Principles of STD/HIV Research Course

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ABSTRACT The Annual Course on Principles of STD and HIV Research was first held in 1993 to provide an intensive overview of skills needed to pursue a research career in the field of STD/HIV. Since then, approximately 2,970 trainees have attended the course, including many women and racial/ethnic minority students. Increasingly, an interdisciplinary approach has become essential in designing studies and in obtaining funding for STD/HIV research. Establishing familiarity with research perspectives outside one's own discipline provides early stage investigators with tools for continued interdisciplinary learning, for collaboration in research teams, and for maintaining a broad scope of investigative possibilities. This course offers a unique opportunity for state-of-the- art introductory training in behavioral, clinical, epidemiologic, statistical, implementation, and basic science research by providing a practically oriented overview of language and skills common to these broad disciplines. Course duration is limited to two weeks to encourage individuals who are establishing active research careers and allow those who reside outside of the local area to attend. In addition, to expand access for students unable to attend in-person, an on-line version of the course has been developed for asynchronous group learning at international sites. Course objectives are to: 1) Introduce early stage investigators to critical research areas and emerging questions in the field of STD/HIV; 2) Familiarize investigators with research techniques and tools needed to conduct scientifically and ethically sound studies, including study design, experimental approach, development of instruments for data collection, human subjects considerations, and data analysis; 3) Teach trainees the fundamentals of different disciplines involved in STD/HIV research in order to foster research collaborations; and 4) Discuss strategies for successfully finding a mentor, competing for research funds and publishing one's work. The course integrates six tracks: 1) Essentials of STD/HIV interdisciplinary research; 2) Clinical and epidemiologic aspects of infections; 3) Pathogenesis of specific infections; 4) Behavioral research methods and research in special populations; 5) Implementation Science and health economics; and 6) Strategies for successful and ethical research. The course proceedings are disseminated on a participant website with access restricted to registered students. The course website contains learning objectives, speakers' slides, audio recordings of lectures, and key references. The course is rigorously evaluated and participant feedback informs annual updates and innovations to course content and organization.