Institute for Health Disparities Research

“Equality is leaving the door open for anyone who has the means to approach it: equity is ensuring there is a pathway to that door for those who need it.”- Caroline Belden

Welcome to our first "Newsletter." This is just a new format for the same type of communication, with the same frequency that we had previously discussed. Thanks to Arianna Morales-Garza for helping with the format and for working with Steven to set up the listserv.

Here, a summary of our recent activities and important announcements:

• ALWAYS GET A TICKET: If you need the HCAP Business Service Center for anything related to your projects (hiring, travel authorization, reimbursements, etc.) please always use the ticket system as opposed to emailing individual folks. The BSC has assured us that this will allow for them to better delegate and track the work. If you have IHDR-relevant projects and want some support, request in the comments to add Fernando to the request, so he can track as well.

• UNSTUCKING PROCESSES: If you already have requests (in the system or not) that appear to be "stuck," use this tracker created by Erica Sosa to follow up on these issues.

• NEW LISTSERV: As you can see, we now have an IHDR affiliate listserv. We hope this will make communication between us easier. Feel free to use it for announcements.

• NEW WEBSITE: We are also working on redesigning our website. Thanks for all of your bios and pictures. They have been incorporated into the new template, which will be rolled out soon.

• NEW SEMINARS? Let Fernando know if you would like to present your work this Fall or Spring. We will have affiliate Alex Testa do a talk in Spring (thanks Alex!) and will announce the date soon.

• EQUIPMENT LOANS: IHDR has a small amount of equipment (e.g., a Mac desktop, a Microsoft surface laptop). If your PC is out of order and you need a loaner, let us know.

• NEED SOME QUIET SPACE?  If you need a place to work, or a conference room in the Downtown Campus, let us know. For Downtown Campus-based folks, we hope to offer something similar on Main Campus soon.

• LAST, BUT NOT LEAST: See some funding opportunities below. An remember, you can always apply for an IHDR "research accelerator" micro-grant (with a new limit of $2,000). No deadline. We still have funds for this AY.

Funding Opportunities

 The Social, Behavioral, & Economic COVID Coordinating Center (SBE CCC) solicits applications for pilot projects for innovative measurement of social, behavioral, and economic indicators that are important correlates and consequences of the COVID pandemic.

• Important dates:
• ·  11:59pm (PST) December 1, 2023: Proposals due
• ·  December 22, 2023: Awards announced
• ·  March 1, 2024 : Projects start
• ·  February 28, 2025: Projects end
• Two award sizes are available: 1) Larger projects over $30,000 and up to $60,000 in total costs (direct + indirect), 2) Smaller projects up to $30,000 in total costs (direct + indirect).

*While not required, preference will be given to proposals that involve current SBE COVID Consortium members.*

• HIV Prevention and Alcohol (R01 Clinical Trials Optional)
• Due: January 7, 2024
• Award: Not limited: needs to reflect actual needs of the proposed project. Up to 5 years.

The NOFO seeks to expand the HIV/AIDS prevention toolkit among alcohol-impacted populations with a range of patterns of episodic and long-term use and associated behavioral and biological risks for HIV acquisition. This includes the integration of effective prevention and treatment interventions with an understanding of the overarching framework for reducing the incidence of new infections by facilitating cross-cutting informative research. This research activity includes the development and testing of new interventions and expansion of existing effective interventions as well as the implementation of these integrative preventive activities in diverse settings and populations. Six areas of research are of primary interest related to alcohol use and related mental health and substance use comorbidities. These include but are not limited to 1) PrEP Utilization, 2) Treatment as Prevention (TasP), 3) Integration of Preventive Intervention Strategies, 4) Prevention-related Cross-cutting Research, 5) Syndemic Approaches, and 6) Implementation and Operations Research.
 

• HIV Prevention and Alcohol (R34 Clinical Trials Optional)
• Due: January 7, 2024
• Award: Up to $450,000 direct cost (DC); up to $225,000 DC per year. Up to 3 years.

The NOFO seeks to expand the HIV/AIDS prevention toolkit among alcohol-impacted populations with a range of patterns of episodic and long-term use and associated behavioral and biological risks for HIV acquisition. This includes the integration of effective prevention and treatment interventions with an understanding of the overarching framework for reducing the incidence of new infections by facilitating cross-cutting informative research.

• Identifying Innovative Mechanisms or Interventions that Target Multimorbidity and Its Consequences
• Due: January 8, 2024
• Award: See Program

This FOA is to support the identification of shared mechanisms and the development of innovative interventions to address multimorbidity or multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) and their consequences. Intervention research supported by this initiative should be designed to study: (1) mechanisms or pathways that prevent MCCs, including the identification of early biomarkers, behavioral pathways, and individual and contextual risk factors and interactions that contribute to the development of common MCCs; (2) targeted therapies and management, including self-management, of MCCs to delay progression and prevent onset of new diseases; and (3) innovative health care partnership models for managing or treating MCCs.