Events

In collaboration with Don Des Jarlais and his team, Dr. Bobashev developed an agent-based model (ABM) that describes the transmission of HIV in a population of people who inject drugs in NYC and Vietnam. They show that under general assumptions the transmission rate is very low, but small outbreaks are possible in tightly connected communities. Dr. Bobashev will discuss how ABMs can provide insight into disease transmission in complex systems where many factors are at play. Conducting multiple simulations allows us to focus not only on the means or most likely scenarios but at some rare but extreme cases leading to notable outbreaks.

Georgiy Bobashev is a Senior Fellow at RTI International with more than 20 years of experience in health research. His current research interests follow two major areas: predictive modeling and studies of substance use and risky behaviors. Predictive methods often combine mechanistic (e.g., agent-based and system dynamics) and machine learning techniques. Dr. Bobashev has applied modeling, statistical analysis and experimental design to a variety of health- and policy-related areas, including substance use, HIV, child/maternal health, influenza, cancer, diabetes, and violent behavior. He has been a principal investigator and co-investigator on numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

In addition to his RTI duties, Dr. Bobashev is an adjunct Professor at the Department of Statistics at North Carolina State University, adjunct Professor at the NYU School of Global Public Health, and a Professor at the Data Science Tech Institute in Sofia Antipolis, France.

Shruti Mehta is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She received a Master’s in Public Health (1997) and a PhD (2002) in Epidemiology also from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research focuses on HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among people who inject drugs (PWID) in the US and in India with a particular interest and focus on identifying and overcoming barriers to access care and treatment for HIV and HCV.

Dr. Mehta has led research programs in Baltimore and India that have produced more than 350 peer-reviewed papers. She has been continuously funded for more than 20 years with grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the National Science Foundation.

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Photovoice is a participatory, qualitative research approach where participants use photography and stories about their photos to identify and represent issues of importance to them enabling researchers to gain a greater understanding of the topic under study. Dr. Walters will present the theoretical origins and practical applications of the method using examples of their respective research studies among individuals in marginalized communities including those who use drugs and are affected by HIV.

Suzan Walters is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Epidemiology in the Department of Population Health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and an affiliated researcher at the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) at New York University. Her mixed-methods research focuses on the social and structural determinants of health among drug using populations. Her current K01 grant focuses on how intersectional stigma experiences affect health outcomes among people who use drugs. Dr. Walter’s current CDUHR-funded pilot study is exploring barriers and facilitators to PrEP, harm reduction, and use of Overdose Prevention Centers using Photovoice, a community-based, participatory research methodology.

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This talk will explore the social and structural factors contributing to racial inequities in HIV. Additionally, it will highlight effective structural interventions aimed at reducing these disparities.

Natalie Crawford is an Associate Professor in Behavioral, Social and Health Education Sciences in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. She serves as the Co-Director of the Prevention and Implementation Sciences Core in the Center for AIDS Research at Emory. Trained in social epidemiology, she received her PhD and MPH in Epidemiology from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Crawford completed her post-doctoral training at the University of Michigan as a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar. She graduated from Spelman College where she trained in Women Studies and Biochemistry. Her NIMH-supported research examines the impact of structural interventions in pharmacies on reducing racial inequities in HIV. She is currently advancing the implementation science of HIV prevention services in pharmacies in the US Southeast.

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Foresight research helps us consider various future scenarios and how to prepare for them. This is crucial in drug policy where decisions can significantly impact society and people who use drugs. In his presentation, Tuukka Tammi will explore strategic foresight as a method that has so far been underutilized in social sciences and discuss its relevance for drug policy research, the tools it employs, and its practical applications. He will also share key findings from a recent study examining Finland’s drug policy trajectory toward 2030.

For further reading, the article on which the presentation is based: Unlu, A, Viskari, I, Rönkä, S, & Tammi, T (2024). Developing strategic foresight for drug policy: trends, scenarios, and implications. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 1–16. doi: 10.1080/09687637.2024.2331574

Tuukka Tammi, PhD, is a Lead Expert at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). His research interests are related to public and social policy analysis, health and social care system research and development, research into social problems, especially addiction research, as well as strategic foresight. Tuukka Tammi is also an associate professor (title of docent) at the Universities of Helsinki and Tampere.

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Dương Thị Hương is Associate Professor, Senior Lecturer, and Formal Dean of Faculty of Public Health at the Hai Phong University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Dr. Huong has had numerous projects funded by the French National Research Agency for AIDS Research (ANRS) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse focused on HIV, HCV, and related infections in people who inject drugs (PWID).

Drug Use & Infections in Vietnam (DRIVE) aimed to end the HIV epidemic among people who inject drugs in Hai Phong, Vietnam (NIDA R01DA041978/ANRS 12353) and ran from 2016 to 2021. DRIVE has been a foundation for several subsequent initiatives, including DRIVE-C (Drug Use & Infections in Vietnam – Hepatitis C) (ANRS 12380), which focused on HCV elimination; DRIVE-MIND Mental Health Intervention for Injecting Drug Users, (ANRS 12410); DRIVE-COVID (ANRS COV22), which evaluated the impact of lockdown measures on HIV and HCV risk behaviors and access to prevention and care during the COVID-19 epidemic for PWID in Hai Phong; and DRIVE-TB Tuberculosis Control, (ANRS 0092, co-funded by NIDA, ANRS|MIE, and L’initiative-Expertise France), aimed at tuberculosis elimination among PWIDs. These projects have resulted in publications in over 20 international journals. The Community HIV Epidemiological Evaluation and Response (CHEER) program has utilized the DRIVE model to evaluate the HIV epidemic in other provinces.