Past Events

For recordings of past events and webinars, please refer to CHARM's  channel.
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  • PrEP-GAT: A social network intervention to increase uptake, retention and adherence to PrEP in Black and Latina Transgender women in South Florida through offering simultaneous services of PrEP and gender affirming treatment

    Presenter:

    Laura Beauchamps, MD, MSOM, Infectious Diseases 

    July 14, 2021

    About the Presentation:

    Latina and Black transgender women are disproportionately impacted by HIV.  Qualitative research aiming to understand how transwomen’s social networks impact the PrEP continuum of care cascade is urgently needed. Understanding the social determinants of health including barriers to retention, knowledge of PrEP and gender affirming treatments drug interactions with PrEP will provide information on a potential strategy to increase PrEP uptake within Latina and Black transgender women social networks. 

  • CHARMing Conversations - Youth: Coping with Isolation

    May 26th, 2021 - 6:30-8:00 PM

    Panelists: 

    Jordan Patrick - Undergraduate Senior at the University of Miami, HIV Outreach Coordinator, Batchelor Children’s Research Institute

    Brenda Wilmot - CHARM CAB Member, Hiring Manager, Walmart 

    Dominique Phillips, B.S. - Predoctoral Clinical Psychology Trainee, University of Miami 

    Moderator: 

    Sannisha K. Dale, Ph.D., Ed.M - Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Miami, Director, SHINE Research Program, Director, CHARM Mental Health Disparities Core

    Please find the flyer here. 

  • CHANGE T32 Training Program: Kick-Off Event!

    May 11th, 2021

    Thank you for joining us for the Kick-Off event of our new CHANGE T32 Training Program. Please find a recording of the event on YouTube. 

    Event Flyer

    CHANGE Flyer

    For more info on the CHANGE T32 Training Program, click here. 

  • CHARMing Conversations - Safe Sex During COVID-19

    Panelists: 

    Camille Lewis - Program Manager for Transgender Services, Empower "U" Community Health Center 

    Jose Rodriguez - CHARM CAB Member, Architectural Designer, OS Design Group

    Allan E Rodriguez, M.D. - Professor of Clinical Medicine, CHARM Developmental Core Co-Director, University of Miami

    Paul Seligmann - PrEP Services Coordinator, Care Resource, Non-government co-chair, PrEP Workgroup for the Miami-Dade DoH

    Moderator: 

    Sannisha Dale, PhD, EdM - Assistant Professor, Director, Mental Health Disparities Core, CHARM, Psychology Department, University of Miami

    Please find the flyer here. 

  • CHARMing Conversations - Mental Health and HIV: Stigmas, Strategies, and Striving

    Wednesday, March 24th, 2021 6:30 - 8:00 PM

    In this conversation, we discussed stigmas about HIV and Mental Health and how people continue to strive. 

    Panelists: 

    Alecia Tramel - Chair of CHARM CAB, Executive Director / Founder, Positive People Network, Inc. 

    Tajma Darlington - Co-Chair of CHARM CAB, HIV Prevention and Testing Manager, Pridelines

    Myka Osorio - CHARM CAB Member, PrEP Navigator, Care Resource

    Moderator: 

    Sannisha Dale, PhD, EdM - Assistant Professor, Director, Mental Health Disparities Core, CHARM, Psychology Department, University of Miami

    Please find the flyer here. 

  • Syndemics, Cultural factors, and Biological Susceptibility to HIV Acquisition in Latino Men who Have Sex with Men

    Presenter:

    Nicholas Metheny, PhD, School of Nursing and Health Studies

    February 17, 2021

    About the Presentation:

    Despite strong evidence that the disproportionate burden of HIV in Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) is due to a combination of structural, syndemic, and cultural factors, there is little research on mechanisms of action between social stressors and HIV risk. Using biomarker data and sophisticated quantitative analyses, this study aims to understand how social stressors are associated with HIV susceptibility and pre-exposure prophylaxis uptake in Latino MSM.

  • 15th Annual HIV Symposium: The Path to Ending the HIV Epidemic

    The Miami Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), the HIV/AIDS and Emerging Infectious Diseases Institute (HEIDI) and the Center for HIV and Research in Mental Health (CHARM) have partnered to host the 15th Annual HIV Symposium: The Path to Ending the HIV Epidemic. 

    February 10 & 11, 2021

    Speakers:
    Carl W. Dieffenbach, PhD
    Julia Marcus, PhD
    Brian Mustanski, PhD
    Lynne Mofenson, MD
    Emma Spencer, PhD
    Dennis Burton, PhD

  • Introduction to Social Network Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR)

    Presenters: Mariano Kanamori, PhD Assistant Professor University of Miami, Stephen Fallon, PhD Executive Director Latinos Salud

    February 3, 2021

    Topics Covered:

    CBPR’s Definition, Design Principles and Challenges 
    Developing Partnerships 
    Incorporating Social Network Analysis in CBPR 
    Finding The Right Community Partner 
    Examples of Outcomes of Community Engagements 

  • Sex, Drugs and REDCap: How to Collect Research Data on HIV and Substance Abuse

    Presenter: Dr. Raymond R. Balise, Department of Public Health Sciences, Biostatistics

    February 3, 2021

    REDCap is a popular, user-friendly, web-based data collection tool that can be used to collect sensitive research data. This presentation will show the process of setting up a REDCap database used for a clinical trial aimed at assessing the utility of an iPhone/Android mobile app designed to support medication adherence in HIV+ men who have sex with men and who use stimulants (cocaine and/or methamphetamine).

    The completed project includes a screening survey, study e-consent, randomization into study groups considering race, and tracking of specimen collection over a year. Attendees will see how REDCap can be used to do data validation, control the display of data with action tags and feed data between study instruments/questionnaires with piping. New features in REDCap 10, such as field embedding, to make good-looking questionnaires, will be covered.

    Intended audience is people who have some REDCap experience, but novices who would like to learn more about REDCap's capabilities are welcome. Attendees must register in advance and must watch the tutorial videos (1.5 hour length) before the seminar. 

    Tutorial videos and information are available here.

  • Supporting Treatment Adherence for Resilience and Thriving (START): Assessing intersectional stigma within an mHealth intervention to improve treatment adherence among HIV+ stimulant-using MSM

    Presenters:

    Renessa Williams, PhD, RN - Postdoctoral Fellow Deportment of Surgery

    Chika Christle Chuku, MPH - Pre-doctoral Fellow Deportment of Public Health

    January 27, 2021

    About the Presentation:

    Stimulant-using MSM (SUMSM) may have greater difficulties navigating the HIV care continuum as well as display substantially elevated viral load, amplified HIV transmission risk, and faster clinical HIV progression. Efforts are needed to understand how managing multiple stigmatized identities related to HIV status, substance use, race, and sexual minority status may further challenge HIV-related disparities. This proposed research aims to test an mHealth intervention targeting treatment adherence, substance use, and intersectional stigma among SUMSM.

  • 2020 World AIDS Day and Ending the Epidemic in Miami Webinar

    Researchers from the Miami Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and the Center for HIV and Research in Mental Health (CHARM) present their ongoing NIH-funded HIV Implementation Science projects which, in collaboration with community stakeholders, aim to end Miami’s HIV epidemic. 

     

    Moderators:

    • Savita Pahwa, MD - Director, Miami Center for AIDS Research; Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
    • Steven Safren, PhD - Director, Center for HIV and Research in Mental Health; Professor, Department of Psychology

    Presenters:

    • Rosina Cianelli, PhD, MPH, RN - Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Health Studies
    • Sannisha Dale, PhD - Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
    • Susanne Doblecki-Lewis, MD, MSPH - Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Department of Medicine
    • Audrey Harkness, PhD - Research Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences
    • Mariano Kanamori, PhD - Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences
    • Allan Rodriguez, MD - Professor of Clinical Medicine, Department of Medicine

  • World AIDS Day - Staying Focused: High Priority Areas for HIV/AIDS Prevention in the Era of COVID-19

    Presenters: Dr. Renessa Williams, Dr. Mariya Petrova, Leah Davis Ewart and Ariana Johnson (predoctoral students)

    December 1, 2020

    In celebration of World AIDS Day, the Department of Public Health Sciences hosted a symposium showcasing the ongoing work of its predoctoral and postdoctoral students.

    Research topics include: 

    • Barriers to PrEP uptake
    • Substance use patterns among sexual minority men living with HIV
    • Substance use and HIV disease management in the era of COVID-19
    • HIV-related stigma as a risk factor for unsuppressed viral load

     

  • Building mCARES - mobile technology to Improve Adherence among Women with HIV

    Presenter: Dr. Lunthita Duthely

    November 11, 2020

    About the Presenter:

    Dr. Duthely's research focuses on improving health outcomes for minority women. Her research interests are in understanding the interplay between individual-level barriers, like HIV stigma, and facilitators, such as resiliency, to adherence to care among African American, Caribbean and Latina women living with HIV. This is foundational for a strengths-based approach to design, adapt and implement education and technology­based solutions to support adherence to care.

    About the Presentation:

    The evolution of the formative work for a multilingual, mHealth intervention to support women living with HIV will be presented. An overview of the study findings, to date, gaps in the literature regarding HIV mHealth interventions and ethical and practical considerations when designing applications for special populations will also be discussed.

     

  • Building rapport in the virtual world

    Moderator: Dr. Victoria Behar-Zusman

    Panelists: Marisabel Canedo, Dr. Sannisha Dale, Maria Khalona, Jasmyn Sanders, Dr. Gira Ravelo, Dr. Patricia Rojas, Dr. Jose Colon-Burgos, Arnetta Phillips

    October 9, 2020

    In collaboration with Center for Latino Health Research Opportunities (CLaRO)

    For event recording, click here.

  • Engaging the capacity of local comadronas in rural Guatemala: A tool for HIV prevention and maternal health

    Presenter: Dr. Victoria Orrego Dunleavy

    September 30, 2020

    About the Presenter:

    Dr. Victoria Orrego's expertise is in health communication with a focus on health promotion and evaluation. Dr. Orrego works to understand and alleviate health disparities among at risk populations such as Latinx and indigenous Mayans by developing innovative, community-based interventions.

    About the Presentation:

    SEPA (Salud/Health, Educaci6n /Education, Prevenci6n/Prevention, and Autocuidado/Self-Care), has been effective in reducing HIV risk behaviors among Hispanic women and can be utilized to address the socio-cultural factors that perpetuate HIV risk among indigenous Mayan women. This presentation will discuss the results of a pilot study focusing on culturally adapting SEPA content for the Mayan community and examining the feasibility and acceptability of the integration of SEPA into current comadrona (traditional birth attendant) training. Next steps to address the Covid-19 consequences will also be discussed.

  • ¡HOLA, Amigos! Lowering Cardiometabolic Risk in older Latinos Living with HIV

    Presenter: Dr. Daniel Jimenez

    August 26, 2020

    About the Presenter:

    Dr. Jimenez is a clinical psychologist who has dedicated his career to identifying health disparities affecting the nation’s racial/ethnic minority older adults and developing innovative strategies to reduce, and ultimately eliminate these disparities.

    About the Presentation:

    The Happy Older Latinos are Active (HOLA) intervention is an innovative health promotion program that is uniquely tailored to meet the diverse needs and circumstances older Latinos living with HIV. This presentation will discuss the results of a pilot study focusing on lowering cardiometabolic risk and how it is being adapted to address the unintended consequences of COVID-19 prevention and mitigation strategies on older Latinos living with HIV.

  • Seminar on Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and Ethics

    Presenters: Dr. Erin Kobetz and Dr. Victoria Behar-Zusman

    August 11, 2020

    Topics Covered:

    • Overview of CBPR and local application
    • Experiences conducting CBPR in Little Haiti and other poorly served enclaves in the United States and abroad
    • Ethical issues in CBPR

  • Solving the Challenges to Behavioral Research during the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Presenters: Dr. Maria Alcaide, Dr. Lunthita Duthely, Dr. Dainelys Garcia, Dr. Audrey Harkness, Dr. Daniel Jimenez, Dr. Steven Safren, Ms. Maria Tapia, Mr. Andres Vazquez, Dr. Denise Vidot, and Dr. Deborah Jones Weiss

    July 23, 2020

    Topics Covered:

    • Informed consent procedures and other IRB-related issues
    • Administering assessments (e.g., web-based, telephone, etc.)
    • Interventions (e.g., MHealth, telephone, etc.)
    • Specimen collection and safety
    • Compensation (e.g., gift cards, cash transfers, etc.)

  • Expanding community virus screening programs and statewide virus elimination efforts

    Presenter: Dr. Emmanuel Thomas

    June 6, 2020

    About the Presenter:

    Dr. Thomas's research program is to develop integrated, multidisciplinary approaches for the study of virus driven diseases and to bridge clinical medicine and basic science with translation of fundamental knowledge to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of viral diseases and related cancers.

    About the Presentation:

    Having been raised in Miami-Dade county, Dr. Thomas has a strong commitment to improving the health of our local community. Through our community virus screening programs and statewide virus elimination efforts, we are identifying infected individuals and linking them to care. In addition, we are also facilitating the ability of uninsured patients to receive costly medications through patient assistance programs.

  • Five Point Initiative: A Model for Meeting Miami's Black Communities Where They Are in Efforts to End the HIV Epidemic

    Presenter: Dr. Sannisha Dale

    May 13, 2020

    About the Presenter:

    Dr. Dale is the Founder and Director of the SHINE (Strengthening Health through INnovotion and Engagement) Research Program. Dr. Dale's primary research interests include investigating psychosocial (e.g.microoggressions, discrimination) and structural factors (e.g. poverty) that relate to HIV health disparities, developing interventions, and engaging community members and stakeholders in research.

    About the Presentation:

    The Five Point Initiative is (1) partnering with five venues in five Miami-Dade zip codes with the highest number of Black individuals living with HIV (2) collaborating with community health organizations funded by the CDC, HRSA, and/or SAMHSA and (3) hosting twenty five events in which community members complete a brief electronic survey in exchange for a service/voucher at a venue and are offered HIV /STI voluntary counseling and testing, and condoms.

  • Developing a tailored strategy to increase the scale up and dissemination of HIV prevention and behavioral health services to Latino MSM

    Presenter: Dr. Audrey Harkness

    April 8, 2020

    About the Presenter:

    Dr. Harkness is a Research Assistant Professor in the University of Miami Department of Public Health Sciences. Her work focuses on HIV-prevention and treatment integrated with behavioral health, primarily among sexual and gender minority populations and Latino MSM.

    About the Presentation:

    This presentation will provide an overview of the presenter’s mixed methods work which identified barriers and facilitators to Latino MSM utilizing evidence-based HIV-prevention and behavioral health services, and plans to leverage these data to develop a tailored strategy to increase the scale up and dissemination of these services to Latino MSM in the Miami area. The presenter will be seeking feedback on next steps for this program of research. 

  • FINISHING HIV: A Network-Based HIV Protection, Diagnosis, and Treatment Program for Latinos

    Presenter: Dr. Mariano Kanamori

    February 19, 2020

    About the Presenter:

    Dr. Kanamori is an epidemiologist with 26 years of experience designing, developing, implementing and evaluating HIV interventions for Latino communities, including Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) in Miami- Dade County (MDC). He is changing the paradigm for HIV prevention among Latinos through a spatially explicit social network-based model that incorporates geographic information systems and social network approaches.

    About the Presentation:

    Dr. Kanamori will present his NIH-funded project: FINISHING HIV, which uses a pharmacy network and a parks network to increase awareness and utilization of HIV protection, diagnosis, and treatment services among Latino MSM subgroups in MDC. Dr. Kanamori’s studies show that the HIV epidemic in MDC is driven by Latino MSM who identify as gay, those who identify as bisexual and those who identify as straight.

  • Implementing a Telemedicine Test and Treat approach at the Miami IDEA Syringe Services Program

    Presenter: Dr. Hansel E. Tookes

    February 12th, 2020

    About the Presenter:

    Dr. Tookes is a public health physician with extensive experience in working with people living with HIV and people at high risk for acquiring HIV, including people who inject drugs (PWID).

    About the Presentation:

    PWID experience extensive barriers to engagement in HIV care. It is estimated that less than half of PWID living with HIV in the U.S. are virally suppressed. Test and Treat approaches are associated with viral suppression; however, more is needed when engaging PWID into HIV care. Telemedicine has been successful for direct patient consultation for HIV care. The progress on local implementation and plans for statewide expansion of the Telemedicine Test and Treat approach will be discussed.

  • Introduction to Qualitative Research: What is it? When should you use qualitative research?

    Presenters: Dr. Sara Mijares St-George and Dr. Joseph De Santis

    December 6, 2019

    About the presentation:

    Data Collection - Developing a question guide; Participant sampling and sample size considerations; Types of data collection; Interview skills; Equipment, recording procedures; Transcription

  • Developing Multi-Level Interventions to Address Suicidality in People Living with HIV who Use Substances

    Presenter: Dr. Adam Carrico

    November 20, 2019

    About the Presenter:

    Dr. Carrico is a clinical-health psychologist with expertise in developing and testing integrative interventions to optimize HIV/AIDS prevention efforts with individuals who engage in problematic patterns of alcohol or other substance use.

    About the Presentation:

    Suicidality is a prevalent comorbidity in people living with HIV (PLWH) who use substances. However, little is known about the predictors and consequences of suicidality in this population. This presentation will leverage findings from a study conducted by the NIDA Clinical Trials Network that enrolled PLWH who use substances from 11 hospitals in the U.S. Findings highlight the multi-level determinants of suicidality in PLWH and demonstrate that higher suicidality is independently associated with lower odds of viral suppression.

     

  • Machine Learning: Who knows, who cares, why bother...

    Presenter: Dr. Raymond Balise

    November 20th, 2019

    About the Presenter:

    Dr. Balise is an award winning lecturer and the author of “Presenting Medical Statistics from Proposal to Publication” and more than a hundred peer reviewed publications and refereed presentations in topics including phonetics to obstetrics, dyspepsia to dyslexia and health disparity to brachytherapy. He is currently working on projects tackling HIV, substance abuse or health disparities.

    About the Presentation:

    This presentation is geared towards people who do not love math but who need to make the best possible predictions about patient outcomes and the effects of health policy changes. Attendees will be introduced to Machine Learning (ML) methods and shown why they make better predictions for patient outcomes when compared to other traditional methods. Examples include using ML to predict breast cancer based on images and predicting survival after catastrophic burns. The utility of traditional hypothesis testing methods and the importance of model validation will be discussed. These methods include k-Nearest Neighbors, Support Vector Machines, Decision Trees, Random Forests and Neural Networks.

  • New directions for the Community-Based HIV Awareness for Minority Populations (CHAMP) Program

    Presenter: Sonjia Kenya, Ed.D., M.S., M.A.

    October 23, 2019

    About the Presenter:

    Dr. Kenya is an Associate Professor of General Medicine & Public Health at the University of Miami, and the Director of Community Health at the Weiss Institute for Health Equity at the Sylvester Cancer Center. She conducts various HIV research and service programs targeting high risk Black populations in Miami‐Dade County. Dr. Kenya currently leads one of the largest street‐based rapid HIV testing programs in the County.