Yale University

Training and Research in HIV Prevention in Russia

Principle Investigator(s):

Funder: Fogarty International Center
Project period: 09/30/1998 - 04/30/2017
Grant Type: Training
Further Detail

Abstract Text:

During the past decade we have concentrated our efforts in St. Petersburg, Russia training young behavioral and medical scientists to participate in interdisciplinary HIV epidemiological, behavioral, and prevention research. Our most successful trainees - those who have made significant contributions to past and ongoing research collaborations - have been university-affiliated junior faculty members who conduct their research in either non-governmental organizations, research institutes, or branches of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Building on these successes, we will continue to provide interdisciplinary mentored research training to build cadres of research competence at these institutions and simultaneously develop the necessary interdisciplinary collaborations to succeed in building research teams to conduct epidemiological, behavioral, and prevention research in St. Petersburg and more broadly in the Russian Federation. We have identified five focus areas for research training: primary prevention for high-risk populations, secondary HIV prevention for HIV positives, health services research, nursing research, and translational research. This application will describe the successes and challenges of our current training program, highlight the research conducted by trainees in collaboration with their Yale mentors, and detail the new directions we will take to continue to produce well-trained, motivated, and successful researchers who possess the interdisciplinary competencies to succeed as research scientists and make productive contributions in responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Russia, which remains one of the fastest growing in the world. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Research is needed to develop effective responses to the HIV epidemic in Russia. This grant will allow US scientists to build partnerships with their counterparts in St Petersburg to train young and emerging scientists to conduct meaningful research in primary and secondary HIV prevention, nursing research, and health services and translational research. The program described in this application contains a mix of long-, medium-, and short-term training that will enhance research capacity and promote translational activities to increase the public health impact of the research.