Due to improved HIV treatment and access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), people living with HIV are living longer, which has resulted in an increase in comorbidities. Unhealthy alcohol use is prevalent in this population and is associated with increased risk and worse outcomes for multiple adverse health conditions, including tuberculosis [TB], cardiovascular disease [CVD], and falls. Over the past 5 years, the Uganda Russia Boston Alcohol Network for Alcohol Research Collaboration on HIV/AIDS (URBAN ARCH) Consortium created cohorts of people living with HIV and investigated the complex relationship between alcohol use and HIV. Through domestic and international collaborations, URBAN ARCH investigators, including specialists in epidemiology, internal medicine, addiction medicine, HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases, psychiatry, and biostatistics, have focused on how alcohol use affects HIV clinical manifestations and how treatments beyond ART mitigate alcohol-related harms. The central theme of the URBAN ARCH Consortium for the next 5 years is to examine the consequences of alcohol use on comorbidities among people living with HIV so as to increase availability of treatments and improve outcomes. URBAN ARCH will build upon existing cohorts of people living with HIV in Uganda, Russia, and Boston with their well-characterized alcohol consumption patterns to embark on important new research initiatives. This global research is aligned with the Office of AIDS Research's highest HIV/AIDS research priorities (i.e., prevention and treatment of HIV-related comorbidities and complications, including TB [Uganda], CVD [Russia], and falls [Boston]).The goal of the Administrative Core is to ensure that the scientific and programmatic activities of the URBAN ARCH Consortium are carried out with high quality and timeliness. The Administrative Core will use the latest technologies to maximize the overall productivity of the URBAN ARCH Consortium and assist with the fostering of multidisciplinary collaborations to promote innovative and rigorous HIV/alcohol research. The following are the Specific Aims of the Administrative Core: ? Promote a collaborative, integrated approach to research goals; ? Facilitate communication and collaboration between all Consortium components; ? Coordinate and prioritize access to resources including the URBAN ARCH data and sample repository; ? Assess components' progress and quality to maximize the scientific impact of the Consortium; and ? Encourage the sharing of data with investigators within and outside the Consortium. The success of URBAN ARCH will be critically dependent on the Administrative Core's scientific and administrative leadership to integrate and capitalize on the Consortium's outstanding collaborators, resources, cohorts and research capabilities.
Remarkable advances in HIV/AIDS research have led to new public health priorities focusing on prevention and treatment of HIV-related comorbidities for people living with HIV. The URBAN ARCH Consortium will continue to conduct and disseminate interdisciplinary research aimed at advancing both understanding and clinical approaches to mitigate the impact of alcohol in HIV disease and improve clinical and behavioral outcomes in the United States and globally.
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