Research on Alcohol and HIV

Satellite Meeting to the Research Society on Alcohol Annual Meeting

June 21, 2025

The Vanderbilt Center for Population Science and Randomized Clinical Trials (V-POLARIS) hosts an annual Research on Alcohol and HIV meeting, a satellite meeting to the Research Society on Alcohol’s annual meeting.

The objective of this meeting is to present updates on alcohol research among people living with HIV. These updates can come from existing or new studies including NIAAA-funded HIV and alcohol consortia. Research can include but is not limited to data from observational studies, implementation, pilot studies, and randomized controlled trials.

2026 Meeting

Stay tuned for satellite meeting details on this page. Find information about the greater RSA annual meeting here, or please contact Emily emily.s.wells@vumc.org for more information.

2025 Meeting

The most recent satellite meeting took place in New Orleans on Saturday, June 21, 2025.

To view the 2025 meeting agenda, click here. To view the full 2025 meeting program, click here.

Previous satellite meeting topics and speakers

2024

Enhance Discovery and Advance HIV Science Through Fundamental Research, Moderated by Shirish Barve, PhD
Immune-metabolic mechanisms of alcohol-associated metabolic instability and their contribution to aging comorbidities, Patricia Molina, MD, PhD
Tracking aging of regional thalamic volumes in HIV with and without AUD comorbidity, Adolf Pfefferbaum, MD
Receipt of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1)receptor agonists is associated with reduced alcohol consumption in people living with and without HIV, Christopher Rentsch, PhD, MPH
Advance the Development and Assessment of Novel Interventions for HIV Prevention, Research, and Cure, Moderated by Matthew Freiberg, MD, MSc
"I want to do this for myself": Qualitative Exploration of the Mechanisms of SBIRT for PrEP Users Engaged in Moderate to High-Risk Alcohol Use, Lesley Harris, MSW, PhD
Brief Alcohol E-intervention Reduces Hazardous Alcohol Use and Improves PrEP Adherence Among Men who Have Sex with Men: Results from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Paul Shuper, PhD
Pilot Study Results of Mlambe: An Economic and Relationship-Strengthening Intervention to Address Heavy Drinking and HIV treatment Adherence in Malawi, Amy Conroy, PhD, MPH
Optimization of Public Health Impact of HIV Discoveries Through Translation, Dissemination, andImplementation of Research Findings, Moderated by Matthew Freiberg, MD, MSc
Projected Impact of scaling alcohol misuseinternventions on the Zimbabwean HIV pandemic, R. Scott Braithwaite, MD, MSc, FACP
Motivational interviewing and problem-solving therapy intervention for patients on antiretroviral therapy for HIV in Tshwane, South Africa: A randomizedcontrolled trial to assess the impact on alcohol consumption, Neo Morojele, PhD
Contingency management with stepped care for unhealthy alcohol use among individuals with HIV: Initial findings from a multisite randomized controlled trial, E. Jennifer Edelman, MD, MHS, AAHIVS
Build Research Workforce and InfrastructureCapacity to Enhance Sustainability of Scientific Discovery, Moderated by Kaku So-Armah, PhD
Cytokine dynamics under low and moderate dosealcohol in light and heavy drinkers: a randomized controlled trial, Mollie Manning, PhD
Cortical GABA Recovery During Alcohol Abstention is Attenuated by HIV, Mark Britton, MS
Syndemic Clusters of Alcohol Use andMultimorbidity among People with HIV: A Latent ClassAnalysis Examining Disparities and HIV Care Outcomes in an Integrated Health System, Natalia Van Doren, PhD

Download a PDF of the full meeting agenda here.

2023

Alcohol Use in Association with Pain and Negative Affect in People with HIV, Scott Edwards, PhD Associate Professor, Vice Chair for Training and Mentoring, LSU Health-New Orleans Comprehensive Alcohol-HIV/AIDS Research Center
Pain and hazardous/harmful drinking among people living with HIV, Tibor Palfai, PhD Professor of Psychology and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Director of Clinical Training for the Clinical Psychology PhD Program
Alcohol and Other Drug Use: Associations with Fall, Fracture, and Healthcare Use Among People with HIV infection, Theresa Kim, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Randomized controlled trial of economic incentives to reduce biomarker-confirmed alcohol use and increase TB preventive therapy adherence among PWH, Judith Hahn, PhD, MA, Professor of Medicine, UCSF School of Medicine
HIV and Alcohol Research Center focused on Polypharmacy (HARP), Lesley Park, PhD, MPH Executive Director, Veterans Aging Cohort Study
Assessing the impact of Alcohol use on selected Microbiome Dependent Metabolites of alcohol use and microbiome-dependent metabolites, Alex Yaw Werekuu, RN, MPH Infection Preventionist, Boston University
Sex differences in butyrate producing bacterial community and pathobionts in the gut microbiome of PWH with heavy alcohol use, Aakarsha V. Rao, Graduate Research Assistant, University of Louisville
Microbiome characteristics in those who drink and experience depressive symptoms in the context of diet and study population, Natalie Chichetto, PhD, MSW, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of Florida, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville
SHARC Research activity over the past 5 years: Transitioning from the “30-Day Challenge” to new interventions for alcohol and persons with HIV, Robert Cook, MD, Professor of Epidemiology and General Internal Medicine, University of Florida

Download a PDF of the full meeting agenda here.

2022

Alcohol and the Gut Microbiome in People with HIV: An Overview, Matthew Freiberg, MD, MSc, Professor of Medicine, Dorothy and Laurence Grossman Chair in Cardiology, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Salient Pathogenic Features of Gut Microbial Dysbiosis in People Living with HIV (PLWH) with Hazardous Drinking, Shirish Barve, PhD, Professor and Distinguished University Scholar, Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology and Toxicology Co-Director, Institute of Nutritional and Metabolic Therapies Deputy Director, Alcohol Research Center
Gut-Dysbiosis and Gut-Derived Metabolites in People Living with HIV (PLWH) with Hazardous Drinking, Smita Ghare, PhD, MSc, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, University of Louisville
The association between heavy alcohol consumption and trimethylamine-n-oxide in people living with HIV in St. Petersburg Russia, Kaku So-Armah, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Clinical Addiction Research and Education (CARE) Unit, Boston University School of Medicine
Does Trimethylamine-n-oxide contribute to echocardiographic features of alcohol-related heart failure in people with HIV?, Samuel Mensah, MD, MPH, Research Coordinator, Clinical Addiction Research and Education (CARE) Unit, Boston University School of Medicine
Behavioral Health Syndemics and the Gut Microbiome Among People Living with HIV, Natalie Chichetto, PhD, MSW, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of Florida
HIV and Alcohol Associated Reductions in Butyrate are Associated With Reduced Neural Metabolites and Poorer Cognition, Vaughn Bryant, PhD, ScM, Assistant Professor Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville
Defining the Pathogenesis of HIV-Associated NAFLD, Curtis Gabriel, MD, PhD, Instructor, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Download a PDF of the full meeting agenda here.