October 1, 2007

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

A. CIRA SPONSORED AIDS SEMINARS

1. NEW! YACS @ CIRA Seminar Series
   
   Date/Time: 10/18/07, 12:00 P.M. – 1:30 P.M. (Lunch included)
   Title: "HIV/AIDS and Sex Workers in China"
   Speaker(s): Susu Liao, Ph.D., from China
   Sponsor(s): Co-sponsored by CIRA and the Institution for Social and Policy Studies
   Location: CIRA, Ste. 200, Rm. 202, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
   Contact: Please RSVP to Elizabeth Eocaci-Tucker. For more information or directions, please call 764-4333, or visit the YACS @ CIRA Web site: http://cira.med.yale.edu/events/yacs.html.
2. NEW! THIS WEEK! UMPH! Seminar Series
   
   Date/Time: 10/03/07, 12:00 P.M. – 1:00 P.M.
   Title: "Should We Start Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV Patients?"
   Speaker(s): Scott Braithwaite, M.D., M.Sc., Assistant Professor of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine
   Sponsor(s): Co-sponsored by Using Modeling to Inform Public Health (UMPH!) and CIRA
   Location: LEPH Weinerman Room (3rd Fl.), 60 College St., New Haven, CT
   Contact: Scott Braithwaite, 203-932-5711, x4341

B. CIRA MEETINGS/ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. THIS WEEK! Executive Committee Meeting
   10/04/07, 10:30 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
   Location: CIRA, Ste. 200, Rm. 202, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
2. Peer Review
   10/09/07, 10:00 A.M. - 11:30 A.M.
   Location: CIRA, Ste. 200, Rm. 202, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
   Note: CIRA peer review provides an opportunity to enhance the quality of grant proposals and manuscripts written by CIRA scientists by sharing them with a multidisciplinary group of colleagues. The spirit of CIRA peer review is one of collegiality and respect; peer review is constructive rather than evaluative. Investigators use the feedback they receive as they see fit. We encourage you to have your proposal reviewed early in its development. If you would like to submit a grant proposal or manuscript for peer review, please contact Jon Atherton (jon.atherton@yale.edu; 764-4337)
3. Community Research (CR) Core Meeting
   10/10/07, 9:00 A.M. - 10:30 A.M.
   Location: CIRA, Ste. 200, Rm. 202, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
4. NEW! Clinical & Health Services Research (CHSR) Core Meeting
   10/11/07, 1:30 P.M. - 2:30 P.M.
   Location: CIRA, Ste. 200, Rm. 202, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
5. Interdisciplinary Research Methods (IRM) Core Meeting
   10/12/07, 1:00 P.M. - 2:30 P.M.
   Location: CIRA, Ste. 200, Rm. 202, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT

C. OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. NEW! "HIV/AIDS and Psychosocial Issues for the Non-Infectious Disease Provider"
   
   Date/Time: 10/13/07 8:00 A.M. – Noon
   Objectives: Implement the new (September 2006) revised CDC HIV screening recommendations in your practice. Identify behaviors that place patients at risk for acquiring HIV. List the necessary clinical tests required after a patient receives a positive HIV test. Interpret HIV/AIDS lab results. Describe the natural history of HIV infection and recognize stage of a patient's infection. Recognize the intersection of domestic violence/sexual assault and HIV/AIDS. Assess the role of domestic violence and sexual assault in the clinical management of HIV/AIDS patients. Demonstrate an appreciation of the psychosocial issues related to providing medical care to HIV infected patients.
   Speakers: Dr. Steve Aronin, Medical Director, Waterbury Hospital ID Clinic, Melanie Danyliw, MS, Director of Community Education, Women's Center of Greater Danbury
   Sponsors: CT AIDS Education & Training Center, Yale School of Nursing and New Milford Hospital Location: New Milford Hospital, 21 Elm St., New Milford, CT
   Contact: Register online at cme.yale.edu. If you have any questions, please contact the Center for Continuing Medical Education at 203-785-4578.
2. NEW! Notice of Intent to Publish a Request for Applications for Research on HIV/AIDS and Drug Use in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) (R03) (NOT-DA-07-024)
   
   The Sponsor intends to publish a Request for Applications (RFA) in the fall of 2007, with review and funding expected by the end of fiscal year 2008 (September 30, 2008), for small research grant applications (R03s) to advance knowledge and understanding about HIV/AIDS and drug abuse among men who have sex with men (MSM) participating in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS).
   Sponsor: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
   Contact: For more complete information please go to: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-DA-07-024.html.
3. NEW! Notice of Intent to Reissue a Request for Applications on Nutrition and Prevention, Care, and Treatment of HIV/AIDS (R01) (NOT-HD-07-020)
   
   In January 2007, the Sponsor issued a Request for Applications (RFA) entitled Nutrition and Prevention, Care, and Treatment of HIV/AIDS (R01). The NICHD plans to reissue this RFA in the fall of 2007, seeking research grant applications from domestic or foreign institutions to examine the impact of food and nutrition on prevention, care and treatment of HIV-infected and -affected women infants, and children. The goal of this program is to further understanding of the relationship between nutrition and HIV infection. Until now, most of the research on the nutrition and HIV relationship has been focused on the impact of the disease on metabolism and, in particular, the AIDS wasting syndrome. Little attention has been paid to the potential role of nutrition in relation to the infectivity of the virus, transmission of the virus, HIV pathogenesis and disease progression, resistance to opportunistic infections, or the efficacy of available interventions. The planned RFA is intended to stimulate and strengthen a multidisciplinary approach to a complex, under-researched area and to form a basis for future research and clinical care in the U.S. and globally.
   Sponsor: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
   Contact: For more complete information please go to: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-HD-07-020.html.
4. NEW! Call for Nominations! The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leaders program (CHLP)
   
   The deadline for receipt of brief nominations is October 19, 2007 (5 p.m. ET).
   This program is designed to recognize, support and sustain the capacity of individuals who demonstrate creativity, innovation, and commitment to improving health outcomes at the community level. Each year CHLP honors 10 outstanding and otherwise unrecognized individuals who have overcome daunting odds to expand access to health care and social services to underserved populations in communities across the United States. The Community Health Leaders award features: A financial award of $125,000 comprised of $105,000 to enhance the leader's program, and $20,000 as a personal gift to the leader in recognition of his/her contributions; technical assistance through consultation, phone and video-conferencing, and connections to other resources; facilitated communication with other Robert Wood Johnson Foundation programs and staff resources; and participation in an Annual Meeting with other Leaders.
   Contact: The Call for Nominations, eligibility and selection criteria, and other general program information can be found on the CHL Web site at http://www.communityhealthleaders.org/. For more information, contact Helen Dundas, Administrative Coordinator at HDundas@rwjf.org, or (609) 627-5947.
5. NIH is accepting LRP applications
   
   Deadline for online applications is 8:00 p.m. EST, December 1, 2007.
   NIH is inviting health professionals engaged in biomedical and behavioral research to apply online for a loan repayment award. The loan repayment programs (LRPs) are a vital component of our nation's efforts to recruit and retain highly qualified professionals to careers in research. NIH annually awards loan repayment contracts to approximately 1,600 health professionals with an average award of $52,000. More than 50% of the awards are made to individuals less than 5 years out of school. Approximately 40% of all new applicants are funded and 70% of renewals are funded.
   Contact: To access the online application or for program information, please visit the LRP Web site at http://www.lrp.nih.gov/. For assistance call the Helpline at 866.849.4047 or send email inquiries to lrp@nih.gov.
6. CALL FOR PAPERS! Special Issue on New Strategies in the Delivery of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Testing Services in the U.S.
   
   Submission Deadline for manuscripts is December 21, 2007.
   Public Health Reports (PHR), the peer-reviewed journal of the US Public Health Service and the Association of Schools of Public Health, has announced a call for papers to be published in a Special Issue on New Strategies in the Delivery of HIV Testing Services in the US. Manuscripts should advance the scientific discourse regarding new methods for delivery of HIV testing services, particularly those reporting on testing strategies among racial/ethnic minority groups and other groups disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic. Guest Editor for this Special Issue is Travis Sanchez of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All manuscripts approved by the Guest Editor and the PHR Editorial Committee will be forwarded for external peer review. Manuscripts should be emailed to the Editor of PHR, Robert Rinsky at the address below or mail to: Public Health Reports, 7774 Heatherglen Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45255.
   Contact: If you have any questions about this special issue, please contact Travis Sanchez (404-639-1742; tsanchez@cdc.org). If you have any questions about Public Health Reports, please contact Editor, Robert Rinsky, at 513-636-0257; robert.rinsky@cchmc.org.