ARCH Pilot Grant Program

Mission. The Brown University Alcohol Research Center on HIV (ARCH) supports scientific innovations for addressing alcohol misuse in HIV prevention and care. Our goal is to test and move towards implementation of alcohol misuse interventions that have substantial population reach and improve prevention and treatment of HIV infections and  reduction in alcohol-related comorbidities in people with HIV.

Purpose. The ARCH Pilot Grants Program is intended to: (1) support preliminary studies that test innovative research questions related to the ARCH’s mission, (2) foster collaborations among investigators affiliated with the Brown University ARCH and (3) contribute to investigator training in Alcohol/HIV research by providing investigators with expertise, guidance, and instrumental support from the ARCH research methods core.  The Research Methods Core provides resources in technology-based intervention, implementation science, measurement, data harmonization, and statistical analysis.

 

Dr. Mollie Monnig: Reducing Systemic and Neural Inflammation

Monnig, MolliePI: Dr. Mollie  Monnig

Probiotics to Reduce Systemic and Neural Inflammation in Heavy Drinkers

This project is a 30-day, open-label clinical trial of probiotics as an intervention to reduce systemic and neural inflammation in heavy drinkers.  The study will recruit 15 non-treatment-seeking heavy drinkers to complete the pre/post design.  Main outcomes are plasma biomarkers of immune activation and brain metabolites associated with neuroinflammation.

Dr. Alexandra Collins: Alcohol Use Risk Environments

Collins, AlexandraPI: Dr. Alexandra Collins

Alcohol Use Risk Environments: An Ethnographic Approach to Developing Alcohol-Focused Harm Reduction Interventions for Unstably Housed Persons at Risk of HIV

Unstably housed individuals who use alcohol are at an increased risk of adverse health (e.g. HIV, depression) and social (e.g. violence, arrest) outcomes, and yet existing alcohol-related interventions do not effectively engage this population. Using community-engaged ethnography, this study will examine how social, structural, and environmental factors shape alcohol use patterns and HIV-related risks among unstably housed persons. This study aims to inform the development of targeted alcohol and HIV prevention harm reduction interventions attuned to the needs of unstably housed persons who use alcohol.

 

Dr. Arryn Guy: HIV Risk, Alcohol Use, Trans Women of Color

Guy, ArrynPI: Dr. Arryn Guy

Investigating HIV Risk, Alcohol Use, and Stigma Among Trans Women of Color  

Transgender women of color experience social and economic marginalization due to intersectional stigma, defined as the confluence of stigma that results from the intersection of social identities and positions among those who are multiply oppressed. As part of a long-term goal to increase access to trans-affirming behavioral health care services, we will survey transgender women of color to understand their experiences related to intersectional stigma, HIV aquisition and transmission risk, and alcohol use and recovery from problematic alcohol use. Members of the target population will be involved in all stages of planning, collecting, interpreting data, as well as disseminating results.