Learn more about the Syndemic of Viral Hepatitis, HIV, STIs, and Substance Use Disorder from HIV.gov

May is Hepatitis Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness that viral hepatitis continues to be a major public health threat in the United States. While we bring attention to viral hepatitis this month, we also recognize that the epidemic of viral hepatitis does not occur in a vacuum, but interacts with other diseases like HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and substance use disorders, also known as a syndemic. Learn more about the syndemic and HIV and hepatitis C virus coinfection.

News from the CFAR

Rachel Spreng recognized with 2023 HVTN Bonnie Mathieson Young Investigator Award

Rachel Spreng, PhD was recognized as an HVTN Bonnie Mathieson Young Investigator for her co-first author paper with Shiwei Xu and Molly Carpenter on the “Impact of adjuvants on the biophysical and functional characteristics of HIV vaccine-elicited antibodies in humans” at the 2023 HVTN Full Group Meeting. This award was established to recognize young investigators in honor of Bonnie Mathieson and her unrelenting contributions to the HVTN and dedication to HIV vaccine research.

Other Duke University School of Medicine investigators recognized for this award in the past include Scott Neidich (2021), Nicole Yates (2018), and Wilton Bryan Williams (2017).

Congratulations to Dr. Spreng on this accomplishment!

Spread the word & volunteer with the Duke Collaborative Community Council (D3C) June 3rd!

Please help us spread the word and volunteer for a CFAR outreach event on Saturday, June 3rd, hosted by the Duke Collaborative Community Council (D3C). The D3C was formed to support the Duke CFAR in community-centered research and outreach activities. The D3C is made up of community members across Durham, the Triangle, and other parts of North Carolina who are living with HIV, receive PrEP, or are closely engaged with services related to HIV care and prevention or supporting the wellbeing of people living with HIV.

The D3C will hold their first community outreach event on Saturday, June 3rd from 11:30am - 2:30pm at CAARE (214 Broadway St, Durham, NC 27701) in collaboration with CAARE and the African American COVID-19 Task Force. The family-friendly, inclusive event will be free and open to the public and will have tables from groups representing community-based organizations, healthcare providers, and social services, as well as entertainment (including a DJ and bounce house) and food. Everything is free to attendees. Please help share our flyers and spread the word!

The D3C is in need of volunteers to help with the following activities:

• Event setup and preparation of food bags for distribution (starting at 9am)
• Support during the event (11:30-2:30, or any time in between) - if you've ever wanted to operate a snow cone machine, now is your chance!
• Folks interested in talking about their research to the community at a CFAR table! (11:30-2:30, or any time in between) - this is a great way to help the public learn more about what we do, and normalize talking about HIV in the process!
• Cleanup (starting at 2:30pm)

If you are available to help for any amount of time, please sign up or contact Lizzy Knippler at elizabeth.knippler@duke.edu. This is a great opportunity to meet our incredible D3C members and to connect with our local Durham community!

The D3C is also looking for organizations/groups who might be interested in setting up a table at the event. They are hoping to have a wide range of organizations represented, but have expressed a particular interest in resources related to mental health, housing, and sexual health (including STI screenings). There is no cost to be a vendor at the event. The D3C is also looking for donations of items to raffle off, such as gift cards from local businesses. If you have any connections, please reach out! Thanks so much for your support.

As part of their mission, the D3C is able to provide consultations to CFAR research teams to give feedback on grant proposal development or activities related to implementation of research projects. Please contact Lizzy Knippler for more information or to schedule time with the D3C.

Learn more about the event and sign up to volunteer.

Susanna Naggie Named Director of CTSI

Duke CFAR Co-Director Susanna Naggie, MD, MHS, was recently named Director of the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). Dr. Naggie has been serving as interim director of CTSI since December 2022 and as the Faculty Director of the Clinical Research Networks Pillar within CTSI since September 2021. She will continue in her role as Vice Dean for Clinical and Translational Research in the School of Medicine and will continue to serve as co-principal investigator of Duke’s National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Award.

As Director of CTSI, Dr. Naggie will be responsible for leading all programs within the institute, which is dedicated to accelerating scientific discovery, innovation, and translation and improving equity in science, medicine, and health. CTSI oversees the function and funding of more than 30 institutional centers and programs at Duke and also plays a key role in enhancing the equity, diversity, and inclusiveness of research activities and programs within the university.

A physician-scientist, Dr. Naggie is a Professor of Medicine who has dedicated her academic career to the care of patients with HIV and viral hepatitis, with a research focus on understanding the mechanisms of accelerated liver fibrogenesis and identifying biomarkers for risk-stratification in this patient population. She is involved in multiple clinical trials and clinical registries with a particular focus on HIV, liver disease, and emerging infections including COVID-19. She is Co-Director of the Duke Center for AIDS Research and a Staff Physician in Infectious Diseases at the Durham VA Medical Center.

Dr. Naggie has also played an important role in the School of Medicine’s anti-racism efforts and programs to increase equity, diversity, and inclusion within the school. She co-launched and serves as faculty co-lead for the School of Medicine’s Research Equity and Diversity Initiative (READI), which is focused on expanding and ensuring equity of access to clinical research among under-represented populations, increasing diversity in the research workforce, building community trust, and reducing health disparities.

Congratulations to Dr. Naggie on her new appointment!

Climate Change & Immune Health Mini-Symposium - Registration closes TOMORROW

Monday, June 5, 2023 | 12-6pm EDT | Penn Pavilion

Registration closes May 25th for the upcoming Climate Change and Immune Health Mini-Symposium, hosted by the Duke Center for Human Systems Immunology at Penn Pavilion on Monday, June 5th. This event will serve as an opportunity for the Duke community, and the scientific community at large, to gather and present compelling data, as well as express our shared commitment to improving health outcomes related to a varied and changing climate.

Learn more and register for the event.

AETC Webinar: Language Matters: Person Centered Language in HIV Scientific Communications

Friday, June 9, 2023 | 12-1pm EDT | Webinar

The New England AIDS Education and Training Center Presents: Language Matters:

Person Centered Language in HIV Scientific Communications.

Language has been a central theme in efforts to dismantle stigma around HIV. Empowering language remains an important focus for all medical/dental and all organizations conducting research because language perpetuates stigma, and as studies continue to bear out, stigma helps perpetuate the HIV epidemic. In this event you will learn that language evolves, and no doubt will continue to do so, so it is important that medical researchers keep up.

Objectives:

1. Learn about the evolution of language in HIV research, publications, media, and research proposals.

2. Learn why it is important to use “people first” language.

3. Avoid the pitfalls of using improper language in your research proposals, journal article submissions, and other communications.

4. Provide you with resources and guides to help you use inclusive language and non-stigmatizing language in your scholarly works.

Register for the webinar.

Rustbelt CFAR Webinar: Barrier to an HIV Cure in Women

Thursday, June 15, 2023 | 4pm EDT | Webinar

Dr. Cameron and Dr. Chappell from the Sex and Gender Scientific Working Group, in conjunction with the End the HIV Epidemic Scientific Working Group, of the Rustbelt Center for AIDS Research are thrilled to host a lecture by Dr. Sara Gianella Wiebel, MD at 4PM ET on Thursday, June 15, 2023 - “Barrier to an HIV Cure in Women”

Dr. Gianella is an infectious disease physician and world-renowned expert in clinical and translational virology, molecular biology and immunology and is passionate about conducting studies involving women, transgender persons, and other under-represented populations. 

Register for the webinar.

HANC Webinar: Payment to Research Participants: Regulations, Stakeholder Perspectives, and Data

Thursday, June 22, 2023 | 1-2pm EDT | Webinar

This interactive talk examines the topic of participant payment in research, including a brief review of the federal regulations, how payment decisions are currently made, perspectives of the different stakeholders in the research process on the topic of payment, and data from hypothetical HIV studies where ethically appropriate payment amounts were provided and compared between IRB members, people living with HIV, and researchers.  We will end with our proposal for a way forward on payment decision making in research.

About the Presenter: Brandon Brown is a Full Professor in the Department of Social Medicine, Population and Public Health at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) School of Medicine (SOM). His primary research interest is around ethical issues in the conduct of HIV research. He has received funding from both private and federal organizations, working closely with community partners in every step of the research process. Dr. Brown received additional training as a HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) Scholar, a Resource Center for Minority Aging Research Scholar, trainee at the Fordham HIV Research Ethics Training Institute (RETI), and visiting scholar at the Hastings Center for Bioethics. With more than 150 publications, Dr. Brown is an avid collaborator and while he is a highly sought-after epidemiologist for the media, he prefers to spend his free time outside working on his small farm. 

Register for the webinar.

Registration open for the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care Conference



October 25-28, 2023 | New Orleans, LA

Registration is open for the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care Conference is now open. The conference will take place October 25-28^th in New Orleans, LA. Early bird pricing is available between today (May 17^th) and July 15^th

Learn more about the conference.

Duke Center for HIV Structural Biology - Collaborative Development Awards Opportunity due June 30th

The Duke Center for HIV Structural Biology (DCHSB) invites proposals for an HIV research funding opportunity (Collaborative Development Awards - CDA). Early-career HIV investigators and investigators new to HIV research from under-represented racial and ethnic groups are encouraged to apply.

The program is intended to broadly support HIV-related structural studies (including structural biology, molecular biophysics, structural bioinformatics, and others) aligned with the goals of the Center.

Applications must be submitted electronically no later than June 30, 2023, 5 p.m. EST

The award covers one year of funding up to $175,000 in total costs. Applications will be peer-reviewed by a panel convened by the Center’s investigators. Proposals will be evaluated on scientific merit, rigor, quality of project, and impact on HIV structural science. Our intent is to complete reviews and start funding by October 1, 2023.

For project-related questions, please contact Whitney Beck, Scientific Program Leader.

Learn more and apply.

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