The Hunter College LGBT Social Science and Public Policy Center is convening  a half-day symposium to mark the 20-year anniversary of CHEST, Center for HIV Educational Studies and Training. The symposium, HIV Research that Informs Policy: Past, Present, and Future, will be held at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. Key figures in New York health policy and in the fight to end the spread of HIV will join us in reflection on 20 years of the Center’s work and to dialogue about the future of HIV research, policy and intervention strategies.

The symposium will focus on the research-policy-practice connections related to HIV/AIDS and LGBT health, and will be divided into three sections. PAST: Re-examining policy-influencing studies from CHEST’s 20-year history. PRESENT: Focusing on recent research on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and how research can be used to fill gaps in current policies in this area. FUTURE: Exploring new directions and the ways in which policy makers and behavioral researchers can work together to address ongoing HIV/AIDS and broader issues in LGBT health.

The Center for HIV Educational Studies and Training was founded in 1996 by Dr. Jeffrey T. Parsons. CHEST conducts research on social and psychological factors associated with HIV transmission and the wellbeing of those living with HIV, with a particular emphasis on the promotion of sexual health in LGBT populations. CHEST is based at Hunter College of the City University of New York and is one of the largest and most successful research centers in the CUNY system. In its 20 year history, CHEST has brought in over 48 million dollars in grant funding and supported over 300 student interns.

For more information about the Center for HIV Educational Studies and Training, please click here.

Welcome and Panel 1: CHEST History of Research Informing Policy

Panel 2: PRESENT – Using Research to Fill Gaps in Current PrEP Policy

Panel 3: FUTURE – New Directions – What Research Do We Need to Advance Policy Related to HIV and LGBT Health?

SCHEDULE

Welcome, 1:00 PM

Harold Holzer, Jonathan F. Fanton Director, Roosevelt House

Dr. Elizabethe Payne, Interim Director, LGBT Social Science & Public Policy Center at Roosevelt House

CHEST History of Research Informing Policy, 1:25 PM 

Participants

Dr. Jeffrey T. Parsons, Director, CHEST; Distinguished Professor, Hunter College
Dr. Christian Grov, Associate Professor, CUNY School of Public Health; CHEST Faculty Affiliate
Dr. David Bimbi, Professor, LaGuardia Community College; CHEST Faculty Affiliate
Dr. Ana Ventuneac, Assistant Professor, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai; CHEST Faculty Affiliate

Discussant

Dr. James Tesoriero, Director, Division of Epidemiology, Evaluation and Partner Services, New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute

Moderator

Mark S. King, Journalist, author of My Fabulous Disease

 Coffee break

PRESENT – Using Research to Fill Gaps in Current PrEP Policy, 3:00 PM

Participants

Dr. Tyrel Starks, Assistant Professor, Hunter College; CHEST Faculty Affiliate
Dr. H. Jonathon Rendina, Assistant Professor, Hunter College; CHEST Faculty Affiliate
Dr. Anthony Urbina, Associate Professor of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital

 Discussant

Kenyon Farrow, U.S. & Global Health Policy Director, Treatment Action Group

Moderator

Mark S. King

 Coffee break

FUTURE – New Directions – What Research Do We Need to Advance Policy Related to HIV and LGBT Health?, 4:35 PM

Participants

Dr. Michael Stirratt, Scientific Program Officer, National Institutes of Mental Health
Karen Hagos, Improvement Advisor, New York State Department of Health
Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Assistant Commissioner, Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Discussants

Dr. Barbara Warren, Director, LGBT Programs and Policies, Mount Sinai Health System
Dr. Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, Senior Advisor to the President of Hunter College
Dr. Jeffrey T. Parsons, Director, CHEST; Distinguished Professor, Hunter College

Moderator

Mark S. King

RECEPTION, 6:00 PM

SPEAKERS