Alcohol Research Consortium in HIV (ARCH) is comprised of two U24 and two UOI applications, and will address critical questions regarding the clinical epidemiology of hazardous alcohol use/abuse/dependence in HIV infection (Epidemiology Research Arm), and evaluate the comparative effectiveness of evidence- based alcohol reduction strategies in real world HIV clinic settings (Intervention Research Arm). This research builds upon the unique strengths of a well-established HIV clinical cohort, the CFAR Network of Integrated Clinical Systems (CNICS), comprised of 8 clinics and over 20,000 HIV-infected individuals across the United States. This dynamic cohort provides an ideal scientific platform for long-term study of HIV and alcohol through the collection of comprehensive clinical data and specimens as well as uniformly-collected patient reported outcomes as a part of the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System initiative. An Epidemlology/Biostatistics Core will be led by experts in epidemiology and biostatistics with specific focus on HIV research. It will provide critical support for the scientific agenda of the U01 applications and focus on development of innovative analytic strategies that will maximize new clinical and scientific knowledge. The U24 at the heart of ARCH is the Administrative Core (AC), the focus of this application. ARCH-AC will provide the critical infrastructure to coordinate and facilitate the consortium's scientific goals. Structure will include: an executive committee; a steering committee; key scientific working groups to conceptualize and implement study aims; and a community advisory board. ARCH-AC is co-led by national experts in alcohol use disorders and HIV, who have over 40 years of combined scientific experience in conducting epidemiologic and clinical research in HIV/AIDS. The AC provides the critical infrastructure to: 1) conceptualize, facilitate and oversee the implementation of the scientific epidemiologic and interventional aims; 2) promote communication and collaboration among ARCH components and investigators; 3) manage and optimize access to ARCH resources, particularly the data repositories, epidemiologic/ biostatistics support and the investigational expertise; and 4) provide the support for dissemination of ARCH findings.
The Alcohol Research Consortium in HIV combines an unparalleled breadth and depth of investigator expertise with a comprehensive and diverse multisite US HIV cohort to create a world-class consortium that will accelerate advancement of new knowledge of the epidemiology of alcohol use and HIV, and evaluate the comparative effectiveness of evidenced-based psychosocial and pharmacological alcohol treatments.
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