CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD IN PERINATAL HIV PREVENTION

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DESCRIPTION (Adapted from applicant's description): The purpose of this Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award is to provide Dr. Jeffrey Stringer, Instructor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), with sufficient protected time to 1) develop a broad base of understanding in the theoretical and practical aspects of clinical research; 2) gain experience in the conduct of methodologically-rigorous clinical research in the developing world, particularly in the area of perinatal HIV prevention; and 3) further develop his skills in decision analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and obstetrical outcomes research. These skills will be obtained in a systematic fashion, as outlined in this research career award application. Dr. Stringer will seek the Master's of Science degree in Public Health (MSPH) from UAB's Department of Epidemiology and Intemational Health, with a special emphasis on decision analysis, outcomes research, and clinical trials design. In addition to this formal didactic training, under the direction of his mentor, Dr. Sten Vermund, Dr. Stringer will be responsible for all aspects of a pilot clinical trial of perinatal HIV prevention strategies in Lusaka, Zambia, including planning, implementation, conduct, and analysis. This experience will provide the candidate with valuable practical experience and field expertise in the conduct of clinical research in the developing world. Additionally, under the direction of his Co-mentor, Dr. Robert Goldenberg, he will undertake an investigation of the relationships among subclinical chorioamnionitis, spontaneous preterm birth, and vertical HIV transmission, with special emphasis on the predictive value of a number of mid-pregnancy marker tests, utilizing specimens collected ancillary to a large randomized clinical trial. This experience will provide the candidate with expertise in a number of important laboratory techniques, specimen management, and complex statistical analyses. The cumulative effect of this award will be to enable Dr. Stringer to compete successfully for individual investigator NIH funding and ultimately to help advance the health and status of women and their infants in the developing world.