New Admin Core Research Assistant, Terri O’Brien<\/em> Finally, the Admin Core congratulates Lucero Leon-Chi for her new\u00a0position\u00a0as an Epidemiologist at the\u00a0Massachusetts\u00a0Department of Public Health’s HIV\/AIDS Surveillance Program. Good luck, Lucero, on your future endeavors!\u00a0We are also pleased to welcome a new research assistant – Terri O\u2019Brien. Terri will assist in coordinating activities of the URBAN ARCH Admin Core while she completes her MPH at the Boston University School of Public Health. Welcome to the team, Terri!<\/p>\n l-r: Lucero Leon-Chi and Jeffrey Samet at her goodbye party<\/em><\/p>\n The BDM Core has been active in collaborating with each cohort and the Admin Core on the ARCH renewal applications.\u00a0 In addition, the core is completing work on cross-cohort projects and several manuscripts are in progress.\u00a0 The BDM continues to assist with the sample repository and several data management activities.<\/span><\/p>\n Karen Jacobson presenting “TB preventive therapy among HIV-infected alcohol drinkers in Uganda”\u00a0at the BMC Urban Health Research in Progress in November 2015.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n We tested our last batch of plasma samples with low and undetectable viral load values at baseline. Out of 41 plasma samples of participants with viral loads >500 copies\/ml tested for HIV AB, 11 were confirmed HIV negative and have been excluded from analyses. For the remaining 30, who tested positive, we are in the process of confirming presence of ART.<\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Julian Adong has been in San Francisco since September 2015 taking two classes in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UCSF. She is also working on completing her manuscript using data from the URBAN ARCH Uganda cohort. Dr. Adong is working on the topic: “Does spirituality predict changes in alcohol use and is this effect mediated by depressive symptoms?”<\/span><\/p>\n A<\/span>s of\u00a0November 1, 2015, Russia ARCH (n=351) conducted 257 six-month assessments, 185 twelve-month assessments, 118 eighteen-month assessments, and 61 twenty four-month assessments. As of November 1, 2015, ZINC (n=254) conducted 157 six-month assessments, 90 twelve-month assessments, and 39 eighteen-month assessments.<\/span><\/p>\n The team is actively pursuing data analyses, abstract submissions, and manuscript preparation. In October, five posters presenting Russia ARCH\/ZINC data were displayed at the annual BU School of Medicine Evans Department of Medicine Research Day poster session.<\/span><\/p>\n The team is in the midst of preparing their proposal for the URBAN ARCH grant renewal to be submitted in January.<\/span><\/p>\n l-r: Kaku So-Armah presenting his \u201cHeavy drinking and immune senescence measured by CD28-CD57+ T-cells among ART-na\u00efve HIV-infected Russians\u201d\u00a0and Natalia Gnatienko presenting Judy Tsui’s “Pain, alcohol, and sex risk behaviors among HIV-infected Russians<\/span>” posters at the Boston University Evans Research Day Poster Session in October 2015<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n![\"terri\"](\"\/urbanarch\/files\/2015\/08\/20150615_094629.jpg\")
<\/a>The Admin Core has been busy preparing for its grant renewal in addition to assisting the U01s and BDM Core with their submissions to NIAAA. During Dr. Bryant’s visit to Boston, the Admin Core arranged some time for him and our\u00a0junior investigators, Drs. Sabrina Assoumou, Angela Walter, and Zoe Weinstein, to discuss their research interests and NIAAA funding opportunities.<\/span> We also assisted with the facilitation of two K award grant submissions for Drs. Lunze and So-Armah, worked with Boston ARCH, Uganda ARCH, and\u00a0the BDM Core on shipping serum samples for testing, and continued coordinating the cross-cohort ARCH women\u2019s analyses discussions for all the U01s. In addition, we assisted with the planning of\u00a0our second DSMB meeting of the year\u00a0in late October, which had a primary focus on the ZINC trial.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>BDM Core<\/span><\/h1>\n
<\/a><\/span>Greg Patts (left) presenting his \u201cAlcohol use & food insecurity among people living with HIV in Mbarara, Uganda and St. Petersburg, Russia\u201d poster at the Boston University Evans Research Day Poster Session in October 2015<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Uganda Cohort<\/span><\/h1>\n
<\/a>As of November 1st 2015, Uganda ARCH has concluded enrollment with a total of 484 subjects. Uganda ARCH has conducted 327 6-month assessments, 242 12-month assessments, 126 18-month assessments, 93 24-month assessments, 28 30-month assessments, and 24 36-month assessments. There are currently 20 active participants, and we plan to conclude follow up by the end of November 2015. Follow up rates continue to be exceptionally high, and the study is running smoothly.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Russia Cohort and ZINC RCT<\/span><\/h1>\n
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\n<\/a>Boston Cohort<\/span><\/h1>\n
As of November 1, 2015, Boston ARCH has enrolled the target number of participants into the cohort (n=250).\u00a0 The Boston ARCH team has completed 245 6-month follow-up assessments, 226 12-month follow-up assessments, 163 18-month follow-up assessments, 119 24-four month follow-up assessments, and 24 30-month follow-up assessments. \u00a0The team also completed 246 supplement assessments to assess lifetime alcohol and drug use and consequences in the cohort. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n