2021 ARCH Pilot Grant Awardess

Alcohol Research Center on HIV

2021 Pilot Grant Awardees

The Alcohol Research Center on HIV (ARCH) is a multidisciplinary center grant funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The goal of ARCH is to support cutting-edge science on the evaluation and implementation of interventions to reduce alcohol misuse among those living with or at risk of HIV.

ARCH is proud to announce the recipients of three pilot grant awards!

"Probiotics to Reduce Systemic and Neural Inflammation in Heavy Drinkers"

A 30-day, open-label clinical trial of probiotics as an intervention to reduce systemic and neural inflammation in heavy drinkers. The study will recruit 15 non-treatment-seeking heavy drinkers to complete the pre/post design. Main outcomes are plasma biomarkers of immune activation and brain metabolites associated with neuroinflammation.

Mollie Monnig, PhD

Assistant Professor (Research Scholar)

Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies

Department of Behavioral and Social Science l Brown University School of Public Health

"Investigating HIV Risk, Alcohol Use, and Stigma Among Trans Women of Color"

Transgender women of color experience social and economic marginalization due to intersectional stigma, defined as the confluence of stigma that results from the intersection of social identities and positions among those who are multiply oppressed. As part of a long-term goal to increase access to trans-affirming behavioral health care services, we will survey transgender women of color to understand their experiences related to intersectional stigma, HIV acquisition and transmission risk, and alcohol use and recovery from problematic alcohol use. Members of the target population will be involved in all stages of planning, collecting, interpreting data, as well as disseminating results.

Arryn A. Guy, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies (CAAS)

Department of Behavioral & Social Sciences | Brown University School of Public Health

Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior | Alpert Medical School of Brown University

"Alcohol use risk environments: An ethnographic approach to developing alcohol-focused harm reduction interventions for unstably housed persons at risk of HIV"

Unstably housed individuals who use alcohol are at an increased risk of adverse health (e.g. HIV, depression) and social (e.g. violence, arrest) outcomes, and yet existing alcohol-related interventions do not effectively engage this population. Using community-engaged ethnography, this study will examine how social, structural, and environmental factors shape alcohol use patterns and HIV-related risks among unstably housed persons. This study aims to inform the development of targeted alcohol and HIV prevention harm reduction interventions attuned to the needs of unstably housed persons who use alcohol.

Alexandra Collins, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Department of Epidemiology | Brown University School of Public Health

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