Translational Science Training to Reduce the Impact of Alcohol on HIV Infection

This is an application to continue to support both predoctoral trainees and postdoctoral fellows in the T32 training program, “Translational Science Training to Reduce the Impact of Alcohol on HIV Infection”. This training need remains significant across the state of Florida which continues to rank among the top 3 states in new HIV infections per year and total HIV/AIDS cases. Alcohol consumption, and related issues such as drug use and mental health, contributes to enduring HIV transmission and to poor HIV outcomes. We need an interdisciplinary research task force skilled in alcohol research to help reduce HIV transmission and HIV- related comorbidities. The specific aims of our T32 are to: (1) Deliver an outstanding training curriculum focused on alcohol and HIV that incorporates three key focus areas (health behavior intervention science, epidemiology and data science, and cognitive science related to aging); (2) Provide effective mentorship for establishing or advancing programs of research in alcohol and HIV science; (3) Facilitate leaderships skills and experience collaborating with multidisciplinary research teams; (4) Promote excellence in the communication and dissemination of alcohol and HIV science; and (5) Ensure professionalism and ethical conduct of research. The training program will support five pre-doctoral and two post-doctoral trainees at any time and be based in 6 academic programs. The program is led by three MPIs who represent departments of Epidemiology, Health Education and Behavior, and Nursing. We will provide in-depth training around the intersection of alcohol and HIV, together with three additional focus areas: a) health behavior intervention science; b) epidemiology and data science integrated with the UF AI initiative; and c) cognitive science related to aging. Training activities include required courses, T32 Program activities, and training activities associated with the Southern HIV Alcohol Research Consortium (SHARC), itself supported by over $10 million in ongoing NIH funding through 2022. Trainees also will receive training in the responsible conduct of research. The research environment is strong at the University of Florida, which collectively has pledged an additional $500,000 in overall support to our specific training program. Given the success of our trainees to date, and breadth and depth of our faculty mentors’ expertise around alcohol and HIV, we reaffirm our readiness and commitment to training the next cohort of researchers to reduce the risk of negative health outcomes from alcohol and HIV infection throughout Florida and beyond.