Ashley Buchanan to research how social networks can strengthen HIV treatment, prevention among people who use drugs
A University of Rhode Island professor’s study that aims to use the influence of social networks or communities among people who use drugs to boost HIV treatment and prevenetion has been selected for a prestigious national award.
Assistant Professor of Biostatistics Ashley Buchanan, who specializes in the areas of biostatistics and epidemiology in the URI College of Pharmacy, received the 2018 Avenir award for HIV/AIDS research by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). She will receive more than $2 million over the next five years to fund her “highly innovative study,” according to NIDA.
Buchanan’s proposal — “Causal Inference Methods for HIV Prevention Studies Among Networks of People Who Use Drugs” — is designed to advance HIV prevention and treatment research by studying drug users who are part of social networks or communities that may exert biological or social influence on their members. Current methodological approaches to estimate and evaluate how prevention and treatment interventions permeate a risk network or community of drug users are limited. Human immunodeficiency virus is the virus that causes AIDS.
Buchanan’s research will improve the quality of information obtained from network-based studies and the implementation of interventions by expanding the knowledge base of HIV preventive and treatment best practices among this subpopulation; and using network-based effects to reduce risk and improve HIV prevention and treatment.
The study will develop novel statistical methodologies to determine the best ways to reach the most at-risk people with treatment — taking anti-retroviral medication, for example — and the information they need to protect themselves and their community. Intravenous drug users — who are at higher risk of contracting HIV — can be supported to engage in less risky behaviors, such as not sharing injection equipment, get tested for HIV and seek treatment if needed. Successfully treating and educating one person helps not only that individual live a healthier life, but also others in the social network with whom he or she interacts.
“The goal ultimately is developing methods that can help us better understand how these social connections play a role in the effectiveness of biological and educational interventions,” Buchanan said. “The bottom line is understanding when these effects differ depending on the individual’s role in the network. How can you design future interventions to better leverage the beneficial spillover?”
The Avenir Award Program for Research on Substance Abuse and HIV/AIDS supports scientists interested in pursuing pioneering research approaches for improved prevention and treatment, long term retention in care, and ultimately, eradication of HIV within substance using populations infected with, or at risk for, HIV/AIDS. The Avenir (the French word for “future”) awards provide grants to early stage investigators who propose highly innovative studies. Winners receive up to $300,000 per year for five years to support their projects.