October 29, 2007

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

A. CIRA SPONSORED AIDS SEMINARS

1. YACS @ CIRA Seminar Series
   
   Date/Time: Thursday, 11/08/07, 12:00 P.M. – 1:30 P.M. (Lunch included)
   Title: "HIV/AIDS and Stigma"
   Speaker(s): Jack Dovidio, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Yale University
   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! Research In Progress Seminar Series
   
   Date/Time: Thursday, 10/26/07, 2:00 P.M. – 3:30 P.M.
   Title: "Antecedents and Consequences of Caregiving Structure"
   Speaker(s): Alexey Maximovich, M.P.H.
   Sponsor(s): Office of International Training (OIT)
   Location: CIRA, Ste. 200, Rm. 202, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
   

B. CIRA MEETINGS/ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. THIS WEEK! Community Advisory Board (CAB) Meeting
   Date/Time: Wednesday, 10/31/07, 2:00 P.M. - 3:30 P.M.
   Location: CIRA, Ste. 200, Rm. 202, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
2. THIS WEEK! Executive Committee Meeting
   Date/Time: Thursday, 11/01/07, 10:00 A.M. - 11:30 P.M.
   Location: CIRA, Ste. 200, Rm. 223, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
3. THIS WEEK! Clinical & Health Services Research (CHSR) Core Meeting
   Date/Time: Thursday, 11/01/07, 1:30 P.M. - 2:30 P.M.
   Location: CIRA, Ste. 200, Rm. 202, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
4. Community Research (CR) Core Meeting
   Date/Time: Wednesday, 11/07/07, 9:00 A.M. - 10:30 A.M.
   Location: CIRA, Ste. 200, Rm. 202, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT
5. Peer Review
   Date/Time: Wednesday, 11/07/07, 2:00 P.M. - 3:30 P.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)
6. Interdisciplinary Research Methods (IRM) Core Meeting
   Date/Time: Friday, 11/09/07, 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! THIS WEEK! "The Bridgeport Community HIV Forum - “Understanding Your Labs”
   
   Date/Time: Wednesday, 10/31/07, 12:00 P.M.-1:00 P.M.
   (Registration starts at 11:30 A.M.)
   Laboratory tests are tools helpful in evaluating the health status of an individual. It is important to realize that laboratory results may be outside of the so-called "normal range" for many reasons. These variations may be due to such things as race, dietetic preference, age, sex, menstrual cycle, degree of physical activity, problems with collection and/or handling of the specimen, non-prescription drugs (aspirin, cold medications, vitamins, etc.), prescription drugs, alcohol intake and a number of non-illness-related factors.
   Sponsors: The CT AIDS Education & Training Center (CAETC) and the Evergreen Network
   Speaker: Paola Greiger, MD, Mt. Vernon Hospital
   Location: First Baptist Church, Brown Room, 126 Washington Ave., Bridgeport, CT
   Contact: You must RSVP to be assured lunch: CAETC@yale.edu or (203) 737-2312 or to the Evergreen Network at 203-576-0677
2. NEW! Request for Information (RFI): To Solicit Input and Ideas on Priorities in Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (NOT-OD-08-008)
   
   Release Date: October 22, 2007 Response Date: November 26, 2007
   The NIH is seeking input from the scientific community, health professionals, patient advocates, and the general public about current and emerging priorities in basic Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (bBSSR) that may offer potential for improving and accelerating health research and its impact on the health of the Nation. This information will aid OPASI, working with OBSSR expertise, in developing a congressionally-requested strategic plan for bBSSR at the NIH. Relevant text from the House Appropriations Committee request is available at http://www.bBSSRresponse.com/
   Sponsors: National Institutes of Health, Office of the Director, Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives (OPASI) and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR).
   Contact: Deborah H. Olster, Ph.D., Deputy Director, OBSSR, (301) 402-1147, email: OlsterD@od.nih.gov and James P. Stansbury, Ph.D., M.P.H., AAAS Fellow, OBSSR, (301) 402-3930, email: stansburyj@od.nih.gov
   
3. NEW! HEAR ME Project: HIV/AIDS Story-Writing/Video Competition
   
   Deadline: 12/01/07
   The HEAR ME Project is again sponsoring its annual HIV/AIDS story writing competition. Young people ages 14 to 22 are encouraged to submit their original stories, either real or made up, about vulnerability to HIV and AIDS. The HEAR ME Project has also launched a new video contest that is taking place at the same time as the annual story-writing contest.
   Sponsors: The HEAR ME Project.
   Contact: For more information please visit: http://www.hearmeproject.org/ Email all questions to: contest@hearmeproject.org
   
4. Call for Abstracts Ntl Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit III
   
   Abstracts are due 11/15/07, and notification of acceptance will be emailed no later than 12/31/07. Conference fees will be waived for presenting authors.
   The National AIDS Housing Coalition (NAHC), working in collaboration with the Department of Health, Behavior and Society of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is pleased to announce the third National Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit, a meeting of leading health, housing and social service researchers and policy makers, to be held March 5th – 7th, 2008, at the Pier 5 Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. 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 National Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit III Call for Abstracts and Concept Paper are available at:
   http://www.nationalaidshousing.org/HousingandHIV-AIDSResearchSummit.htm
   Questions can be directed to nahc@nationalaidshousing.org.
5. "Understanding and Managing Nucleoside/Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor Toxicity in HIV Therapy"
   
   Date/Time: Tuesday, 11/06/07, 8:00 A.M.-9:00 P.M. (Breakfast will be provided)
   Speaker: Dr. Paul Sax, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Infectious Disease Practitioner, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston. Dr. Sax is Clinical Director of the HIV Program and Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is actively involved in HIV research, clinical practice, and teaching. His research interests include clinical trials of new antiretroviral therapies, the cost-effectiveness of HIV management strategies, complications of antiretroviral treatment, and the identification, treatment, and outcome of primary HIV infection.
   Sponsor: CT AIDS Education and Training Center (CAETC)
   Location: Yale School of Nursing, Room 105, 1st Level, 100 Church St. South, New Haven, CT
   Contact: caetc@yale.edu or 203-737-2312 to RSVP
6. The New York HIV Research Centers Consortium: "Living with HIV: Challenges for Interdisciplinary Research"
   
   Date/Time: Tuesday, 11/27/07, 9:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M. Deadline for registration is 11/15/07
   The advent of life-extending antiretroviral medications more than a decade ago has presented new challenges for HIV-infected people and their health care providers in coping with HIV infection, maximizing quality of life, and minimizing unsafe sexual and drug using risk behaviors. This conference will use the multiple perspectives of behavioral/social, clinical, and basic biomedical sciences as well as community models to identify critical areas for interdisciplinary research that address health, risk, access to care, and quality of life for diverse HIV+ populations in the greater tristate New York metropolitan area.
   Location: New York University's Kimmel Center, KC Eisner & Lubin Auditorium - 4th Floor located at 60 Washington Square South, New York, NY
   Sponsors: The New York HIV Research Centers Consortium, The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) & New York/New Jersey AIDS Education & Training Center (AETC)
   Contact: Melissa White, MSSW, Scientific Coordinator, HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies 212-543-5845, whiteme@pi.cpmc.columbia.edu. Participants should register online at the following Web site: http://cduhr.ndri.org/nyhiv/conference.aspx, where the conference agenda is also posted.
7. The Greenwall Fellowship Program in Bioethics and Health Policy
   
   The deadline for receipt of applications is December 14, 2007.
   This is an interdisciplinary program sponsored jointly by Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities, is offering interdisciplinary, two-year Fellowships for early-career legal scholars with outstanding potential. Appointments will begin in September 2008. The Greenwall Fellowship in Law uniquely combines opportunities for in-depth, mentored research and high-impact public service. Each Fellow will undertake an individualized program of independent research and writing, complemented by a public-service experience in a health policy setting of the Fellow's choosing. Fellows will also enjoy ample opportunity for scholarly interaction (including participation in faculty research workshops) with a broad range of faculty at Georgetown (in the Law Center, the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, and the Philosophy Department) and at Johns Hopkins (in the Berman Institute of Bioethics, the Philosophy Department, the School of Medicine, and the Bloomberg School of Public Health), as well as with scholars at leading Washington "think tanks." The stipend will be approximately $57,000 per year. No prior health law or bioethics experience is required. Please send a curriculum vitae, three letters of reference, a writing sample, undergraduate and graduate transcripts, and a personal statement to: Dr. Ruth Faden, Greenwall Fellowship Program, c/o Bioethics Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 100 N. Charles St., Suite 740, Baltimore, MD 21201. The personal statement should include a proposed agenda for scholarship or research (this need not be detailed, but you should articulate the core idea you would like to develop or the research question you want to investigate). It should also address: (1) unique dimensions of your background, (2) the evolution of your research and other professional interests, and (3) how the Greenwall Fellowship might contribute to your ability to fulfill your career aspirations.
   Contact: For further information, please visit their Web site at: http://www.bioethicsinstitute.org/web/page/408/sectionid/378/pagelevel/2/interior.asp. Questions not answered by the Web site should be addressed to fellows@jhsph.edu.
8. National Cancer Institute Symposium Showcases HIV/AIDS Research and Introduces a New Center of Excellence in HIV/AIDS and Cancer Virology
   
   Date/Time: Thursday, 11/01/07 - Friday, 11/02/07, 8:45 A.M. – 5:20 P.M.
   The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, is holding a symposium to celebrate and showcase several important historic achievements in HIV/AIDS research made by former and current NCI scientists, introduce a new Center of Excellence for HIV/AIDS and cancer virology, and discuss new directions in the continuing effort to combat HIV infection, the devastating consequences of AIDS, and AIDS-related cancers. Topics at the symposium will include: AIDS Malignancies, HIV Virology and Molecular Pathogenesis, Immunology/Immunopathology, Vaccines/Immunotherapy, Epidemiology and Drug Development/Resistance.
   Presenters: John Niederhuber, M.D., Director, NCI; Robert Gallo, M.D., Director, Institute Of Human Virology; Anthony Fauci, M.D., Director, National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases; Beatrice Hahn, M.D., Professor, University Of Alabama-Birmingham; Stuart Le Grice, Ph.D., Head, Center Of Excellence In Hiv/Aids And Cancer Virology
   Location: Masur Auditorium, Bldg 10, National Institutes Of Health, Bethesda, MD
   Contact: For more information, go to: http://web.ncifcrf.gov/events/hivaidsresearch2007.
9. 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.