{"id":14582,"date":"2026-06-25T12:44:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urbanarch\/?page_id=14582"},"modified":"2026-07-27T08:53:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T12:53:23","slug":"international-urban-arch-center-core-and-project-updates-vol13iss2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urbanarch\/international-urban-arch-center-core-and-project-updates-vol13iss2\/","title":{"rendered":"International URBAN ARCH Center Core and Project Updates"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Administrative Core<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The 2026 URBAN ARCH Annual Meeting took place on March 30, both in Boston and virtually, and was a great success. We heard exciting updates and some preliminary results from the P01 cores and projects as well as from the second-generation P01s. We looked to the future with updates from the recently-funded NIAAA P60 centers.<\/p>\n

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Group photo from the 2026 URBAN ARCH Annual Meeting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During the most recent URBAN ARCH seminar in May, Dr. Sylvia Shangani and Ms. Adah Tumwegamire presented results from their papers using URBAN ARCH data. Sylvia\u2019s paper, “Unhealthy Alcohol Use among People with HIV-TB Co-infection: Patient and Provider Perspectives in Mbarara, Uganda,\u201d utilized qualitative data from the TALC study. Adah used baseline data from the TRAC study for her paper, entitled “A Comparison of Self-Reported Smoking to Biomarker-Detected Smoking among People Living with HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy in Uganda.\u201d The recording from the seminar can be viewed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On June 1, we heard from Dr. Christopher Kahler about the progress and emerging findings from the Brown ARCH P01 in the latest installment of our quarterly International URBAN ARCH Visiting Scholar Research-in-Progress webinar. The recording from this webinar can be viewed here<\/a>. The next webinar will take place on Tuesday, September 22 at 11am ET\/8am PT and will feature Dr. Patricia Molina, who will discuss updates from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans (LSUHSC-NO) Comprehensive Alcohol- HIV\/AIDS Research Center (CARC). Save the date and look out for more information soon from the URBAN ARCH listserv.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Biostatistics and Data Management Core<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Data management activities, including derived variable creation and documentation, are ongoing across the GRAIL, TALC, and TRAC studies.<\/p>\n

GRAIL Meets Enrollment Target<\/strong><\/p>\n

GRAIL has met its target enrollment of 220 participants!\u00a0The BDM Core is supporting the development of new analytic plans examining gabapentin adherence trajectories (Greg Rosen) and psychosocial syndemic classes (Pablo Valente).<\/p>\n

TALC Follow-up and Analytic Activities Continue<\/strong><\/p>\n

TALC has successfully enrolled its full target of 200 participants, and participant follow-up is ongoing. The BDM Core is currently supporting development of two new analytic plans focused on the association between lifetime alcohol exposure and frailty (Theresa Kim) and tuberculosis stigma and disclosure among people with HIV co-infected with TB (Sylvia Shangani).<\/p>\n

The BDM Core also recently completed analyses for several TALC projects, including Social Vulnerability Index and CD4 Cell Count (Sylvia Shangani), LAM, GeneXpert, and Chest CT Findings (Julian Adong), and Intersectional Stigma (Karsten Lunze and Fatema Shafie Khorassani). In addition, the team is developing a report describing post-tuberculosis lung disease among TALC participants at follow-up.<\/p>\n

TRAC Analysis Support<\/strong><\/p>\n

The BDM Core continues to support TRAC through multiple analytic plans, analyses, and manuscripts examining new TB infection and disease, smoking, depression and under-reported alcohol use, alcohol and smoking behavior patterns in relation to TB outcomes, bar attendance, and alcohol expenditures.<\/p>\n

<\/a>TB Risk by Alcohol Consumption (TRAC) Study<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The aims of the\u00a0<\/span>T<\/strong>B\u00a0<\/span>R<\/strong>isk by\u00a0<\/span>A<\/strong>lcohol\u00a0<\/span>C<\/strong>onsumption (<\/span>TRAC<\/strong>) study are to estimate the incidence rate of new TB infection among people with HIV (PWH) with prior negative tuberculin skin test (TST) results by level of alcohol use (Aim 1) and to determine the incidence of active TB disease among PWH with prior latent TB infection (LTBI), who received TB preventative therapy (TPT), by level of alcohol use (Aim 2).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Group photo of the PERC study team during site visit in Mbarara.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As of June 1, 2026, we have successfully concluded TRAC study enrollment with 500 participants. To achieve this goal, we made phone call attempts to 694 prior study participants for Aim 1 screening. We reached 558 participants and invited all of them for screening. Of the 558 screened, we found 522 to be eligible, while 20 people declined consent to participate in the study. Therefore, we enrolled a total of 502 participants into the study, however 2 participants were enrolled in error and were subsequently excluded, leaving the total number enrolled as 500. Self-reported AUDIT-C scores from TRAC baselines visits show 138 (28%) in the no alcohol group, 203 (41%) in the low\/moderate alcohol use group, and 158 (32%) in the high-risk alcohol use group. Baseline PEth results of 451 participants show 155 (34%) in the no alcohol use group with PEth levels of <20 ng\/ml, 155 (34%) in the no alcohol use group with PEth levels of 20-<200 ng\/ml, 155 (34%) in the no alcohol use group with PEth levels of ><\/u>200 ng\/ml.<\/p>\n

Of the 500 (217 (43%) females and 283 (57%) males) enrolled with a median age of 42 years, 75 had positive TST results following placement and reading of TST within 72 hours. After excluding 4 participants (2 with prior active TB on chart review, and 2 with no TST result), and including 8 with active TB on chart review but with TST negative results, we found 83 out of 496 (16.7%) had new TB infection\/disease. We found no associations with active TB\/positive TST at baseline by smoking status, household TB diagnosis, or number of rooms in the household.<\/p>\n

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Judy Hahn and the Biomarker Users Group (BUGS) during the 2026 Research Society on Alcohol Use meeting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We successfully completed 474 6-month follow up phone calls (95% completion rate), 478 12-month in-person visits (96% completion rate), 480 18-month follow-up phone calls (97% completion rate), 481 24-month in-person visits (98% completion rate), 301 30-month follow-up phone calls (80% completion rate), and 203 36-month in-person visits (83% completion rate). At the 12-, 24-, and 36-month visits, we placed PPDs on only those who had negative results at baseline, 12, and 24 months. Of the 407 PPDs placed at the 12-month visit, 42 were positive (10% positivity rate). Of the 358 PPDs placed at the 24-month visit, 33 were positive (9% positivity rate). Of the 175 PPDs placed at the 36-month visit, 10 were positive (6% positivity rate). Seven participants were disenrolled from the study and eleven died due to reasons unrelated to study participation.<\/p>\n

We have successfully concluded Aim 2 procedures with three rounds of review from TB registries, clinical registries, and medical records in 18 clinics from which participants were recruited in previous studies. We found all records (988 total) included in Aim 2. Of the 988 records reviewed, 30 (3%) participants were diagnosed with active TB after receiving INH and 39 (4%) participants were deceased. We also found that 139 (14%) participants transferred out of their original clinics.<\/p>\n

All field activities for the TRAC study have been completed, and the team is now focused on data analysis and dissemination of findings through scientific conferences and peer-reviewed publications.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Tuberculosis, Alcohol, and Lung Comorbidities (TALC) Study<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In Aim 1 of the TALC study, we enrolled 200 participants to investigate the relationship between alcohol use and post-TB lung disease (PTLD) in people with HIV (PWH). The team has now completed follow-up for the full cohort at the 9-month timepoint, in addition to previous timepoints. Follow-up visits continue at 12, 15, and 18 months. The team is also completing chart reviews to ascertain TB treatment outcomes for participants. Recently, the team has developed a working case definition for PTLD, which we will utilize to report on our findings for Aim 1.<\/p>\n

In Aim 2, we are qualitatively evaluating factors for tailoring alcohol and smoking interventions in PWH being treated for TB. The first manuscript using TALC qualitative data has been submitted to AIDS Research and Treatment, and is currently under review. Dr. Sylvia Shangani led the paper, and also presented on it during the URBAN ARCH seminar in May (see Admin Core update for more details).<\/p>\n

The team has been hard at work disseminating preliminary findings at conferences and meetings. At the recent American Thoracic Society (ATS) conference in May, TALC radiologist Dr. Anacret Byamukama presented an abstract entitled, \u201cHazardous alcohol use among people with HIV and mycobacterium tuberculosis: physiologic, anatomical, and functional indices of TB-related lung damage.\u201d At the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) conference in June, post-doctoral fellow Dr. Becca Fisk-Hoffman presented her work on the trajectories of alcohol use during TB treatment, which utilized TALC data. Her abstract, entitled \u201cAlcohol use before and during treatment for drug susceptible tuberculosis among persons with HIV in Mbarara, Uganda,\u201d was also presented orally during the RSA Satellite Meeting on HIV\/Alcohol.<\/p>\n

Gabapentin to Reduce Alcohol and Improve Viral Load Suppression (GRAIL) Study<\/span><\/h3>\n

GRAIL study enrollment began in November 2023 and recruitment was temporarily paused from June 9, 2025 through September 15, 2025 due to funding constraints. The study team finished recruitment on June 25, 2026, with 220 participants enrolled and randomized.<\/p>\n

A total of 557 in-person screenings have been completed. The main reasons for ineligibility include an undetectable HIV viral load (147\/196; 75%), a negative AUDIT-C score (41\/553; 7.4%), and a negative EtG test (189\/509; 37.1%). Women comprise 25% of the sample. The study team has continued to actively complete follow-up visits, with 1,153 in-person and 799 phone visits completed to date with follow-up rates above 85% for all visits.<\/p>\n

The GRAIL study team are preparing for the next DSMB meeting in September 2026.<\/p>\n

The GRAIL protocol paper \u201cGabapentin to achieve HIV viral load suppression in people with risky drinking in Mbarara, Uganda: study protocol for a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial (GRAIL)<\/a>\u201d was recently accepted for publication in\u00a0Trials<\/em>. Additionally, a brief report \u201cHigh Prevalence of Unhealthy Alcohol Use among Persons with Non-Suppressed HIV in Mbarara, Uganda<\/a>\u201d was recently published in AIDS & Behavior.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Administrative Core The 2026 URBAN ARCH Annual Meeting took place on March 30, both in Boston and virtually, and was a great success. We heard exciting updates and some preliminary results from the P01 cores and projects as well as from the second-generation P01s. We looked to the future with updates from the recently-funded NIAAA […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20124,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/no-sidebars.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urbanarch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14582"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urbanarch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urbanarch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urbanarch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urbanarch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14582"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urbanarch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14628,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urbanarch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14582\/revisions\/14628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urbanarch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}