Dear friends, colleagues, and partners,

As summer winds down and we dive into the fall, we’ve been reflecting on the work of our Midwest D-CFAR community. Along with many of our colleagues and collaborators, it’s been a season of challenges. We have faced funding pressures, political uncertainty, and even extreme weather that has touched our own city. Some good news is that we’ve received funding for year two (just a couple of weeks ago). Together, we are advancing research, training the next generation, and strengthening the partnerships that make our science possible.

This issue of our newsletter highlights just a few of those efforts: new awards that address systemic gaps in HIV care, our growing membership and seminar series, and the extraordinary contributions of our students and early-stage investigators.  Stay tuned, much to come! Thank you for being part of this effort. 

With appreciation,

Elvin Geng, MD, MPH
Director, Midwest Developmental Center for AIDS Research

The Midwest D-CFAR is ready to announce the recipients of our special emphasis research awards! Read about two innovative projects that aim to improve HIV care in the Midwest by addressing critical issues like the impact of air pollution on health outcomes and disengagement from HIV care. Thanks to all who submitted applications. 

Need some help refining that methods section in a new grant? Unsure of how to start analyzing all the great data you've collected? Well you are in luck, because starting this week, Clinical Science Core co-investigator Andrew Atkinson, PhD is hosting drop-in office hours on a bi-weekly basis for Midwest D-CFAR members seeking expert assistance with statistics. 

Sessions will be hosted virtually (on Zoom) on Mondays from 11am-1pm central time, and the next one is September 15. Email admin@midwestdcfar.org to request the link and an Outlook reminder. 

Public health is community health! Curious about what our interns Terreon, Dejanae, and Arianie from Harris-Stowe State University have been doing over the summer with the St. Louis Department of Health (DOH)? They certainly haven't been spending all of their time in the DOH office! Read their stories and perspectives on our blog!

As we enter the second year of operation, we are spending some time celebrating all that we accomplished in year one with your support, including:

- Supporting the development of 31 HIV research proposals. 
- Funding six groundbreaking projects through our Pilot Award Program.
- Growing our HIV research portfolio by 35% over FY23.
- Welcoming 56 members, most of them early-stage investigators.

Additionally, we hosted 11 HIV Works in Progress (HIP) seminars, fostering peer connections and mentorship among emerging HIV researchers. Early-stage investigators have said that they benefited greatly from expert feedback and community building, which have proven instrumental in advancing their careers and research projects. (Interested in presenting at a HIP this year? Sign up!).

And of course we've been adding new content to our website regularly, including short videos featuring some of our core leadership. Don't miss an update this year -- stop by midwestdcfar.org often!

NIH ponders overhauling HIV budget to capitalize on prevention breakthrough (Science)

Philip Marotta featured Public Health Ideas video series

Sandro Galea recently interviewed Midwest D-CFAR early stage investigator and assistant professor at the WashU Brown School and School of Public Health, Phillip Marotta, PhD, about how the criminal justice system affects health disparities, harm reduction and substance use. Watch the video on YouTube.

(all events listed in central time)

HIV Transdisciplinary Grand Rounds
12-1pm | Virtual (Zoom)

Presentation:
Francesco Simonetti, MBChB, PhD, Targeting HIV-1 viremia during therapy to improve clinical outcome and perturb HIV persistence

HIV Works in Progress (HIP) Seminar
2-3:15pm | Virtual (Zoom)

Presentations:
Enbal Shacham, PhD, Insights from geospatial data and science for HIV research
Javan Kisaka, PhD, Exploring ITIH4 as a marker of latently infected cells and a measure of the reservoir size

SWG/SAC Potluck and Social
4-8pm | In-person (St. Louis, location TBA)

Contact swg@midwestdcfar.org for details on this event and to request an invitation.

Curated list of relevant NIH opportunities for HIV researchers
Several NIH funding announcements are available to support innovative HIV research across a range of topics, including HIV prevention, aging, substance use, comorbidities, and cure strategies. The Midwest D-CFAR is now maintaining a list of current opportunities relevant to our members on our website.

WashU: IMPACT Global Center Interdisicplinary Pilot Project Grants
The Here and Next Seed Grant program and the IMPACT Global Center have announced a new seed funding program supporting pilot projects. This program is designed to foster interdisciplinary research at the intersection of HIV, poverty, and mental health, with the aim of developing these projects into competitive external funding opportunities. Additionally, the pilot projects unit will look for opportunities to synergize with other funding mechanisms on the back end of funded projects. Applications are due on September 15. 

WashU: Global Incubator Seed Grants
This program aims to stimulate high-impact collaborative research linking WashU faculty with international counterparts. For this year’s cycle, projects that emphasize public and global health challenges, as well as projects at the intersection of public/global health and the other areas of interest are especially encouraged. Applications are due on September 15.

HIV Fellowship Program in Implementation Science at Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins CFAR is welcoming applications for their training opportunity in implementation science for early-stage investigators engaging in HIV-related research. Applications are due August 31 and full details on the fellowship are available on the JHU CFAR website.

WashU D&I Bootcamp
Researchers – do you have a dissemination and implementation science proposal or aim of a proposal in the works? Or do you have an idea for one? Get feedback from experts at WashU’s annual D&I Bootcamp! WashU-led research teams can submit a concept paper, including those with external collaborators. Submit your concept paper for consideration by September 22.

Weigh in: What science communication training would you like us to offer next? 
Talking about your research to people outside of your field can be difficult, whether it's with someone you meet at a dinner party or a policymaker in a Ministry of Health. The Midwest D-CFAR is offering virtual science communication seminars this year devoted to helping participants to communicate technical concepts to non-technical audiences. Fill out this one-question form to let us know which topics you would most like us to cover!

Call for manuscripts: Critical Public Health Journal collection on gaps in HIV prevention/care
A new collection of articles aims to showcase interventions and programs developed by underrepresented investigators to confront the challenges of HIV prevention and care among underserved populations. Researchers are invited to submit original articles, short reports, reviews, case studies, short communications, and/or commentary articles for consideration by November 30.

Virtual teach-in: 24 hours to save AIDS research
Scientists, researchers and advocates from across the US and around the world are planning a 24-hour online marathon to share their scientific work and answer questions from viewers on September 16-17. The event is non-partisan and aims to prove the value of HIV/AIDS science in light of US funding cuts. Many volunteers are needed to pull this off! Email mitchell@avac.org or gregg.gonsalves@yale.edu to get involved.

Share your wisdom and help out your colleagues! This month, we are crowd-sourcing answers to this question:

How can I build a solid professional network within the HIV research community?

Submit your answers by responding to our posts on LinkedIn, X, or BlueSky, or email them to admin@midwestdcfar.org for your chance to be featured in next month’s newsletter!