adaptive immunity in the Russia ARCH cohort.
Pictured above l-r Drs. So-Armah, Samet, and Edelman.
The US team was excited to welcome our Russian colleagues to Boston for the 2015 URBAN ARCH annual meeting.
Pictured above l-r Drs. Blokhina, Krupitsky, and Yaroslavtseva.
Boston Cohort
As of June 1st 2015, Boston ARCH has enrolled the target number of participants into the cohort (n=250). The Boston ARCH team has completed 242 six-month follow-up assessments, 178 12-month follow-up assessments, 126 18-month follow-up assessments and 66 24-four month follow-up assessments. 30-month follow-up assessments are scheduled to begin in June 2015.
The Boston ARCH team and the BDM Core continue to work with a number of junior faculty, fellows and graduate students to 
support new analyses of Boston ARCH data. Gabriel Lerner, a BU medical student, will be working with the Boston ARCH team through the summer assisting with validation of lifetime drinking data and polypharmacy. Sara Lorkiewicz, a recent graduate from the Boston University Master of Science in Medical Sciences program, recently completed her thesis under the mentorship of Dr. Richard Saitz using Boston ARCH data to look at the effects of marijuana and alcohol use on cognitive dysfunction in people with HIV. The results of Sara’s analysis will be presented in poster format at both the 2015 CPDD and RSA Annual Meetings. Dr. Seonaid Nolan will present orally on her analysis of Boston ARCH data on June 18th at CPDD: “Substance dependence criteria, not substance use, associated with HIV virologic control.” Dr. Nolan will also present these findings in a poster at the 2015 NIDA International Forum’s Poster Session. Lastly, the team’s abstract, “Lifetime alcohol consumption and bone mineral density in HIV-infected adults with substance dependence” will be presented on June 22nd at RSA by Dr. Saitz as part of the symposium, “Medical Consequences of Alcohol Use Among People Living With HIV.”
Lastly, in March Boston ARCH received a supplement from NIAAA to support testing of stored serum samples for bone turnover markers in the cohort. Dr. Theresa Kim, will oversee implementation and analysis of this supplement.
Pictured right: Gabriel Lerner