HIV and Drug Abuse Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute

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PROJECT SUMMARY The global HIV/AIDS pandemic, shifts in drug use patterns, and advances in intervention research designs, all create new ethical challenges for studies at the intersection of HIV and drug abuse. To date, there is a paucity of well-qualified investigators trained to conduct scientifically rigorous studies to inform policies directed at meeting these challenges. The goal of this renewal is to advance the contributions of the Fordham University HIV and Drug Abuse Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute (RETI), the only program of its kind, to meet this need. The broad long-term objectives of the RETI are to train a new generation of scientists who will conduct robust and unbiased designs to inform research ethics practices sensitive to the unique needs of individuals with and at-risk for HIV and substance abuse and to extend the program's global impact through online scientific and pedagogical resources. These objectives are met through the following aims. Aim 1: To increase early career clinical scientists' capacity to conduct rigorous and reproducible empirical research on HIV and drug abuse prevention research ethics practices and policies. Ethical decisions by investigators and IRBs/RECs are often guided by subjective interpretations of broadly worded regulations and guidelines. Empirical data on ethics practices and policies is thus needed to better inform these decisions. Aim 1 will address this need through the RETI mentored research project (MRP), a multi-year funded research experience in which trainees receive intensive supervised experience designing, implementing, analyzing and disseminating an original study on HIV and drug abuse research ethics. The MRP will be conducted in conjunction with the annual RETI Summer Institute that will build trainee competencies in the unique conceptual frameworks and research designs for conducting studies on research ethics. Aim 1 will also be achieved through career development activities designed to enhance publication and grant writing skills and to disseminate trainees' work through a new public webinar series. Aim 2: To increase early career clinical scientists' capacity to engage communities in the construction of HIV and drug abuse participant protections. Although community advisory boards (CABs) are now commonplace in HIV and drug abuse research, few programs teach trainees how to involve appropriate stakeholders in the development of the study design and the procedures to protect participant rights and welfare. This has often led to limited empowerment of prospective participants as collaborative partners. Aim 2 will be achieved through Summer Institute seminars on methods to engage prospective participants in ethics-relevant dialogue and inclusion of community advisory boards at the design and interpretation stages of the mentored research project. Aim 3: To create and sustain a global information network for enhancing ethical knowledge and evidence-based ethics practices, policies and pedagogy for HIV and drug abuse prevention research ethics. Aim 3 will be achieved through expansion of RETI's global online HIV and drug abuse research ethics scientific and pedagogical resources. As a new feature, the RETI will promote transformative partnerships between investigators and communities by creating Community Access to Research Ethics (CARE), a social media platform specifically tailored to bring research ethics science to communities and populations represented in HIV and drug abuse research.