ICR Researchers Present at 2nd Annual NIH Conference

Researchers from Institute for Community Research (ICR) presented at the NIH Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation: Building Research Capacity to Bridge the Gap from Science to Service, which was held on January 28-29, 2009 in Bethesda, Maryland.

ICR Executive Director and CIRA Scientist Margaret Weeks, Ph.D., chaired a panel on Implementation Science Issues Raised by Multilevel Interventions. Included on the panel were Marlene Berg, M.U.P, CIRA Scientist Jean J. Schensul, Ph.D., and discussant CIRA Scientist Jianghong Li, M.D., M.S.

The panel presented three case examples of multilevel interventions that have shown significant efficacy in community intervention trials:

• Vaccinate for Influenza Prevention (V.I.P): A Multilevel Intervention with Seniors to Vaccinate Against Flu;
• Youth Action Research for Prevention: A Multilevel PAR-based Intervention; and
• Drug User Peer Health Advocates as Multilevel Change Agents.

Dickson-Gomez, J., Hilario, H., Convey, M., Corbett, M., Weeks, M.R., and Martinez, M. (2009). The Relationship between Housing Status and HIV Risk among Active Drug Users: A Qualitative Analysis. Substance Use and Misuse, 44: 139-162.

Wang, Y., Liao, S.S., Weeks, M.R., Jiang, J.M., Abbott, M., Zhou, Y.J., He, B., Liu, W., Mosack, K.E. (2008). Acceptability of Hypothetical Microbicides among Women in Sex Establishments in Rural Areas in Southern China. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 35 (1): 102-110.

Weeks, M.R., Li, J.H., Dickson-Gomez, J., Convey, M., Martinez, M., Radda, K., and Clair, S. (2009). Outcomes of a Peer HIV Prevention Program with Injection Drug and Crack Users: The Risk Avoidance Partnership. Substance Use and Misuse, 44: 253-281.

CIRA Sponsored Seminars and Meetings

1. THIS WEEK! From CIRA's Law, Policy and Ethics Core: CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS for edited book, Ethics in the Shadows: Moral Challenges in the Study of Illicit and Stigmatized Behaviors.
   Deadline: Chapter proposals are due Friday, February 20, 2009.
   Details: http://cira.med.yale.edu/opportunities/callforpapers_ethicsinshadows.pdf
   
   CIRA Researchers Kaveh Khoshnood, Merrill Singer and Kevin Irwin, along with Craig Fry (University of Melbourne) are editing a book provisionally entitled Ethics in the Shadows: Moral Challenges in the Study of Illicit and Stigmatized Behaviors. The edited volume, which is being supported by CIRA's Law, Policy and Ethics Core, will examine the ethical issues that arise in the study of highly stigmatized and/or illicit behaviors and the populations that engage in such behaviors. These populations and behaviors may include: illicit drug use, sex work, homosexuality, gambling, domestic violence victims and perpetrators, prisoners, drug dealers, undocumented persons, pedophiles, child abuse victims and perpetrators, homeless persons, oppressed ethnic minorities, gang members, or people who attempt suicide or engage in self-mutilation (e.g., "cutters"). Other relevant behaviors and populations can be proposed. This book is intended to address ethical research challenges that have not been adequately addressed by existing guidelines or literature. Uniquely international issues are also highly encouraged. Please see the full Call for Papers on the CIRA Web site at: http://cira.med.yale.edu/opportunities/callforpapers_ethicsinshadows.pdf.
2. Law, Policy & Ethics (LPE) Core Meeting
   Date/Time: 02/24/09 10:30 AM - 12:00 Noon
   Location: CIRA, Ste # 200, Rm. 202, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
3. Community Research (CR) Core Meeting
   Date/Time: 02/25/09 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
   Location: CIRA, Ste # 200, Rm. 202, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
4. NEW! Development Core Career Development Consultation Meeting
   Date/Time: 02/25/09 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
   Location: CIRA, Ste # 200, Rm. 223, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
5. NEW! YACS@CIRA Seminar Series
   
   Date/Time: 02/26/09, 4:00 - 5:30 PM
   Title: "Science, Social Movements, and Epidemics: AIDS and TB Activism in the USA and Around the World"
   Speaker: Gregg Gonsalves, Yale University and the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition
   Location: CIRA, Ste # 200, Rm. 202, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
   RSVP: Please RSVP to Michelle Gardin (203-764-4347) by Wednesday, 02/11.
   This talk will discuss the history of AIDS treatment activism in the United States and its expansion to all continents around the world and its extension to activism on tuberculosis over the past 5 years; the concept of “treatment literacy” or community-based science education, which is at the heart of the activist project, and; the collaborations between scientists and activists that have reshaped public health and science policy in many countries around the world and at agencies such as the World Health Organization and other international bodies concerned with health and development.
6. NEW! Executive Committee Meeting
   Date/Time: 03/04/09 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
   Location: CIRA, Ste # 200, Rm. 202, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
7. AIDS Science Day 2009
   Date/Time: Wednesday, 04/01 All day
   AIDS Science Day is for everyone. CIRA wants students, faculty, researchers and community members to participate in this great event. Registration is required. Deadlines are as follows:
   
   Community Booth: This Wednesday, February 18 (Booth registrants must submit this completed form as an email attachment to Michelle Gardin, or by fax to 203-764-4353.)
   General Conference: Friday, March 13 (Register now)
   Abstract Submission: Deadline has closed
   
   Please address any questions to Sandrine Bertrand-Cadi via email, sandrine.bertrand-cadi@yale.edu, or phone, 203-785-3104.

General Announcements

1. Post-CROI Updates (Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections)
   
   Date/Time: 02/25/09 6:00 P.M.
   Speaker: David Lobo, M.D. (Clinical Providers Only)
   Location: J's Restaurant, 297 Washington Street, Hartford CT 06106
   
   Date/Time: 02/26/09 12:00 Noon
   Speaker: Michael Kozal, M.D.
   Location: Greek Olive, 402 Sargent Drive, New Haven CT 06511
   
   Date/Time: 02/27/09 12:00 Noon
   Speaker: David Lobo, M.D.
   Location: Tuscany, 1084 Madison Avenue, Bridgeport CT 06606
   Sponsor: CT AIDS Education and Training Center (CAETC)
   Contact: To RSVP or for more information: karina.danvers@yale.edu, 203-737-2312
2. NEW! HIV & Sexual Assault
   
   Date/Time: 03/06/09, 12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM
   Speaker: Julie Stewart, NP
   Location: Tuscany Ristorante, 1084 Madison Ave., Bridgeport CT 06606
   RSVP: Please RSVP to Karina Danvers (203) 737-2312
3. AIDS WALK NEW HAVEN - APRIL 26, 2009
   
   http://www.aidswalknewhaven.org (New Web site!)
   
   You can now Register Online for the Walk!
   All registration and donations can now be done via the internet as well: just click Register Now on the AIDS Walk home page or go to www.firstgiving.com/aidswalknewhaven. This year we will also feature our first 5K Run event. We will provide awards and prizes for the fastest times and Runners will be able to also participate in the traditional AIDS Walk. Check the Web site for more details to follow. In order for AIDS Walk New Haven to continue its success, we need your help!
   
   How You and Your Organization Can Help with AIDS Walk New Haven Publicity (Spread the word!) - In order to get a large showing, we need to get the word out! Please tell your friends, family, co-workers, employees, spouse's co-workers, all about our new Web site and the date of the Walk - April 26, 2009. AIDS Walk New Haven, Inc. minimizes its expenses to ensure every dollar goes to our cause in supporting the HIV / AIDS patient community, but this means our advertising budget is low so your word-of-mouth promotions are a valuable asset! To get off to a good start, feel free to forward this email around.
   
   Register as an Individual or Team - Our registration is now fully online where you can sign up for the Walk and create your own personalized fundraising page. All organizations and businesses are further encouraged to create a Team, where each member can see how their teammates are fundraising and compete with other teams to see who can raise the most. The online set up is simple, easy, and a great way to get others to donate to the cause.
   
   Donate by Shopping Online - That's right, you can donate to AIDS Walk New Haven simply by shopping online. Check out our GoodShop Web site at http://www.goodshop.com/?charityid=889135 where you can buy from over 700 stores (including Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, Apple, 1-800-Contacts) and a small portion of your purchase will go to our cause. It's free, quick and easy.
4. Community-Based Research: New Ethical Challenges
   
   Date: Thursday, May 21, 2009
   Description: With generous support from the Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation, the Yale Interdisciplinary Center on Bioethics and CARE are hosting a one-day conference at Yale University in New Haven, CT on ethical principles and guidelines for engaging community and university partners in the conduct of community-based research. This will be an opportunity to bring together representatives from the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) sites, community and university representatives of institutional review boards (IRB’s), and, community agency leaders responsible for reviewing research in their agencies. The conference will be designed for active engagement of all participants in working group sessions, with concrete recommendations to meet each objective.
   Speaker: Jeremy Sugarman, M.D., M.P.H., Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Harvey M. Meyerhoff Professor of Bioethics and Medicine
   Sponsors: CARE: Community Alliance for Research and Engagement and the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics
   Location: Yale University
   Contact: To RSVP and for more information, please contact: Laurie Hurshman at 203-432-9736 or laurie.hurshman@yale.edu. The conference is free and will include breakfast, lunch, and reception. Attendees are responsible for travel and hotel expenses; discount rooms will be available to all participants.
5. The 12th Annual Summit on Adolescents and HIV: The Impact on Youth, Families, Schools and Communities
   
   Date: Wednesday, 06/03/2009
   Description: This one day conference will focus on youth, advocacy, prevention, screening, care and treatment, and is designed for the full spectrum of providers who serve adolescents/young adults in New England.
   Sponsors: Boston Happens/Children's Hospital, New England HIV Education Consortium, New England AIDS Education & Training Center, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, University of Massachusetts
   Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2 Somerset Parkway Nashua, NH
   Contact: For more information contact Brian Abascal, Boston Happens/Children Hospital, E-mail: brian.abascal@childrens.harvard.edu; Phone: (617) 355-2735; or access the Web site: http://www.neaetc.org/events/detail.cfm?eventID=1262
   NOTE: Registration will be available at http://www.neaetc.org.
6. NEW! North America Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit Mobilizing Knowledge: Housing is HIV Prevention and Care
   
   Date: 06/03/2009 - 06/05/2009
   Description: The US National AIDS Housing Coalition (NAHC), working in collaboration with the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN) and the Department of Health, Behavior and Society of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, announces the fourth Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit, a meeting of leading health, housing and social service researchers and policy makers. The Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit series is an interdisciplinary, interactive forum for the presentation of research findings on the relationship of housing status and HIV prevention and care, coupled with dialogue on public policy implications and strategies among researchers, policy makers, and providers and consumers of HIV housing and services. The theme of Summit IV is Examining the Evidence: The Impact of Housing on HIV Prevention and Care, and the conveners invite abstracts presenting the results of scientific research, program evaluation, community-based interventions, and public policy strategies that reflect this theme. Both research and policy abstracts are encouraged, and abstracts may be submitted for oral or poster presentations.
   Sponsors: The National AIDS Housing Coalition (NAHC)
   Location: Double Tree Hotel Crystal City-National Airport, 300 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22202. (Please call 1-866-999-8439 for reservations and reference the National AIDS Housing Coalition)
   Contact: For more information contact NAHC, E-mail: nahc@nationalaidshousing.org; Phone: (202) 347-0333; Fax: (202) 347-3411; or access the Web site: http://nationalaidshousing.org/2008/08/save-the-date/