Since FY 2020, the NIH has funded implementation science research projects through Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative. These projects cross all four domains (diagnose, treat, prevent and respond) of EHE efforts and work in EHE jurisdictions. Since it’s inception, RAISE has worked in consultation with fifteen projects. The projects listed below are those RAISE currently works with.
FY 2024 EHE Research Projects
Are Ending the HIV Epidemic goals attainable across race/ethnic groups, risk groups, and settings?
New York University School of Medicine
EHE Jurisdiction: Shelby County, TN
Principal Investigator: Scott Braithwaite
Project Abstract In collaboration with the Shelby County Health Department, which has jurisdiction over Memphis as well as rural northwest Mississippi and Arkansas, this project proposes to inform policy decisions towards improving HIV outcomes for population-level and subgroup-specific HIV goals in three diverse settings that together typify high incidence locations in the U.S. HIV epidemic (New York City, Memphis, and northwest Mississippi) by using mathematical modeling to simulate alternative ways to distribute resources across interventions, settings, and target populations to reduce HIV incidence and improve overall health.
FY 2023 EHE Supplemental Research Projects
For FY 2023, RAISE was assigned to work with seven EHE research projects focused on cluster, detection and response (CDR), pillar 4 of the EHE initiative. Please see below for a description of the projects.
Using Geospatial Mapping and Epidemiologic Methods to Identify and Support Persons who Inject Drugs (PWID) at risk for HIV in Alabama
University of Alabama at Birmingham CFAR
EHE Jurisdiction: Alabama
Principal Investigator: Ellen Eaton
Alabamians struggle with late HIV diagnosis and suboptimal linkage and retention in HIV care, at least in part due to poverty, rurality, and lack of public health infrastructure and Medicaid expansion. Further, historic events have impacted HIV efforts in AL in myriad ways, halting progress towards the EHE goals: the COVID-19 pandemic and the Drug Overdose Crisis. The objective of this application is to 1) leverage hospital and community-level data to identify Alabama counties at greatest risk for an HIV outbreak among people who inject drugs and 2) engage community partners to identify needs and opportunities to build community capacity. The overall goal of this proposal is to inform implementation strategies to integrate person-centered HIV, harm reduction, and addiction services for people who inject drugs in Alabama.
AIDSVu 2.0: Integrating Molecular Surveillance and HIV Reporting Data for Public Health
University of California San Diego CFAR
EHE Jurisdiction: Georgia
Principal Investigators: Susan Little & Patrick Sullivan
The current state-of-the-art web platform for national HIV prevention and treatment data is AIDSVu, an interactive online mapping tool that visualizes the state of HIV across United States. Unfortunately, neither this platform nor any other address the “Respond” pillar by integrating HIV sequence data with other EHE metrics to assist local public health efforts. We propose a proof-of-principle study to evaluate the potential benefits of incorporating regional molecular HIV surveillance data into a secure password-protected version of the existing AIDSVu platform in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). This project will develop and test concepts for a stakeholder-guided interactive online epidemiologic tool, hosted on AIDSVu, that integrates molecular HIV surveillance data with other EHE metrics and effectively guides regional prevention strategies across the state of Georgia. Custom reports and data visualizations included in the prototype design will be guided by regional stakeholders to ensure that the presented data outputs enhance regional HIV prevention strategies. Study partners will include Georgia DPH, people with lived experience, and investigators at Emory, UC San Diego, and Johns Hopkins University.
Creation of a novel Geospatial Information System (GIS)-based Reportable Diseases Mapping Tool (REDMAP) for the Cuyahoga County Board of Health to optimize EHE programming
Rustbelt CFAR
EHE Jurisdiction: Cuyahoga County, OH
Principal Investigator: Justin Yax
Real-time knowledge of HIV-related service gaps, health disparities and outbreaks in Cuyahoga County depends upon comprehensive and real-time knowledge of the HIV-related activities of all HIV-related partners in Cuyahoga County. Yet currently HIV-testing, linkage and prevention programs occur among multiple siloed settings. Though State funding and State law facilitate the sharing of some information related to HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) programming, significant gaps in data remain. This results in delayed reporting or incomplete analysis of outbreaks and incomplete knowledge of service gaps and health disparities within our community. The goal of our proposal is to create dynamic collaborative multi-institutional data stream of EHE-related data to the GIS department at CCBH so service gaps, health disparities and outbreaks related to HIV spread can be optimally mapped and efficiently targeted.
Adding HIV Recency Testing to Public Health Surveillance
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill CFAR
EHE Jurisdiction: Orange County, NC & Mecklenburg County, NC
Principal Investigator: Shuntai Zhou
The objective of the project is to develop an implementation strategy to add a next gen sequencing (NGS)-based recency assay to the state HIV surveillance system in North Carolina, and use the data collected during the project period to study the factors that are associated with the transmission cluster growth. The identification of transmission networks and prompt intervention to these clusters are crucial to the HIV ending the epidemic (EHE) initiative. HIV transmission clusters with increasing member of recent infections have high priority for the public health intervention. We have initiated a pilot system with North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) to add recency testing and recency-coupled transmission network detection to a proportion of new HIV diagnoses since 2018. In the project, we will explore the feasibility and optimal procedures to expand this platform to serve the residents in the high HIV burden Mecklenburg County. We will engage stakeholders including public health departments, community organizations, providers and laboratory experts to address the barriers and facilitators for the wider implementation of the assay in the public health surveillance system.
Identifying novel data-driven partner services strategies to address the HIV and syphilis syndemic among MSM
John Hopkins University CFAR
EHE Jurisdiction: Baltimore City, MD
Principal Investigator: Christina Schumacher
The goal of this study is to develop novel network data-driven partner services strategies to address the HIV and syphilis syndemic among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM). Specifically, we seek to identify new approaches to contact tracing (also referred to as partner services) that could be implemented in real-world public health practice and that may improve the efficiency of identifying MSM with high transmission potential for prevention services in Baltimore City, Maryland. Through secondary data analysis of information collected during the Understanding Sexual Health in NEtworks study, a prospective cohort of 437 MSM in Baltimore City and qualitative data analyses, we will: 1) determine the sociodemographic, behavioral and geospatial characteristics of MSM that best identify those who exhibit high network connectivity; 2) compare a novel contact tracing strategy which prioritizes recently infected individuals who are highly connected to STI/HIV transmission networks to the standard of care strategy (i.e., current contact tracing methods which only prioritize recently infected individuals); and 3) identify barriers and facilitators to implementation of new partner services strategies among public health practitioners and community members. Findings will provide data on proof of concept and feasibility of alternative novel network data-driven prioritization strategies to improve the effectiveness of partner services in reducing HIV and syphilis transmission. Results also will inform a future work to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of these novel strategies.
Responding to HIV Clusters in Atlanta with Culturally Competent Linkage to Services (REACCTS)
Emory CFAR
EHE Jurisdiction: Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, & Gwinnett Counties, GA
Principal Investigator: Jane Scott & Carlos Saldana
To improve the response to HIV clusters in Metro Atlanta, we are partnering with established CBOs that serve communities disproportionately impacted by HIV in Atlanta to design and implement training for a culturally competent cross-jurisdictional CDR expert to improve partner services, to reach associated transmission clusters and risk networks, and to offer linkage to HIV services.
Evaluating HIV testing capacity in nonclinical HSO-alternative service facilities to scale-up cluster detection and response strategies for people who inject drugs (PWID) in Philadelphia
Penn Mental Health AIDS Research Center
EHE Jurisdiction: Philadelphia County, PA
Principal Investigator: Steven Meanley