For your calendars

Don't miss this upcoming event with Dr. Jeffrey Jenks, Medical Director of the Durham County Department of Health. See more details and Zoom information in the Events section below or on our website.

News from the CFAR

CFAR researchers highlighted on World AIDS Day

In case you missed it, the Duke CFAR sent out a special World AIDS Day newsletter on December 1st. In it, we shared our photo gallery of Duke CFAR members and others across the Duke community rocking their ribbons for HIV awareness. The photo campaign also made the top story of the Duke Daily. Featured is a photo of Wilton Williams, PhD and his lab wearing their ribbons and standing in front of a section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on display at Duke.

The newsletter also shared a story of Duke team members who showed courage and compassion in the face of the HIV epidemic in the 1980s, from welcoming patients to discovering groundbreaking treatment options.

Duke CFAR Developmental Core Director R. Keith Reeves, PhD is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, which shared an Editors' Call to Action on World AIDS Day:

"On the backdrop of three epidemics, COVID-19, Monkeypox, and opioid use disorders, December 1st, 2022 marks World AIDS Day with an appreciated focus on the theme of ‘Equalize’ to highlight the inequalities found in HIV care and prevention. This call to action implores us to improve access and distribution of HIV testing, antiretroviral drugs, treatment, and other services globally under the unique and challenging events that have impacted people living with or at risk of HIV infection." Read more on our website. 

Learn more about World AIDS Day, view the photo gallery, and read the article about the early days of HIV at Duke.

Durham-Duke CFAR Collaborative Community Council members challenge us to confront stigma

A World AIDS Day panel event in Raleigh, "The Crisis in Our Own Backyard," featured three members of our newly formed Durham-Duke CFAR Collaborative Community Council.

A main takeaway from the evening was the ongoing challenge of stigma and fear, and the importance of starting conversations to talk about HIV and talk about sex.

Eugenia Rogers summed this up by stating, "Stigma will cause people to suffer in silence." She shared her own journey and the support received from family. She encouraged attendees to talk more, bring people in, create safe places, and build trust, saying, "There aren't enough conversations in the places where conversations should happen."

Rita McDaniel similarly urged everyone to confront stigma and learn how to talk about HIV and sex. She shared that "the stigma that we experience now is no different than what I experienced 29 years ago." Ms. McDaniel, who works with the North Carolina AIDS Action Network and who is passionate about HIV prevention and care for women of color, emphasized the need to involve more women in research.

Jimmy Gibbs, who also chairs the National CFAR CAB Coalition, recalled community coming together during the beginning of the HIV epidemic in Raleigh, sharing the sentiment "what happens to one of us happens to all of us." Rev. Gibbs highlighted research being done by the CFARs at Duke and UNC and its contribution to progress: "When [someone] is healed, we all feel her healing spirit."

We are grateful for these reflections that help to center the research we do at the Duke CFAR, and the reminder that we all have a responsibility to counter stigma and continue the conversation about HIV.

Watch a recording of the panel.

Call for Proposals: Duke Quantitative Summer Internship in HIV/AIDS

Through an NIAID funded research education program, the Quantitative Sciences Core can sponsor fully funded graduate student interns to perform HIV/AIDS research over summer.

The Duke Quantitative Methods in HIV/AIDS Summer Internship is designed for quantitative graduate students to do research on HIV/AIDS projects proposed by the HIV/AIDS research community. Now in its 5th year, the Summer Internship is seeking research proposals for the summer 2023 program (May – July). Successful proposals should involve data analysis, visualization, machine learning, computer simulation, mathematical modeling, software development or device engineering, and may optionally include opportunities for fieldwork or hands-on bench work in the lab. Examples of previous proposals are linked here: Previous Proposals

All interns will be co-mentored by the HIV/AIDS researcher (or designated lab member) and a quantitative researcher (e.g., a biostatistician or biomedical engineer). The Program will provide a suitable quantitative mentor for all funded projects, but let us know if you prefer to work with a specific statistician or computational biologist who is familiar with the project. The objective of the internship is to introduce quantitative graduate students to HIV/AIDS research and encourage interdisciplinary collaborations. This has been extremely successful – for example, in the 2021 internship survey, all interns rated the program experience as very good or excellent, and more than half of interns responded that were somewhat or very likely to pursue a career in HIV in the future.

Expectations of mentors (either PI or designated group member)

• Collaborate with the quantitative mentor over the internship period
• Prepare expectations, objectives and a structured research plan for the intern
• Ensure that any resources necessary are available at the start of the internship (e.g. data sets)
• Meet regularly with intern to provide guidance

Accepted proposals must have the required information below

• PI
• Lab Mentor (optional)
• Quantitative Mentor (optional- one will be assigned if there is none suggested)
• Research Project Summary: Title, Research Question(s), Research Context/Background
• Desired quantitative skills, if known (High/Medium/Low/Not required)
• Statistics
• Bioinformatics
• Computational biology
• Mathematical modeling
• Engineering
• Programming (state preferred language if known)
• Other

For assistance with crafting a successful project proposal, CLICK HERE to request a consultation.

Submit your proposal for the 2023 Quantitative Methods in HIV Summer Internship by December 30, 2022.

If you have any questions about the internship, please contact Kelly Sune (kelly.sune@duke.edu).

Learn more and submit a proposal. Are you a student interested in the internship? Learn how to apply under Training Opportunities below.

SBS Core Rocket Talk - HIV Science and Interdisciplinary Fields: Communicating scientific research and findings across disciplines

Monday, December 12th, 2022 | 4-5pm ET | Zoom

Please join us for December’s Rocket Talk hosted by the CFAR Social and Behavioral Sciences Core. This talk will touch on communicating HIV scientific research and findings across disciplines as part of a series of talks around Science Communication.

Dr. Ariana Eily of Elon University will present Talking is Hard: How do we Communicate our Science Effectively, which will explain five fundamental tenants to being a good science communicator, as well going through an interactive example. Dr. Christine Daniels of AskBio will present on Reimagining Science Communication Through a Medical Anthropological Framework, which will explore how an anthropological lens can help improve cross cultural as well as cross discipline communication in biomedical research.

We hope you will join us for this information-packed session!

Zoom information

Meeting URL: https://duke.zoom.us/j/93554682688?pwd=VUNpNEFEL2RoOFN6VXdKTlpEVnFHZz09

Meeting ID: 935 5468 2688

Passcode: 687669

The Duke CFAR Presents A Conversation with Dr. Jeffrey Jenks

Tuesday, December 13th, 2022 | 4-5pm ET | Zoom

Save the date for a conversation with Dr. Jeffrey Jenks, Medical Director of the Durham County Department of Public Health. Dr. Jenks will present to the Duke community to help provide an understanding of the context of HIV in Durham and implications for us at the Duke CFAR.

Please see the zoom information below to join. If you have a question for Dr. Jenks, you may use the following link to submit it in advance.

Zoom information

Meeting URL: https://duke.zoom.us/j/97054648180?pwd=RkQ3eWNrMmtDRTJZc0drWHNtTGVqQT09

Meeting ID: 970 5464 8180

Passcode: 274374

Applications open for graduate students: Quantitative Methods in HIV/AIDS Summer Internship

Applications are now being accepted for graduate students in a quantitative discipline.

Duke Quantitative Summer Internships in HIV/AIDS are paid internships during Summer 2023 to conduct research in HIV/AIDS for graduate students in quantitative disciplines. Areas of research may include data analysis, visualization, machine learning, computer simulation, mathematical modeling, or device engineering. Interns are jointly mentored by an HIV research scientist and a quantitative faculty member (who could be your current research advisor if appropriate). Interns will gain valuable hands-on experience in a collaborative setting, increased knowledge in HIV/AIDS research, and will strengthen oral and written communication skills. Interns will also have the opportunity to present their work at national and international HIV/AIDS conferences.

Internship Details

• Up to 12 summer internships available in Summer 2023: May 8 – July 28 (12 weeks)
• Multi-year internships are possible
• Interns must have a quantitative background (e.g., graduate students in stats, math, CS, data science, engineering).
• Interns will be provided a stipend of $21 per hour (up to a maximum of 40 hours per week) for their participation (unless forbidden by NIH- e.g., T32 recipients)
• Funding is available for interns to present a poster or talk at a national or international conference
• Funds are available for lab- or field-based research for the intern where appropriate and allowable for the project
• Applications should be received by midnight Dec 11, 2022 for priority consideration.
• Applications after this deadline will be reviewed on a rolling basis through February 2023, as long as internship slots are available.
• Limited funds are available to help defray costs of lodging and travel for interns coming from outside the local area.
• Work location will be at the discretion of the project mentors (i.e. work from home may be allowed). But, all interns are required to attend weekly internship meetings in person.

All graduate student employees must work in North Carolina.

• No students can work outside of the U.S. whether a U.S. citizen, Green Card holder, visa holder or not.
• Foreign nationals who are physically located in the U.S. can work, but their visa status must allow for this work.

We especially welcome applications from women, individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities or individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Click here for examples of projects that interns worked on in past years.

Click here to apply for an internship

Please email kelly.sune@duke.edu if you have any programmatic questions.

Priority deadline is December 11, 2022.

Learn more and apply for the internship. Read reflections from 2022 interns.

Registration open for Statistics Workshop - Quantitative Methods for HIV Researchers

Thursdays in January & February 2023 | 9am-12pm ET | Hock Plaza

Registration is now open for Statistics Workshops, Part II of the 3-part series of FREE workshops designed to provide HIV researchers with the quantitative skills necessary for analysis of large, complex data sets resulting from assays such as single-cell RNA-seq, flow cytometry, fMRI, etc. Each part of the series consists of 6 once-a-week workshops held on Thursdays from 9AM - Noon. The workshops will be taught in person at Hock Plaza (parking is available). These NIH-funded workshops are open to graduate students, postdocs, medical fellows, staff and faculty. Non-Duke-affiliated applicants are welcome. Completion of Part I-Data Science Workshops or prior knowledge/ competency in R is required to attend.

In Part II of this workshop series, attendees will learn important concepts in statistics and perform statistical analyses using real HIV data. We will introduce different types of clinical research studies, perform exploratory data analysis with numerical and graphical summaries and introduce hypothesis testing, and appropriate methods for modeling different types of outcomes.

In Part III of this workshop series, attendees will learn skills for analysis of large, complex data sets resulting from assays. Registration for these workshops will open in January 2023.

Register for Part II: Statistics Workshops by Monday, January 9th.

PART II: Statistics Workshops (must commit to attend all 6 sessions)

• Breakdown of an Experiment - 1/19/2023
• Probability, Distributions, and Confidence Intervals - 1/26/2023
• Hypothesis Testing and Power/Sample Size - 2/1/2023
• Paired and Categorical Data Approaches - 2/9/2023
• Regression, Survival, and Longitudinal Models - 2/16/2023
• Bring Your Own Project / High-level Consulting - 2/23/2023

PART III: Assays Workshops registration will open in Jan 2023

Learn more and register for the workshops.

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