Working Groups

A Scientific Working Group is defined as a specific area of scientific focus for a group of investigators who share common research interests and goals and participate in competitively funded research. Scientific Working Groups encourage interdisciplinary collaboration among investigators who have not previously collaborated with each other.

 

Health Services Research Scientific Working Group

The HIV Health Services Research SWG was established in September 2021 by Lance Okeke, MD, MPH and Charles Muiruri, PhD, MPH. The group was formed to create a forum for Duke CFAR investigators with interests in health services and implementation science to discuss ideas and forge new collaborations.  The HSR SWG meets every 4th Thursday of the month at 11a. The current working group brings HIV researchers from the Department of Population Health Sciences, the Divisions of Cardiology and Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, the School of Nursing and the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) together for robust discussions on how to expand Duke CFAR’s emerging HSR portfolio. The HSR SWG has also hosted guest speakers from the Center for Health Measurement and the Duke Institute of Health Innovation to their forum. The group also has speakers scheduled from the Center for REACH Equity and Clinetic, a healthcare informatics start-up company based in RTP, in the fall. To date, the SWGs activities have been heavily supported by the Social and Behavioral Science (SBS) Core and the Clinical Core. Membership to the HSR SWG is open to all CFAR members and affiliates. Please contact Dr. Okeke at lance.okeke@duke.edu to join, or for further details about the SWG.

Okeke Charles M

Lance Okeke, MD, MPH
lance.okeke@duke.edu

Charles Muiruri, PhD, MPH

 

Biomedical Prevention Scientific Working Group

THE BIOMEDICAL SWG HAS CLOSED AS OF JULY 2022.  PLEASE REACH OUT TO MEHRI MCKELLAR (mehri.mckellar@duke.edu) OR JOHN MITCHELL (john.mitchell@duke.edu) IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR AN INTEREST IN COLLABORATING ON THIS TOPIC

The Biomedical Prevention Scientific Working Group (SWG) was established in 2017 and tasked with proactively fostering and supporting new research ideas and synergistic collaborations in biomedical HIV prevention research. Since initiation, we have established this SWG as interdisciplinary with respect to leadership and membership, fostered inter-CFAR and community relationships, and supported the development of numerous grant proposals to meet the critical need for HIV prevention strategies to decrease rates of HIV incidence in at-risk populations. Our efforts are primarily focused on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), for populations at risk of HIV in the Southern U.S., specifically Black men who have sex with men (BMSM), Black women, Latinxs, and people who inject drugs (PWID). Our CFAR is strategically positioned to address the Southern HIV Epidemic given our geographical location, the expertise in our institution and community, and Duke’s established HIV PrEP Clinic. We are also well-aligned with the goals of the Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EtHE) initiative, and have established extensive partnerships in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, which is one of the 48 counties identified with the highest number of new HIV infections in the U.S. This has led to several grant submissions from our SWG in response to the recent EtHE proposals.

The goals of the Biomedical Prevention SWG are:

  • Foster interdisciplinary, collaborative, biomedical HIV prevention research among new and established HIV and non-HIV investigators within Duke and across institutions, with a focus on populations at risk for HIV in the Southern U.S.
  • Support innovative and rigorous biomedical HIV prevention research among Duke investigators by providing opportunities for peer contribution during research development and implementation

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Mehri McKellar John Mitchell

Director - Mehri McKellar, MD
mehri.mckellar@duke.edu
919-613-6129

Co-Director - John Mitchell, PhD
john.mitchell@duke.edu
919-681-0012

 

Previous CFAR Scientific Working Groups

  • HIV and Aging Working Group (2013 - 2016)
  • AIDS-Associated Opportunistic Infections and Cancer (AOIC) Working Group (2012 - 2017)