CURRENT PROJECTS:

• Building capacity to respond to HIV/AIDS in China.
  The purpose of this project is to enhance China's capacity to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by supporting the development of the West China School of Public Health at Sichuan University as a centre of excellence in the design and delivery of comprehensive, high quality education programs.
  
• Capacity building & training of AVAHAN partners in Mysore & Mandya: A learning site for CLSI programming - Phase II.
  The purpose of Phase II on this project is to focus on enhancing community mobilization efforts in government HIV programmes and activities and add to the national programme and Avahan training plus offer learning opportunties to persons key to the HIV/AIDS response of the national programme.
  
• Developing and Applying Theoretical Frameworks in the Epidemiology of Sexually Transmitted Infections.
  One of the goals of this grant is to quantify the natural history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and in particular, research into the natural history of Chlamydia trachomatis through the secondary analysis of a large historical population based cohort, constructed from records held by Manitoba Health.
  
• Enhancing the Impact of HIV Prevention Programs for the Most At-Risk Populations in Kenya.
  The purpose of this project is to support the government of Kenya to design and implement effective and efficient models for delivering HIV prevention progrmas for the most at-risk populations.
  
• Empowering vulnerable adolescent girls to improve their access to education and health.
  This project is designed to promote improved access to education and health services and skills for adolescent girls from the lower caste communities in one of the Nothern Karnataka districts, Bijapur, to reduce their vulnerability to HIV.
  
• Evaluation of the Community Response to HIV in India - HIV Prevention Among FSW in Karnataka state, South India.
  The overall objective of the project is to determine to what extent community responses have contributed to stemming the HIV epidemic.
  
• Factors that influence H1N1 vaccination uptake among pregnant women in Manitoba.
  The overall objective of the project is to describe patterns of uptake of PH1N1 vaccination among pregnant women, and investigate associated barriers and facilitators, which will inform future pandemic planning.
  
• Global HIV Prevention Program Science Technical Support and Knowledge Management.
  The purpose of this project is to elaborate the Program Science framework through the development and translation of knowledge and experience.
  
• Harnessing Mobile Phone Usage for HIV and Horizontal Health Systems Improvement: PMTCT.
  The aim of this project is to address the possibility of integrating cell phone technology into prevention of mother to child transmission in HIV (PMTCT) services.
  
• HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support in Karnataka, India.
  This project will expand the University of Manitoba's work in India through additional HIV prevention work in Karnataka, as well as through development of a large HIV/AIDS related care and support program in Karnataka and in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh.
  
• HIV prevention in vulnerable populations: addressing complexity in program design and implementation.
  The overal objective of this project is to implement a large program of HIV prevention for vulnerable populations of sex workers.
  
• Impact assessment of HIV prevention programming in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka:  The CHARME II Project.
  The goal of CHARME-India II is to assess HIV transmission dynamics and the collective impact of all HIV prevention programming in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, and enhance relevant analytical capacity within India.
  
• Improving infectious disease treatment outcomes among vulnerable populations.
  The aim of the project is to improve HIV treatment outcomes among vulnerable populations in Manitoba specifically, in Canada, and more broadly in low and middle-income countries such as India.
  
•  Increase uptake of newborn & maternal interventions in poorly performing rural districts of Karnataka.
  The goal of the project is to support the state of Karnataka and India to improve maternal, neonatal and child health outcomes in rural populations through the development and adoption of effective operational and health system approaches within the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).
  
• Integrated Behavioral and Biological Assessment (IBBA) Surveys to Evaluate the Avahan Program.
  The goal of this project is to provide data needed to effectively monitor and evaluate the Avahan India AIDS initiative.
  
• mHealth and Prevention of Maternal to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT): is Cell Phone Technology the Key to Improving Outcomes in Kenya?
  The overall goal of this project is to determine if mobile phones could be used to improve PMTCT by way of strengthening health systems.
  
• Meeting critical health care & nutritional needs to improve maternal, neonatal and child health in vulnerable African populations.
  The proposed project utilizes existing health and nutrition infrastructure and human resources in the Taita and Taveta Coast Region of Kenya as the platform for strengthening linkages between maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition.
  
• Missed Opportunities for Diagnosis of HIV Epidemiological Study.
  The mandate of the Manitoba HIV program is to provide high quality comprehensive care and knowledge for evidence based programming.
  
• Scaling up HIV prevention in Karnataka & southern Maharashtra, Phase II.
  The goal of the phase II project is to build upon the work in Phase I, with the goal of completing the development and implementation of an effective, results-based and sustainable model for HIV prevention among female sex workers (FSW), and men who have sex with men and transgenders (MSM-T), within the context of the government of India's NACP III.
  
• Sex Cells: a pilot study investigating cell phone-based sexual networks among men-who-have-sex-with-men and transgender males in South India.
  The study is exploring the cell phone-based social networks of MSM to collect individual-level socio-cultural and contextual information about te sexual partnerships of MSM and to generate sexual netowrks of the population.
  
• Socio-cultural aspects of implementing HIV vaccine programs among MSM and FSWs in Asia and Africa.
  This project will examine the social and cultural issues related to testing and introducing furutre HIV vaccines among men who have sex with mn (MSM) and female sex workers (FSWs) in communities in India, Kenya and China, which will inform the design of appropriate and acceptable vaccination clinical trials and health promotion campaigns.
  
• Support to African Countries in the Design and Development of Targeted HIV Prevention Programs.
  The goal of this initiative is to foster and disseminate lessons in HIV prevention programming learned within India and worldwide.
  
• To influence global HIV prevention practice by disseminating widely the approaches and learnings from scaled HIV prevention interventions in India - Part 1.
  The main objective of this project is to enhance the capacities of HIV programmers, policy makers and implementers from selected countries through exposure to lessons from scaled HIV prevention implementation under Avahan and India.
  
• To influence global HIV prevention practice by disseminating widely the approaches and learnings from scaled HIV prevention interventions in India - Part 2.
  The main objective of this project is to accelerate and deepen the dissemination of learning from site visits by providing limited in-country technical assistance and follow-up su.pport.
  
• Ushirikiano: Building research capacity to improve maternal and child health outcomes in Kenya and Canada.
  The University of Manitoba and the University of Nairobi have a history of partnerships and collaboration of over thirty years, which has led to international reputations for both universities as leaders infectious disease and HIV/AIDS programs and research.
  
  COMPLETED PROJECTS:
  
  
• A randomized controlled trial of male circumcision to reduce HIV incidence in Kisumu, Kenya.
  The purpose of this study is through a randomized controlled clinical trial design, to provde a scientifically valid assessment of the effectiveness of male circumcision in reducing HIV incidence.
  
• An impact assessment of targeted intervention for prevention of HIV in India -India HIV prevention-impact assessment.
  The purpose of this study is to determine whether targeted interventions work and whether they warrant a central focus in the national response.
  
• Baseline sexual & reproductive survey in two long-standing research cohorts in Nairobi, Kenya.
  
• Capacity building & training of AVAHAN partners in Mysore & Mandaya: A learning site for CLSI programming - Phase I.
  The purpose of this project is to reduce the risk of transmission of HIV and STI's among sex workers in the learning sites of Mysore and Mandya by implementing Community Led Structural Intervention (CLSI) elements, as well as to build technical competence among community and non-community personnel implementing Avahan funded HIV prevention programs in the context of the Common Minimum Program and within the overall construct of CLSI, by demonstrative learning and coaching.
  
• Designing of intervention for the sex workers in Bhutan.
  The Government of Bhutan was seeking an organization to provide technical support for HIV prevention.  The focus of the technical support is in the areas of assessing the sexual behaviours and networks that influence the transmission dynamics related to HIV and STI's in Bhutan, and capacity building and technical assistance for designing and implementing field assessments related to sexual behaviours and networks.
  
• HIV Prevention in the Migration Corridor of Northern Karnataka and Southern Maharashtra.
  The goal of this project is to strengthen HIV prevention services and STI treatment services in the context of the migration of high-risk and vulnerable men and women, including sex workers in particular, between northern Karnataka state and southern Maharashtra state in India.
  
• Issues in pandemic influenza responses for marginalized urban populations.
  The goal of this study is to estimate the seroprevalence of H1N1 influenza exposure and the rates of infection among marginalized adults presenting for health care or supportive services in inner-city Winnipeg.
  
• Individual, social & environmental barriers to HIV risk reduction among men who have sex with men and transgendered populations in India.
  The goal of this study is to create new knowledge about the individual, social and environmental factors that lead to icreased risk among MSM so that programs can be better designed.
  
• Mapping key populations for HIV prevention in Sri Lanka: A proposal.
  The overall goal of the project is to provide accurate information on the size and characteristics of vulnerable key populations (KPs) in Colombo and 4-5 other key urban (and semi-urban) areas of Sri Lanka.
  
• Monitoring & Evaluation of the Avahan Project in India: Impact assessment and cost-effectiveness analyses using enhanced surveillance.
  This project uses mathematical modeling techniques in combination with collection of enhanced serial cross-sectional behavioural and STI/HIV prevalence data to investigate HIV transmission dynamics among and between core, bridge and general population groups, in four states in south India.
  
• Point of care testing in the Emergency Department.
  The Manitoba HIV Program aims to provide quality comprehensive care to l persons living with HIV in Manitoba.  In an effort to doso, we strive to facilitate earlier testing and linkage to care.  Long-term goals include the roll out of POC testing as an HIV testing option.
  
• Scaling up HIV prevention in Karnataka.
  The purpose of this project is to design and implement a large-scale preventive intervention program for vulnerable populations in 18 districts of Karnataka (covering more than two thirds of the Karnataka population).
  
• Social mapping of vulnerable populations for HIV infection in the Maldives.
  A four person technical team from the University of Manitoba will begin a one week scoping mission to the Maldives for a detailed social mapping project involving vulnerable populations for HIV infection.  These groups will have female sex workers (FSWs), men who have sex with men (MSM) and injecting drug users (IDUs).
  
• Technical assistance in prevention of HIV/AIDS & STI in Bhutan.
  The purpose of this project is to provide technical support for HIV prevention in Bhutan.  The goal of the technical support is to translate findings from previous assessments into evidence-based strategies and programs to reduce the burden and impact of STIs and HIV.
  
• Technical support to design, implement and monitor HIV prevention programs for FSWs and MSM in Sri Lanka.
  The purpose of this project is to support the NSACP to complete mapping of FSWs and MSM in Nuwara Eliya and Batticaloa districts.Alos, to help complete the proces of building capacity within NASCP to enable them to replicate mapping methodology, data analysis in remaining intervention districts.
  
• Three symposia on HIV/STD prevention research.
  Over the past few years many academic institutions have established new "global health" centers with the expectation that these institutions will more effectively engage in the production and translation of knowledge that will contribute to the improvement of health in populations around the world.
  
• Understanding the etiology and epidemiology of autoimmune disease in Manitoba: A population based perspective.
  The broad goal of this project is to build better understanding of these diseases by comparing and contrasting aspects of their epidemiology, from a population-based perspective.
  
• Understanding the migration patterns and associated HIV/AIDS vulnerability among rural female sex workers and men in northern Karnataka and southern Maharashtra.
  The goal of this project is to increase knowledge about the patterns of migration of rural female sex workers (FSW) and men, and the impact of this migration on HIV risk, vulnerability and transmission dynamics, in the northern Karnataka/southern Maharashtra "Corridors" region of South India.