Seal of Center for AIDS Intervention Research Announces HIV Grant
By: Gary Hollander, Ph.D. - Posted on: 9/10/2006

David Seal, Ph.D. recently announced the Center for AIDS Intervention Research has been awarded a three-year grant to investigate the effectiveness of an HIV Prevention approach with African American men who have sex with men (MSM). The Center, part of the Medical College of Wisconsin, has long been an international leader in this type of research. Diverse and Resilient will be the primary community partner in this project which works closely with the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, Charles D Productions, and some African American men who are not employed by these agencies.

In his announcement of the grant, Seal noted, "Men of Color who have sex with men continue to account for a disproportionate percentage of the total AIDS and HIV cases among MSM in the United States and in Wisconsin." He added that the 3-year study will begin in October 2006 and continue through September 2009.

Although the final research design will be developed in collaboration with the other 5 funded sites, the local investigative team proposed to conduct a randomized clinical trial with 220 African-American MSM to compare the relative effectiveness of a rapid HIV testing and counseling (HCT) risk reduction intervention to an enhanced intervention that includes the HCT intervention plus a theory-based and culturally tailored small group intervention designed to reduce HIV and STI risk behavior among African-American MSM (HCT-plus). The proposed small group intervention in Milwaukee, tentatively titled “PROJECT ABLE: African-Americans Building Lives of Empowerment”, will address key variables hypothesized to influence HIV risk behavior among African-American MSM, such as sexual identity, internalized racism and homophobia, and cultural identification.

Competition for the six funded grants in this initiative of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was stiff. Ultimately four of the programs funded will address African American MSM. These include Howard Brown Health Center (Chicago), Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore/DC), New York Blood Center (New York City), and Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee). The remaining two funded programs address prevention among Latino MSM and are in Miami (Nova Southeastern University) and New York (Education Development Center).

Speaking of the various projects, Steve Flores of the CDC stated, "This is a very experienced team. We are very excited to get started."

While funding for the programs starts immediately, more visible activity will begin in the Milwaukee community in 2007. “There is much to be done in the background as we pull this important program together,” said Brenda Coley, Director of Adult Services at Diverse and Resilient and lead for the agency’s efforts in this project. Coley added, “We are so pleased to find this excellent way to collaborate with Charles and the staff of the Community Center.” Gary Hollander, Executive Director of Diverse and Resilient, will work closely with Seal to make this project come to life.

Johnny King and Warren Scherer of the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, Charles Daniels of Charles D Productions, and Jeffrey Huff will all be participating in this prevention effort for the next three years. The project will also elicit critical input from a community advisory panel comprised of African-American MSM and community allies.