Sexual Networks and HIV Transmission Clusters among Substance Using MSM

MSM 物质使用者中的性网络和 HIV 传播集群

• 批准号: 9518780
• 负责人: Heather Alisa Pines
• 金额: $ 18.01万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-08-01 至 2020-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9518780
• 关键词: AIDS prevention; Adult; Affect; Alcohol consumption; Alcohol or Other Drugs use; Amyl Nitrite; Anus; Automobile Driving; California; Characteristics; Cocaine; Communicable Diseases; Communities; Contact Tracing; Cost Control; Data; Development; Development Plans; Disease; Educational workshop; Epidemic; Epidemiology; Ethics; Funding; Gays; Genetic; Goals; HIV; HIV Infections; HIV Seropositivity; Heterogeneity; Human immunodeficiency virus test; Immunization; Incidence; Individual; Interdisciplinary Study; Interruption; Knowledge; Link; Mentored Research Scientist Development Award; Mentors; Methamphetamine; Methods; Mexico; National Institute of Drug Abuse; Network-based; Newly Diagnosed; Parents; Pathway Analysis; Pattern; Population; Positioning Attribute; Prevalence; Prevention; Prevention Research; Prevention program; Prevention strategy; Preventive Intervention; Public Health; Reporting; Research; Research Activity; Research Infrastructure; Research Methodology; Research Personnel; Research Project Grants; Resource Allocation; Resources; Risk; Science; Sequence Analysis; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Social Network; Structure; Time; Training; Training Activity; United States National Institutes of Health; Universities; aged; base; binge drinking; career; career development; compare effectiveness; contextual factors; cost effective; design; experience; hands on research; high risk; injection drug use; innovation; low and middle-income countries; male; men who have sex with men; methamphetamine use; pre-exposure prophylaxis; prevention service; public health relevance; reproductive; sex; sex risk; simulation; skills; transmission process; virus genetics

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) will provide Dr. Heather A. Pines with the training and experience needed to facilitate her transition toward research independence in HIV prevention science. Dr. Pines' career development plan is designed to augment her training in epidemiology and allow her to: 1) develop expertise in social network analysis, 2) acquire skills in the use of genetic sequence analysis methods to identify HIV transmission clusters (i.e., individuals with genetically related HIV infections), 3) obtain further training in the ethical conduct of research, and 4) build the sklls necessary for a successful academic career. These training goals will be achieved through didactic courses, workshops, hands-on research, and mentoring from an interdisciplinary team of experts. Global disparities in resource allocation to HIV prevention services may limit the promise of recent breakthroughs in HIV prevention science, particularly among vulnerable substance using populations, such as men who have sex with men (MSM), in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Innovative research that integrates social network and genetic sequence analysis methods to direct the delivery of biomedical HIV prevention strategies to individuals at greatest risk may help maximize their impact, control costs, and facilitate their implementation in the context of limited prevention resources. To this end, the overall objective of Dr. Pines' research project is to inform the development of comprehensive HIV prevention programs that leverage information on sexual network characteristics to interrupt HIV transmission among MSM in LMIC. The project will be embedded in a NIDA study among MSM in Tijuana, Mexico (R01DA037811; PI: Patterson), to capitalize on its research infrastructure and the expertise of its bi-national collaborators, and provide Dr. Pines with the opportunity to apply her newly acquired skills in social network and genetic sequence analysis. Pilot data suggest elevated rates of substance use and associated sexual risk behaviors may be driving the HIV epidemic among MSM in Tijuana. Thus, understanding the impact of substance use on sexual network characteristics and HIV transmission dynamics among MSM will be a major focus of this research. Specifically, the project aims to: 1) examine the influence of mean degree (number of male anal intercourse partners), the degree distribution, and sexual mixing patterns on overall sexual network structure among MSM; 2) identify individual, sexual network compositional, and socio-contextual factors associated with degree; and 3) determine whether sexual mixing patterns are associated with HIV transmission cluster membership. Findings from this project will be critical to Dr. Pines' development of an R01 proposal that integrates epidemiologic, social network, and genetic sequence analysis methods to advance HIV prevention science. These training and research activities will position Dr. Pines as the only researcher in the Division of Global Public Health at the University of California, San Diego with this unique skill set and enable her to develop an independent research career.

 描述(由申请者提供)：这项指导研究科学家发展奖(K01)将为Heather A.Pines博士提供所需的培训和经验，以促进她向艾滋病毒预防科学研究独立性的过渡。派恩斯博士的职业发展计划旨在加强她在流行病学方面的培训，使她能够：1)发展社交网络分析方面的专业知识；2)掌握使用基因序列分析方法识别艾滋病毒传播群组(即与艾滋病毒感染基因相关的个人)的技能；3)获得研究伦理方面的进一步培训；4)建立成功学术生涯所必需的技能。这些培训目标将通过授课课程、研讨会、实践研究和跨学科专家团队的指导来实现。分配给艾滋病毒预防服务的资源的全球差异可能会限制艾滋病毒预防科学最近取得突破的前景，特别是在使用易受伤害物质的人群中，例如低收入和中等收入国家的男男性行为者(MSM)。创新研究结合社会网络和基因序列分析方法，指导将生物医学艾滋病毒预防战略交付给风险最高的个人，可能有助于在有限的预防资源背景下最大限度地发挥其影响，控制成本，并促进其实施。为此，派恩斯博士的研究项目的总体目标是为制定全面的艾滋病毒预防计划提供信息，这些计划利用有关性网络特征的信息来阻断LMIC男男性接触者之间的艾滋病毒传播。该项目将嵌入NIDA在墨西哥提华纳MSM中进行的研究(R01DA037811；PI：Patterson)，以利用其研究基础设施及其两国合作者的专业知识，并为Pines博士提供在社交网络和基因序列分析方面应用她新获得的技能的机会。试点数据表明，药物使用率的上升和相关的性危险行为可能是提华纳男男性接触者中艾滋病毒流行的原因。因此，了解吸毒对男男性接触者的性网络特征和HIV传播动态的影响将是本研究的主要重点。具体地说，该项目的目的是：1)检查平均程度(男性肛交伴侣的数量)、程度分布和性混合模式对男男性接触者总体性网络结构的影响；2)确定与程度相关的个人、性网络组成和社会背景因素；3)确定性混合模式是否与艾滋病毒传播集群成员有关。该项目的发现将对Pines博士开发R01提案至关重要，R01提案整合了流行病学、社会网络和基因序列分析方法，以推进艾滋病毒预防科学。这些培训和研究活动将使Pines博士成为加州大学圣地亚哥分校全球公共卫生部门唯一拥有这一独特技能的研究员，并使她能够发展独立的研究事业。