Key Accomplishments

​​​​​​Impact of Social Cohesion and Social Capital in PrEP Uptake and Adherence Among Transwomen of Color  

Trying to Understand Relationships, Networks and Neighborhoods among Trans women of color (TURNNT) Study (R01MD013554) is a prospective cohort study taking place over the course of one year. We recruited 314 transgender women of color (Black/African American, Latinx, and Asian/ Pacific Islander participants) in New York City. We used real-time geospatial methods to investigate cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between to 1) social cohesion and 2) social capital on 1) PrEP uptake and 2) adherence among TW of color (TWOC)  specifically relationships (notably individual social capital), social and sexual networks, and neighborhood factors (notably neighborhood-level social cohesion) with PrEP uptake and discontinuation. 

Medical Mistrust as a Barrier to COVID-19 and HIV Services Among Transgender Women of Color (R01MD013554;)

The TURNNT COVID-19 and HIV Services Studyis highly innovative because it will be the first, to our knowledge, to explore associations with HIV prevention and care behaviors in relation to COVID-19 testing and vaccine uptake in TWOC, and one of very few studies to examine multiple aspects of medical mistrust on these outcomes in this highly marginalized population. Therefore, our focus on medical mistrust is also highly innovative. The combination of rigorous data and methods, in addition to the study population (TWOC), represents a significant advancement in COVID-19 and HIV epidemiology, prevention and care. The proposed ground-breaking research is significant because it addresses a timely issue in infectious disease epidemiology that will advance the field and lead to primary prevention and treatment efforts among a population in the United States (U.S.) that bears a high burden of HIV/AIDS: transgender women of color.
 

Impact of Neighborhoods and Networks on HIV Prevention and Care Behaviors Among Black MSM in the Deep South: MARI Neighborhoods and Networks (N2) Cohort Study 

The current landscape of the HIV epidemic continues to be shaped by disparities in case distribution, as young Black men who have sex with men account for more new HIV cases than any other group in the United States. Funded by the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this project seeks to use real-time geospatial methods to investigate relationships between activity space neighborhoods (as defined by global positioning system [GPS] methods), social and sexual networks, and HIV prevention and care behaviors cross-sectionally and longitudinally among a sample of 225 Black men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Jackson, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical areas.