URBAN ARCH at 2025 Conferences

This spring and summer have been busy for URBAN ARCH, with the team attending and presenting findings at a number of conferences and meetings.

Lydia Carlson, TALC Research Project Manager, presented a poster abstract from the TALC study, entitled “Physiologic, Anatomical, and Functional Indices of TB-Related Lung Damage by Hazardous Alcohol Use Among PWH” at the 29th Annual Conference of Union-North America Region in Vancouver, Canada from February 26-March 1. Naomi Sanyu, TALC Field Coordinator, also presented this work at the 3^rd International Post-TB Symposium in Stellenbosch, South Africa from April 14-16.

The 2025 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) took place from March 9-12 in San Francisco, California. International URBAN ARCH Center principal investigator Dr. Jeffrey Samet, TRAC project lead Dr. Judy Hahn, TRAC/TALC site PI Dr. Winnie Muyindike, TRAC co-investigator Dr. Gabe Chamie, and TRAC project director Dr. Nneka Emenyonu were in attendance. The TRAC team presented a poster entitled “Effect of Alcohol Use on Active TB Incidence Among PWH With Prior Receipt of TB Preventive Therapy” (Judy Hahn, et al.).

The 48^th Annual Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) Scientific Meeting took place from June 21-25 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The TALC study team presented two posters at this conference: “Drivers of Unhealthy Alcohol Use Among People with HIV and TB in Mbarara, Uganda: Patient and Provider Perspectives” (Sylvia Shangani, et al.) and “Is Alcohol Pharmacotherapy an Acceptable Treatment Option among Persons with HIV and Tuberculosis in Uganda?” (Becca Fisk-Hoffman, et al.). The GRAIL study team presented a poster exploring alcohol use among people who drink and have detectable HIV viral loads, using screening data from study participants, entitled “People With Non-Suppressed HIV in Mbarara, Uganda Have High Prevalence of Self-Reported Unhealthy Alcohol Use” (Nneka Emenyonu, et al.). The TRAC study team was also represented at the conference, with a poster entitled “Effect of Alcohol Use on Active TB Incidence among Persons with HIV with Prior Receipt of TB Preventive Therapy” (Winnie Muyindike, et al.). All abstracts from the conference are available here.

Several of these posters were also presented at the 4th Annual Research on Alcohol and HIV Satellite Meeting at RSA on Saturday, June 21. This satellite meeting, hosted by NIAAA and the Vanderbilt Center for Population Science and Randomized Clinical Trials, featured updates on alcohol research among people living with HIV. The International URBAN ARCH Center Admin Core also organized fourteen one-on-one mentoring sessions between early stage investigators and senior investigators during the satellite meeting.

The 13th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science took place from July 13-17 in Kigali, Rwanda. The TALC study team presented three posters at this conference: “Social Vulnerability and CD4 Cell Count of People with HIV in Uganda: The Moderating Effects of Age and Gender” (Sylvia Shangani et al.), “Exploring the Diagnostic Dilemma: Discrepancy Between Urine LAM, GeneXpert Test and Chest CT Findings Among PWH” (Julian Adong et al.), and “Client and Provider Perspectives on Interventions for Unhealthy Alcohol Use Among People with HIV and TB in Southwestern Uganda” (Naomi Sanyu et al.). All abstracts from the conference are available here. Several members of the TALC team attended the IAS conference, including project lead Kaku So-Armah, site PI Winnie Muyindike, co-investigator Julian Adong, and site coordinator Naomi Sanyu.

Congratulations to all of the study teams and the presenters for their excellent work. We look forward to another successful conference season next year!