One of the major strengths of the Fordham University HIV and Drug Abuse Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute is the encouragement of studies highlighting the various voices in HIV research, including those of the patients, participants, physicians, researchers, and communities.

It is important — on World AIDS Day in particular — to reflect on the work that has been done on HIV prevention, as well as the areas, populations, and co-morbidities that are still in need of research attention.

Voices of Patients
Cohort 4 Fellow Dr. Arunansu Talukdar’s Mentored Research Project (MRP) examines voluntariness of consent to research involving women participating at a clinic-based HIV intervention trial in Kolkata, India.

Cohort 1 Fellow Dr. Purnima Madhivanan has published on HIV testing among pregnant women living with HIV in India, and whether private providers are routinely violating women’s human rights.

One of our Santander Fellows, Dr. Stella Njuguna of Kenya, examined post-trial access to Truvada among HIV-I discordant couples.

Charmaine Thokoane, the Cohort 2 Santander Fellow, is working to combat that statistic through a sexual and reproductive health program designed for 12-18 year-olds in South Africa. In fact, Thokoane’s work has caught the eye of the Mayor of Pretoria, who has agreed to fund the program she coordinates.

Voices of Sex Workers
For his MRP, Cohort 2 Fellow Dr. Brandon Brown examined the perspectives of female sex workers who participated in a clinical trial of an HPV vaccine in Peru.

Cohort 2 Fellow Dr. Shira Goldenberg recently clarified the differences between sex workers, migrants, and trafficked persons, in The Lancet, in order to ensure that each population receives accurate treatment and attention.

Voices of Marginalized Populations
Cohort 2 Fellow Dr. Kristen Underhill speaks out against the stigma attached to HIV, PrEP and promiscuity.

Cohort 3 Fellow Dr. Nicole Overstreet was recently awarded a $100,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to examine the needs of those affected by intimate partner violence.

Cohort 1 Fellow Dr. Cynthia Pearson and Director Dr. Celia B. Fisher have been awarded a grant to adapt a culturally specific ethics training course for American Indian and Alaska Natives (AIAN) populations.

Dr. Elizabeth Reed, a Cohort 1 RETI fellow, is currently working on a project examining the intersection between HIV and gender-based violence.

Appalachia is home to more than 20 million people, yet researchers often overlook the area. Cohort 2 Fellow Dr. Tania Basta is trying to change that by looking at HIV testing in rural Appalachia.

The Fordham University HIV and Drug Abuse Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute is now accepting applications for the 2016 Summer Institute. Please visit our website or contact Dr. Elizabeth Yuko (ethicsinst@fordham.edu) for more information. The deadline for applications is February 25, 2016.