Core and Cohort Updates
Admin Core
The Admin Core was busy this summer with the RSA meeting, as described in the newsletter lead story. Admin Core staff are also facilitating the development of a manuscript focusing on HIV-infected women in the URBAN ARCH Cohorts. Along with the BDM Core, the Admin Core continues to oversee the URBAN ARCH sample repository with several shipments in and out for the Uganda and Boston cohorts. The much anticipated CHAART Requests For Applications (RFAs) came out in July, and the Admin Core is now actively preparing for the URBAN ARCH Consortium’s grant renewal submissions.
Sally Bendiks in the repository with Boston ARCH DBS cards
BDM Core
The BDM Core has b
een busy completing analyses for each cohort as well as cross-cohort projects, and are collaborating on several manuscripts that are in progress. The BDM also continues to assist with the sample repository and data management activities across URBAN ARCH.
In addition, Greg Patts presented his abstract entitled “Alcohol Use & Food Insecurity among People Living with HIV in Mbarara, Uganda and St. Petersburg, Russia” at the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) poster session.
Greg Patts at RSA 2015 in San Antonio, TX
Uganda Cohort
As of August 1, 2015, Uganda ARCH has concluded enrollment with a total of 484 subjects. Uganda ARCH has conducted 358 6-month assessments, 257 12-month assessments, 149 18-month assessments, 85 24-month assessments, 41 30-month assessments, and 15 36-month assessments. There are currently 81 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.
l-r: Judy Hahn, Sarah Woolf-King, Nneka Emenyonu, Stephen Asiimwe, and Robin Fatch
Dr. Julian Adong traveled to UCSF in June to attend a manuscript writing sabbatical under the International Trainees in AIDS Prevention Studies (ITAPS) training program. Through ITAPS, Dr. Adong completed a manuscript draft entitled “Effect of spirituality/religiosity on unhealthy alcohol use on HIV positive ART naive patients in Uganda.” She is now preparing for a semester of training in biostatistics and epidemiology under the Training in Clinical Research (TICR) program at UCSF.
Julian Adong in San Francisco
Russia Cohort and ZINC RCT
As of August 1st, 2015, Russia ARCH (n=360) conducted 233 six-month assessments, 148 twelve-month assessments, 91 eighteen-month assessments and 46 twenty four-month assessments. As of August 1st 2015, ZINC (n=254) conducted 133 six-month assessments, 63 twelve-month assessments, and 19 eighteen-month assessments.
l-r: Drs. Samet, Krupitsky, and Zvartau at the NIDA International Forum at CPDD 2015 in Phoenix, AZ
The team is cont
inuing to actively pursue data analyses, abstract submissions, and manuscript preparation. In June at the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) annual scientific meeting in San Antonio, Texas and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, the team took the opportunity to reconnect and discuss in-person analyses and strategies for the URBAN ARCH grant renewal.
Bulat Idrisov, MD from Ufa, Russia, was awarded the NIDA INVEST fellowship in June to study the relationship between food insecurity and HIV progression and access to care in the Russia ARCH cohort. He will be spending one year in Boston working under the mentorship of Dr. Samet. We look forward to his arrival in early 2016!
Natalia Gnatienko at RSA 2015 in San Antonio, TX
Boston Cohort
As of August 1st 2015, Boston ARCH has enrolled the target number of participants into the cohort (n=250). The Boston ARCH team has completed 245 six-month follow-up assessments, 199 12-month follow-up assessments, 135 18-month follow-up assessments, 92 24-four month follow-up assessments and 10 30-month follow-up assessments.
l-r: Seonaid Nolan and Rich Saitz at CPDD 2015 in Phoenix, AZ
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, abstract submissions and manuscript preparation. In June 2015, the Boston ARCH team presented 2 abstracts at the 2015 CPDD Annual Meeting and 2 abstracts at the 2015 RSA Annual Meeting. Dr. Kinna Thakarar’s abstract “Medication Treatment for Addiction and Health Service Utilization among HIV-infected Adults with Substance Dependence” has been accepted as a poster presentation to the Annual AMERSA Conference in November 2015.
The Boston ARCH team is currently working with the BDM and Administrative Cores to test the first batch of stored serum samples for bone turnover markers.
Sara Lorkiewicz (middle) at CPDD 2015 in Phoenix, AZ