Center for Alcohol/HIV Innovations and Biomarker Research (CALIBER)

About This Grant

Unhealthy alcohol use plays an important role in perpetuating HIV transmission and exacerbating HIV-associated comorbidity. Prior research has often been hampered by the reliance on self-reported alcohol use, which can be biased and inconsistent. Alcohol biomarkers can provide objective and comparable alcohol measurements for behavioral and translational alcohol and HIV research. However, research is needed to determine how to use alcohol biomarkers as intervention components to provide objective feedback to motivate behavior change, and to determine alcohol biomarker cutoffs that predict worse health outcomes for people with HIV. Engaging persons most affected by alcohol use and HIV is key to understanding the potential impact of new research innovations on the lives of those with and at risk for HIV. There is also a need to train new researchers. We propose to establish the Center for Alcohol/HIV Innovations and Biomarker Research (CALIBER), a comprehensive program of research, training, and dissemination in partnership with those affected to (1) reduce the harmful effects of alcohol use on HIV prevention and HIV-associated comorbidities, (2) advance innovations in alcohol measurement, and (3) train the next generation of alcohol/HIV investigators. CALIBER will leverage expertise in alcohol/HIV biomarker, behavioral, and translational research with the extensive data, specimens, and infrastructure of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) / Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS), which began testing for alcohol biomarkers in 2021. CALIBER will support three projects to address gaps in alcohol-associated HIV prevention and health comorbidity. Project 1 will develop and pilot test a motivational interviewing–based intervention that incorporates biomarker feedback to reduce alcohol use and increase uptake of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among couples at high risk for HIV. Project 2 will adapt and test a combined brief alcohol and expressive writing intervention to reduce traumatic stress and alcohol use among women living with HIV who are recruited from the MWCCS. Both projects will be conducted remotely (phone and online) to maximize scalability. Project 3 will examine the contribution of HIV and unhealthy alcohol use to steatotic liver disease in adults with and without HIV and the role of host genomics and gut microbiome, leveraging alcohol biomarker, historical self- report, and noninvasive liver imaging for ~3000 MWCCS participants. In addition, the CALIBER Pilot Core will train, mentor, and provide pilot funding for early-stage investigators, to conduct impactful alcohol/HIV research. The Dissemination and Community Engagement Core will translate research findings into sustainable solutions for individuals affected by HIV and unhealthy alcohol use. An Administrative Core will provide oversight and administrative, budgetary, resource, and scientific enrichment support to the other cores and projects and enable CALIBER to meet its goals.