Updates from 2nd Generation URBAN ARCH HIV/Alcohol P01s

This winter, the ARCHER team has been busy recruiting, screening, enrolling, and collecting data for the center’s Physical Activity (PA) Trial and Pain Trial. By working in collaboration with BuildClinical, a vendor specializing in targeted online campaigns to recruit participants for clinical research studies, we have received over 1600 potentially eligible participants to screen for eligibility for the ARCHER trials. We have phone screened 340 potentially eligible participants for the Pain Trial, and 351 potentially eligible participants for the Physical Activity Trial. In total, we currently have 121 participants enrolled and randomized: 61 in the Physical Activity Trial and 60 in the Pain Trial. Randomized participants have consented, completed the baseline interview, and completed 15 days of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data collection. In the PA Trial, participants have also completed 15 days of Fitbit wear. In addition to collecting baseline data, we have been actively collecting 3-month and 6-month follow-up data: 37 participants in the PA Trial have completed their 3-month research interview and 3-month EMA surveys, and 40 participants in the Pain Trial have completed their 3-month research interview and 3-month EMA surveys. Sixteen participants in the PA Trial have completed their 6-month research interview, 15 completing the PEth blood draw using the Tasso M-20 device, and 18 participants in the Pain Trial have completed their 6-month research interview, 18 completing the PEth blood draw using the Tasso M-20 device.

At the end of 2023, Dr. Tim Heeren, an ARCHER co-investigator and biostatistician retired. He was a valued member of the study team, and we wish him the very best! While we are sad to announce Dr. Heeren’s retirement, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Scarlett Bellamy to the ARCHER study as the team’s new biostatistician. Dr. Bellamy is Chair and Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the BUSPH. Much of Dr. Bellamy’s research centers on evaluating the efficacy of interventions in longitudinal behavioral modification trials, and she has particular interest in methodology to address health disparities for a variety of clinical and behavioral outcomes such as HIV/AIDs, cardiovascular disease and health promoting behaviors.

We would also like to welcome our new research assistant, Hattie Slayton, to the ARCHER project. Hattie recently graduated from Bowdoin College where she studied Neuroscience and Anthropology. She has previous experience working as a research assistant and the director of community outreach at the Yellow Tulip project in Maine, a small community-based non-profit. While at the Yellow Tulip project, she surveyed and met with community members to assess community contexts and needs, and assisting in establishing relationships and mobilizing community stakeholders around the issue of mental health stigma. Hattie also has experience working on detailed experimental protocols to understand patterns of Alzheimer’s disease. Hattie will provide administrative support on ARCHER and assist with recruiting, enrolling, and data collection for the Pain and PA Trials.

The team is excited to announce a new publication of a secondary analysis of the Boston ARCH cohort supported by ARCHER. Heavy Alcohol Use and HIV Outcomes: The Moderating Role of Pain was accepted by AIDS and Behavior in December 2023, and published online in January 2024. We invite any interested investigators who wish to use existing Boston ARCH data for secondary analysis to contact ARCHER PI, Dr. Stein, or Kara Magane, Senior Director of Research Operations, for additional information.

The META HIV CVD Admin core is hosting the third annual Research on Alcohol and HIV satellite meeting at the Research Society of Alcoholism annual meeting in Minneapolis, MN on June 22, 2024. Click here for more information and to register for the meeting. The META HIV CVD team continues enrollment in the clinical trial investigating the impact of a probiotic on alcohol associated gut dysbiosis. Additionally, this Spring the META team staff welcomed two new additions! Congratulations to Rachel and Asri!