Newsletter
Volume 5, Issue 2
April 2018 – June 2018
Check out the current issue of URBAN ARCH News, the quarterly newsletter bringing you news based on the latest URBAN ARCH and related research.
URBAN ARCH and Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research: Perfect Partners
In this issue of the URBAN ARCH newsletter we will describe our development of a research and training partnership with the Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research.
- New Grant: Congratulations to Dr. Sabrina Assoumou on receiving funding for a K23 grant which will use the ADAPT-ITT framework to modify strengths-based case management (SBCM) to address the needs of PWID aged 18 to 30 tested for HCV and HIV at a detoxification center.
- Thank you to all who attended the 2018 URBAN ARCH Annual Meeting. Click here for photos and presentations from the meeting. Next year’s meeting will be held April 9-10, 2019.
- URBAN ARCH Investigators will be presenting at Research Society on Alcoholism 2018 which is held from June 16-20 in San Diego, CA. Click here for a list of URBAN ARCH related presentations.
In this issue, we interview Karsten Lunze, DrPH, MD, MPH, an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine.
Click on the buttons to see what the URBAN ARCH Cohorts and Cores have been working on.
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- Gnatienko N, Freiberg MS, Blokhina E, Yaroslavtseva T, Bridden C, Cheng DM, Chaisson CE, Lioznov D, Bendiks S, Koerbel G, Coleman SM, Krupitsky E, Samet JH. Design of a randomized controlled trial of zinc supplementation to improve markers of mortality and HIV disease progression in HIV-positive drinkers in St. Petersburg, Russia. HIV Clin Trials. 2018;19(3):101-11. PMCID: PMC5957784
- Lasser KE, Lunze K, Cheng DM, Blokhina E, Walley AY, Tindle HA, Quinn E, Gnatienko N, Krupitsky E, Samet JH. Depression and smoking characteristics among HIV-positive smokers in Russia: A cross-sectional study. PLos One. 2018 6;13(2). PMCID: PMC5800551
- Lorkiewicz SA, Ventura AS, Heeren TC, Winter MR, Walley AY, Sullivan M, Samet JH, Saitz R. Lifetime marijuana and alcohol use, and cognitive dysfunction in people with human immunodeficiency virus infection. Subst Abus. 2018;39(1):116-123.
- Saitz R, Mesic A, Ventura AS, Winter MR, Heeren TC, Sullivan MM, Walley AY, Patts GJ, Meli SM, Holick MF, Kim TW, Bryant KJ, Samet JH. Alcohol consumption and bone mineral density in people with HIV and substance use disorder: A prospective cohort study. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2018. [Epub ahead of print]
- Wagman JA, Samet JH, Cheng DM, Gnatienko N, Raj A, Blokhina E, Toussova O, Forman LS, Lioznov D, Tsui JI . Female gender and HIV transmission risk behaviors among people living with HIV who have used injection drugs in St. Petersburg, Russia. AIDS Behav. 2018 May 24. [Epub ahead of print] NIHMSID: NIHMS970493
- Woolf-King SE, Fatch R, Cheng DM, Muyindike W, Ngabirano C, Kekibiina A, Emenyonu N, Hahn JA. Alcohol Use and Unprotected Sex Among HIV-Infected Ugandan Adults: Findings from an Event-Level Study. Arch Sex Behav. 2018. [Epub ahead of print].
Article Spotlight
This section highlights and provides brief summaries of URBAN ARCH research and their clinical significance.
Russia URBAN ARCH Researchers Find Association Between Alcohol Use Disorder and HIV Stigma
Unhealthy alcohol use is highly prevalent in Russia, and it is associated with HIV risk behaviors among people living with HIV (PLWH). HIV stigma contributes to the overall HIV risk environment in Russia. URBAN ARCH researchers in St Petersburg and Boston recently conducted a longitudinal analysis of 700 PLWH in St. Petersburg, Russia, assessing the association between risky drinking and DSM-IV alcohol dependence and HIV stigma measured at baseline and 12 month follow-up.
- Participants with alcohol dependence (n = 446) reported significantly higher HIV stigma scores over time than those without (n = 254).
- In secondary analyses, the team examined recent risky alcohol use and did not detect an association with HIV stigma.
Comments: Alcohol use disorder is associated with high HIV stigma among Russian PLWH, but the nature of the association is conjectural. HIV prevention efforts in Russia need to address both HIV-related stigma and alcohol use disorder to mitigate their possible adverse effects among PLWH. These Russia ARCH findings have prompted the team to investigate alcohol stigma and its intersection with other forms of stigma in relation to risk behaviors in similar populations.
Reference: Lunze K, Lioznov D, Cheng DM, Nikitin RV, Coleman SM, Bridden C, Blokhina E, Krupitsky E, Samet JH. HIV stigma and unhealthy alcohol use among people living with HIV in Russia. AIDS Behav. 2017;21(9):2609-2617.PMCID: PMC5709173.
Article Spotlight summary by URBAN ARCH editor Katherine Calver, PhD
Selected NIH Notices and Funding Opportunities
- Wearable Alcohol Biosensors (STTR) (PA-18-785)
National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Application Due Date: Standard dates - Wearable Alcohol Biosensors (SBIR) (PA-18-786)
National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Application Due Date: Standard dates - NIAAA Data-Sharing Policy for Human Subjects Grants Research (NOT-AA-18-010)
National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism - Request for Information (RFI)
Requests broad public input and feedback from interested constituents for the development of the fiscal year 2021-2023 Trans-NIH Strategic Plan for HIV and HIV-Related Research.
Open from 05/21/2018 to 06/20/2018
Click here for more funding announcements related to HIV and alcohol research.
Please email Carly Bridden if you will be attending any these meetings, so we can connect you with our investigators.
- Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA): June 16-20, 2018. San Diego, CA.
- International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference: July 23-27, 2018; Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- IDWeek Annual Conference on Prevention, Diagnosis, Treatment and Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases: October 3-7, 2018; San Francisco, CA.
Click here for more events and conferences.
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