August 21, 2006

• A. CIRA SPONSORED AIDS SEMINARS
• B. CIRA MEETINGS/ANNOUNCEMENTS
• C. OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

A. CIRA SPONSORED AIDS SEMINARS

1. NEW! YACS@CIRA: "HVC & IDU's"
   9/21/06 12:00 P.M. – 1:30 P.M.
   Brown bag lunch, cookies and drinks provided.
   Speaker: Holly Hagan, The Center for Drug Use and HIV Research at the National Development and Research Institutes, Inc.
   Please RSVP to elizabeth.eocaci-tucker@yale.edu by 9/14/06.
   Co-Sponsor: Yale School of Public Health's Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases (EMD)
   Location: 60 College Street, LEPH Room 608 New Haven, CT
   Contact: For more information or directions, please call 764-4333, email leif.mitchell@yale.edu or visit the YACS@CIRA Web site: http://cira.med.yale.edu/events/yacs.html.

B. CIRA MEETINGS/ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. THIS WEEK! Community Research (CR) Core Meeting
   8/24/06 10:00 A.M. – 11:30 A.M.
   Location: CIRA Conference Room, 40 Temple Street, Suite 1B, New Haven
2. International Research (IR) Core Meeting
   8/28/06 3:00 P.M. – 4:30 P.M.
   Location: CIRA Conference Room, 40 Temple Street, Suite 1B, New Haven
3. Peer Review
   8/29/06 2:00 P.M. –3:30 P.M.
   Location: CIRA Conference Room, 40 Temple Street, Suite 1B, New Haven
   Materials for peer review must be submitted one week in advance of the peer review meeting. If you would like to have a manuscript reviewed, please contact Debra Tompkins (debra.tompkins@yale.edu). If you would like to have a proposal reviewed as part of the process of affiliating your research project with CIRA, please contact Kim Blankenship (kim.blankenship@yale.edu). We encourage you to have your proposal reviewed early in its development. The purpose of peer review is to enhance the quality of proposals and publications from CIRA scientists by allowing them to benefit from the Center's expertise. The spirit of CIRA's peer review program is one of collegiality and respect; it is meant to be constructive rather than evaluative. Investigators use the feedback they receive as they see fit.
4. Interdisciplinary Research Methods (IRM) Core Meeting
   9/8/06 10:00 A.M. – 11:30 A.M.
   Location: CIRA Conference Room, 40 Temple Street, Suite 1B, New Haven
5. Executive Committee Meeting
   9/14/06 9:00 A.M. - 10:30 A.M.
   Location: CIRA Conference Room, 40 Temple Street, Suite 1B, New Haven
6. NEW! International Research (IR) Core Meeting
   9/25/06 3:00 P.M. – 4:30 P.M.
   Location: CIRA Conference Room, 40 Temple Street, Suite 1B, New Haven
7. NEW! Community Research (CR) Core Meeting
   9/28/06 10:00 A.M. – 11:30 A.M.
   Location: CIRA Conference Room, 40 Temple Street, Suite 1B, New Haven
8. RFA The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) is seeking proposals under a new program entitled "Innovative Pilot Projects in Priority Areas of HIV/AIDS Prevention Research." This program differs from our traditional pilot project program in the following ways:
   
   • The program aims to stimulate innovative research in specific priority areas.
   • The maximum award is $30,000.
   • Funds may be used to support Principal Investigator effort.
   • All investigators are eligible to apply, irrespective of their seniority or previous HIV research experience.
   • There will be a two-stage application process.
   For complete information on this RFA please go to: http://cira.med.yale.edu/opportunities/pilotrfa_pas.html
9. CIRA INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AWARDS Availability Extended to December 2006! For more details go to http://cira.med.yale.edu/opportunities/cita_rfa.html or contact Reshma Trasi (reshma.trasi@yale.edu)
10. CIRA International Research (IR) Core Consultations
    The IR Core is offering CIRA-affiliated scientists and CIRA Postdoctoral Fellows the opportunity to call on its expertise through Core Consultations. A portion of the Core meetings, held on the fourth Monday of every month from 3:00-4:30 pm, will be available for scientists seeking guidance or the exchange of ideas about an ongoing or new international HIV/AIDS research project.
    
    The IR Core members include internationally renowned scientists from diverse disciplinary backgrounds like epidemiology, medicine, ethics, sociology, economics, and community research. Their research experience spans countries like China, India, Russia, South Africa and many more. Our IR Core members have designed and implemented preventive HIV/AIDS research projects with injection drug users, sex workers, orphans and vulnerable children and several other high-risk and vulnerable groups.
    
    At the IR Core meeting, the scientist receiving the Consultation will first provide a brief, informal overview of the research project and the issues he or she would like addressed by the Core. This will be followed by an informal, non-evaluative discussion. Examples of issues that might be discussed include study design, finding international collaborators, ethical issues, and how current research could lead to future research proposals.
    
    We hope that scientists will take advantage of this opportunity to receive feedback from their peers. Kindly email Reshma Trasi (reshma.trasi@yale.edu) if you would like to schedule a Consultation or if you have any questions.

B. OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. NEW! The Hartford HIV Forum - "CONNECT Project"
   9/12/06 12:00 P.M. – 1:30 P.M. (Lunch will be provided)
   Speaker: Rick Altice, MD; Associate Professor of Medicine; Director, HIV in Prisons Program; Director, Community Health Care Van.
   Sponsors: The Institute for Community Research (ICR) and The CT AIDS Education & Training Center (CAETC)
   Location: Institute for Community Research, 2 Hartford Square West, Suite 100, 146 Wyllys St., Hartford, CT. 06106 Free parking on Wyllys St.
   Contact: Please RSVP to: (860) 278-2044. For additional information, visit their Web site at: www.incommunityresearch.org
2. NEW! Greater New Haven HIV/AIDS Clinical Series: "International AIDS Conference Update"
   9/14/06 Noon – 1:00 P.M. Lunch will be provided
   Speaker: Yale AIDS Program Faculty
   Sponsors: The Yale AIDS Program & The CT AIDS Education & Training Center (CAETC)
   Location: 135 College St, 3rd Floor Conference Room, New Haven, CT
   Contact: Please RSVP to CAETC@yale.edu or (203) 737-2312.
   
3. NEW! Request for Information (RFI): Proposed Change in Grant Appendix Materials (NOT-OD-06-088)
   Issued by: National Institutes of Health (NIH) & Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
   The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) are evaluating guidelines for grant application appendixes in an effort to streamline the application and review processes. This RFI requests input from interested applicants, reviewers and other members of the research community regarding the way appendix materials should be used in the grant submission, review and management process. Comments will be considered in the development of new policies on appendix materials for various grant programs. A similar Request for Information was published in the Federal Register on July 31, 2006.
   Contact: For more information go to: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-06-088.html
4. SF424(R&R) Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile Form Issue – Workaround for Adding More Than Eight Senior/Key Persons (NOT-OD-06-087)
   Issued by: National Institutes of Health (NIH) & Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
   On June 15, 2006, NIH/AHRQ began posting new Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) with the new version (Version 2) of the SF424 (R&R) and agency-specific (labeled PHS 398) electronic application forms. In addition, many existing FOAs were updated to include the new Version 2 forms and expire the older application packages. The Competition ID of the new application packages have been populated with the label "VERSION-2-FORMS" for easy identification. The Competition ID appears at the top of the page when you open an application package with the PureEdge viewer. See NOT-OD-06-078 and NOT-OD-06-085 for details on the phase in of the Version 2 forms. They have identified an issue with the Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile form component included in the Version 2 packages. The section of the PureEdge form that allows attachments for Additional Senior/Key Person Profiles, Additional Biographical Sketches, and Additional Current and Pending Support is missing. Without this section, applications are limited to eight Senior Key Persons. Grants.gov is working to correct the form as quickly as possible.
   Contact: For more information go to: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-06-087.html
5. CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS HIV/AIDS: The Development Challenge
   Initial deadline of September 15, 2006
   Volume 3.1 of the McGill International Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (JSDLP) will be a special issue entitled "HIV/AIDS: The Development Challenge". This special issue of the JSDLP seeks to provide a forum for debate and discussion on the linkages between HIV/AIDS and sustainable development. We aim to especially present and address legal and policy issues of critical importance to both HIV/AIDS and sustainable development. These include, for example, access to primary education and property rights; women's rights including the right to own and inherit property; efforts to reduce or eliminate foreign debt; access to treatment, intellectual property rights and the TRIPS Agreement; the role of international human rights law in addressing HIV/AIDS; the use of principles of law related to sustainable development (as identified in the 2002 New Delhi Declaration) in fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
   Who May Submit: As a diversity of perspectives is essential to a productive debate of the issues, submissions are encouraged from academics, policy-makers, practitioners, NGO representatives and students alike. The JSDLP accepts submissions in English and French.
   How to Submit: Articles are to be submitted by email to jsdlp.law@mcgill.ca or via regular mail to the address below (if submitting via regular mail, please include a disk with the article on it). Articles should be in Microsoft Word format. The JSDLP asks that it be advised if the article has been submitted to other periodicals.
   Contact: Email jsdlp.law@mcgill.ca should you have any questions regarding the JSDLP or the HIV/AIDS Special Issue in particular. You are also encouraged to visit their website at www.law.mcgill.ca/jsdlp