iMAN: Integrated Molecular & Affiliation Network Analysis of HIV Transmission

 描述（由申请人提供）：我们提出了一项研究，“iMAN：HIV传播的综合分子和关联网络分析”，该研究将分子系统发育分析与系统科学方法相结合，以促进我们对人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）传播的场所关联网络的理解。iMAN将根据一个正在进行的多地点纵向联系网络项目（YMAP：青年男子联系项目）的队列，对德克萨斯州休斯顿和伊利诺伊州芝加哥16至29岁的男男性行为青年黑人男子（YBMSM）进行艾滋病毒最高风险群体的调查。iMAN旨在通过引入一种基于生物学验证的解决人类健康行为基本问题的新方法，进一步推进联系网络分析的实用性，以减轻YBMSM中HIV感染率的种族/民族健康差异。YBMSM在各种环境中社交，包括真实的和虚拟的，这些场所可能涉及增加艾滋病毒/性传播感染（STI）获得风险的网络关系。关联网络分析可以作为一种方法工具，调查个人与危险社会场所的关联与艾滋病毒风险或预防之间的关联。然而，仅仅进行隶属关系网络分析在提供有根据的结果方面有其局限性。因此，我们建议使用HIV病毒本身的生物标记来验证我们的发现。iMAN将把系统发育技术应用于隶属网络分析，以多层次的方法同时分析社会关系（流行病学信息）和分子病毒相关性（分子信息）。iMAN建议使用系统发育分析，以帮助描述艾滋病毒感染的聚类模式内YBMSM从不同的模式的场地隶属关系。iMAN的目的是通过使用最先进的分子流行病学方法确定不同城市感染艾滋病毒的YBMSM的场所聚集来表征艾滋病毒传播的流行病学。将进一步检查由此产生的基于场地和遗传的传播集群，以描述休斯顿和芝加哥疫情的传播模式，以及比较和对比两个城市之间的模式。我们的具体目标是（1）确定艾滋病毒传播集群和描述流行病传播的模式，通过识别（a）艾滋病毒感染的YBMSM之间的遗传集群使用系统发育分析，和（B）基于场所的社会集群使用隶属网络分析;（2）比较遗传集群和基于场所的社会集群，以确定基于场所的艾滋病毒风险在地方一级。这项研究的结果预计将提供新的方向，为发展基于场所的网络干预分子科学的通知，并对网络干预，针对那些最有可能感染艾滋病毒/性传播感染的影响。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose a study, "iMAN: integrated Molecular & Affiliation Network Analysis of HIV Transmission," which integrates molecular phylogenetic analysis with systems science methodologies to advance our understanding of the venue-based affiliation networks whereby the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is transmitted. iMAN will examine the highest HIV-risk group, young Black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) aged 16 to 29 in Houston, TX, and Chicago, IL, based on the cohorts of an ongoing multi-site longitudinal affiliation network project (YMAP: Young Men's Affiliation Project). iMAN aims to further advance the utility of affiliation network analysis by introducing a novel way of addressin fundamental questions about human health behavior, grounded in biological validation, to alleviate racial/ethnic health disparities in HIV-infection rates in regard to YBMSM. YBMSM socialize in a variety of contexts, both real and virtual, and these venues can involve network relationships that increase the risk of HIV/sexually-transmitted infections (STI) acquisition. Affiliation network analysis can serve as a methodological tool to investigate associations between individuals' affiliations with risky social venues and HIV risk or prevention. Affiliation network analysis alone, however, has limitations in providing grounded results. Thus, we propose to validate our findings using biological markers in the HIV virus itself. iMAN will apply phylogenetic techniques to the affiliation network analysis to simultaneously analyze social relations (epidemiology information) and molecular viral relatedness (molecular information) in a multi-level approach. iMAN proposes to use phylogenetic analysis to help characterize the clustering patterns of HIV infection within YBMSM from different patterns of venue affiliation. The objective of iMAN is to characterize the epidemiology of HIV transmission by identifying venue-based clustering of HIV-infected YBMSM across different cities using state-of-the-art molecular epidemiology methods. The resulting venue- based and genetic transmission clusters will be further examined to describe the transmission patterns of the epidemic in Houston and Chicago as well as to compare and contrast the patterns between the two cities. Our specific aims are to (1) identify HIV-transmission clusters and describe the patterns of epidemic spread by identifying (a) genetic clusters between HIV-infected YBMSM using phylogenetic analysis, and (b) venue- based social clusters using affiliation network analysis; (2) compare genetic clusters and venue-based social clusters to determine venue-based HIV risk at the local level. The findings from this research are expected to provide new directions for developing venue-based network interventions informed by molecular science and to have an impact on network interventions that target those most at risk of HIV/STI infection.