Innovative approaches to integrating biomedical and behavioral science are at the cutting edge of HIVprevention and treatment. To be effective, the most promising biomedical interventions will requirebehavioral expertise -- predicated on research that incorporates the social and community context. The valueof behavioral research is in turn leveraged by the integration of biological interventions and outcomes. TheSociobehavioral and Prevention Research Core (SPRC) facilitates such collaborations among social,behavioral and clinical scientists working on HIV at the UW. In its inaugural cycle, the SPRC was highlysuccessful in meeting its core aims of providing technical assistance, sponsoring public education events,publishing state-of-the-art reviews, and establishing new investigators in the areas of (1) preventionintervention studies, (2) clinical adherence research, and (3) modeling HIV transmission dynamics andpartnership networks. In addition, the core established five new institutional mechanisms for collaborativeresearch and practice. In this renewal we have refined our aims to focus on (1) HIV prevention researchsupport, and (2) community outreach for translation of research findings into practice. The new synergisticaims build on our original strengths, reflect our evolving direction, and extend our capacity in the emergingareas of biomedical prevention interventions and community-based participatory research. Specifically, thefirst aim of HIV prevention research support comprises the provision of technical assistance and organizationof forums for interdisciplinary research community development, with a new focus on expanding substantiveexpertise in substance use, mental health, and qualitative methods.
The second aim of supportingcommunity outreach involves working globally. Locally, we are proposing a new Community Outreachsubcore to facilitate collaboration with our Community Action Board and the Seattle/King County PublicHealth Department on community-based research priorities and translational opportunities. Internationally,we have formalized links to the International Core to identify collaborative research and translationalopportunities and established a new NIH-funded Center on HIV Prevention Research at the University ofNairobi.
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