Category Archives: Feature

Congratulations to Dr. Cathy Reback, a core investigator of the CHIPTS Combination Prevention Core!  Dr. Reback has been selected as one of the recipients of this year’s Women in Leadership Award from the City of West Hollywood for her outstanding work with gay and bisexual men and transgender women living with or at risk of acquiring HIV.  She will be presented with this prestigious award on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, hosted by the West Hollywood Women’s Advisory Board and the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Reback is a Senior Research Scientist with Friends Research Institute, Research Sociologist with UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, and the Executive Director of Friends Community Center, a research community site in Hollywood, CA. For over 25 years Dr. Reback’s research has focuses on the intersection of minority sexual and gender identity status, substance use disorders, and HIV risk behaviors among MSM and transgender women. The significance of Dr. Reback’s research has been the application of research in community settings, the early integration of biobehavioral approaches to substance use and HIV prevention, the application of technology as a novel real-time intervention, and the coupling of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Dr. Reback has an extensive background in conducting community-research collaborations, designing and implementing technology-based interventions, managing large-scale HIV prevention and intervention programs, designing and implementing venue- and street-based intervention programs, conducting qualitative and quantitative research, and evaluating behavioral treatment therapies for both non-treatment seeking and treatment-seeking substance-using populations.

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On Monday, September 21, 2015, CHIPTS hosted their annual retreat meeting, “Addressing Co-Morbidities to Reduce New HIV Infections and to Improve Health Outcomes,” at the LUXE Sunset Bouvelard Hotel in Los Angeles.  The Center will compete for its 5-year renewal in early Fall 2016 and will spend the next 12 months preparing for its application to NIMH.  The retreat served as the launching pad for this year-long strategic planning process, as CHIPTS critically reflects on the current epidemic, science, and political and economic environment that impact its research.

To help guide the discussion, the retreat included presentations from leadership from four of major systems of care delivery in LA County: Department of Public Health, Department of Health Services, LA Care (the largest provider of Medicaid funded health services in Los Angeles County and is responsible for care for 1.8 million persons) and the Sheriff’s Department.  Mario Perez, MPH (Department of Public Health, Director for HIV and STD Programs-DHSP) presented on the “leaky cascade” in Los Angeles County. He showed significantly reduced numbers of HIV-positive people unaware of their diagnoses and showed higher percentages of people engaged in the care cascade at all levels compared to national numbers.  Anish Mahajan, MD (Department of Health Services, Director of System Planning, Improvement and Data Analysis) presented the overarching strategy for the “integrated care system” design for health services for 450,000 patients in LA County Health Clinics, especially the 7 HIV care clinics within the system funded by County and Ryan White Care Act funds.  Clayton Chau, MD, PhD (Director of Behavioral Health, LA Care) presented on the challenges he faces in addressing the LA Care environments to ensure access to high quality HIV care and prevention, particularly for those who are living with mental and physical comorbidities.  Martha Tadesse NP, RN (HIV Medical Liaison, Sheriff’s Department) presented data showing prevalence of major depression (60%) and substance use disorders (50%) in the HIV Unit.  Recent observations were between 2 and  6 new HIV infections detected each week, most are 18-25 year old Black MSM.

The second half of the day was focused on planning the next 5 years, setting priorities, and identifying action steps for each of the CHIPTS Science Cores (Global Capacity, Combination Prevention, Methods, and Policy), as it relates to addressing comorbidities in HIV-positive and at-risk negative individuals with the overall goal of HIV elimination.

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Dr. Eli Rosenberg’s research focuses on studies, methods, and analyses for understanding pertinent epidemiological issues in HIV prevention, such as the racial disparities in HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States, how sexual networks shape transmission, the effects of STI and substance use on HIV acquisition, and the role of HIV care in reducing transmission. Specific methodological interests include surveillance methods, statistical and network modeling, causal inference methods, and development of software to support research studies.

Organized by The Behavioral Epidemiology Research Group in the Department of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

This event is made possible by funds from the UCLA AIDS Institute, UCLA CFAR grant (AI028697).  Additional support was provided by the Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services (NIMH grant MH058107).

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Eli Rosenberg, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology Emory University Rollins School of Public Health

Dr. Eli Rosenberg’s research focuses on studies, methods, and analyses for understanding pertinent epidemiological issues in HIV prevention, such as the racial disparities in HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States, how sexual networks shape transmission, the effects of STI and substance use on HIV acquisition, and the role of HIV care in reducing transmission. Specific methodological interests include surveillance methods, statistical and network modeling, causal inference methods, and development of software to support research studies.

Organized by The Behavioral Epidemiology Research Group in the Department of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

This event is made possible by funds from the UCLA AIDS Institute, UCLA CFAR grant (AI028697).  Additional support was provided by the Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services (NIMH grant MH058107).

“Supporting and Monitoring ART Initiation and Adherence in Resource-Constrained Settings.”

Robert H. Remien, Ph.D., is Director of the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies in the Division of Gender, Sexuality, and Health and is Professor of Clinical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University. Dr. Remien is also Director of the HIV Center’s Administrative Core, Faculty Mentor for HIV Center Postdoctoral Fellows, and Clinical Supervisor to psychiatric residents in training. His research is focused on mental health, sexual risk behavior, and adherence to treatment and care, and he has developed and tested several behavioral interventions in these domains in both domestic and international settings.

As a researcher in the HIV Center from its beginnings, he has published numerous articles on psychopathology and psychological resilience, psychoimmunology, coping and adaptation to chronic illness among individuals, couples, and families, sexual and health behaviors, long-term survival with HIV/AIDS, and acute HIV-infection. Dr. Remien has worked to facilitate numerous collaborations and partnerships among health departments, community-based organizations, and clinic sites on behalf of the HIV Center and its investigators throughout its history.

He has served as Chair for the New York State Psychological Association’s Task Force on AIDS, a member of the New York City’s Department of Health Prevention Planning Group, and senior faculty for the American Psychological Association’s HIV training program for psychologists. He also maintains a part-time private practice in clinical psychology in Manhattan.

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Charlie Sheen captured the world’s attention when it was revealed that he was living with HIV.  Yet, 69% of the 35 million people living with HIV are Black.  In the United States, Blacks are eight times more likely to get infected that white Americans.  The vast majority of HIV infections (23.8 million) are in Africa.  Both in this country and in the rest of the world, Black persons are far less likely to have access to the life-saving medications that can both prevent HIV and halt disease progression. While using one or two tablets per day changed a disease that many called a “death sentence” to being a chronic illness, this is not accurate for Black Americans or for millions in Africa. While the scientific successes of antiretroviral medications are being celebrated today, on World AIDS Day, it is far more likely to save and improve the lives of white and/or well-insured Americans and global citizens. Those who need these effects most are among the last to access the treatments. In Los Angeles, the rate of HIV infection among Black gay and bisexual men who do not use condoms is between 5-7%, a rate that has yet to budge even in light of all of the successes in the HIV treatment and prevention fields.  What is deafening is the silence about this situation at all levels — from policy and decision makers to our communities and informs some aspects of the answer to the question of whether black lives matter in the United States. This situation needs to end. On this World AIDS Day, it’s time to rally to ensure initiatives are enacted to reduce this important healthcare disparity, to reduce the number of new infections in communities of Black MSM and to provide evidence that black lives, indeed, do matter.