Upcoming Events

• Most of our events take place in the McKusick Conference Room on the 13th floor at 50 Beale Street, in downtown San Francisco, unless otherwise noted. [Directions to CAPS]
• RSVP to Leslie Roos if you would like to attend. You will need to check in at the security desk upon arrival if you are coming from outside of 50 Beale St.

Speaker: Alan Nyitray, PhD

 Anal cancer is primarily caused by oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV). The incidence of anal cancer in the United States has increased almost threefold in three decades and the incidence among HIV-negative men having sex with men (MSM) in the US is now several fold higher than cervical cancer incidence among women. Persistence of oncogenic HPV infection is the most important early biological event that marks increased risk for development of precancerous lesions that may lead to anal cancer but no literature has determined the biological and behavioral factors in the subset of MSM who are at increased risk of persistence. Such data are especially critical now since current generations of MSM over age 26 years will not have routine access to current HPV vaccines due to licensing. Attention to HPV is also warranted given studies that suggest that HPV infection may increase risk for HIV infection. 

Alan Nyitray spent 15 years on the programmatic end of HIV prevention before deciding to go back to school to study epidemiology.  As a post-doctoral fellow with the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, Dr. Nyitray has, most recently, focused his attention on the HPV in Men Study, a 4-year longitudinal study of HPV and sexual behavior among over 4000 men recruited in Florida, Mexico, and Brazil. He is a recipient of NIH and private industry grants and is currently co-Investigator of a study of HPV transmission among heterosexual couples and co-Investigator of a clinical trial of the Gardasil vaccine among gay male couples.

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

50 Beale Street/13^th floor/McKusick Conference Room

Note special time: 2:30 – 3:30PM next Tuesday.

CAPS Town Hall

Presenter: Jeremy Golbach

Doctoral Candidate, University of Texas School of Social Work

Extant literature indicates that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adolescents are at increased risk for substance use (Moon, Fornili & O’Briant, 2007; Remafedi, 1987), including the use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana (Bontempo & D?Augelli, 2002; Russell, et al., 2002), cocaine, and ecstasy (Corliss, Rosario, Wypij, Wylie, Frazier & Austin, 2010). Although little is known about special risk factors for this minority group, it is recognized widely that stress in the social environment contributes to substance use patterns (NIDA, 1995).

The present series of studies describes through empirical works a) the potential need for LGB specific prevention curriculum; b) the current state of minority stress literature on LGB adolescents; and c) the potential application of minority stress theory to a large national dataset of LGB identifying adolescents. Findings indicate that there are unique cultural needs that should be accounted for in prevention curriculum development. Further, minority stress may be an appropriate framework from which to develop new knowledge of the stress experience in this underserved population of youth.

 Mr. Goldbach’s scholarship focuses on the development of culturally-grounded substance abuse and HIV prevention interventions for vulnerable youth, with particular emphasis on Latinos and Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) youth. His dissertation examines the potential impact of culturally-based risk factors (such as homophobia, victimization, and lack of parental support) on substance abuse outcomes in LGB youth. He also has conducted research on family-focused interventions designed to prevent HIV and substance abuse risk behaviors in Latino youth.

 2:30 – 3:30 PM

50 Beale/13^th floor/McKusick Conf. Rm.

Speaker: Omar Martinez, MPH, JD(c), Indiana University Maurer School of Law – Bloomington Center for Sexual Health Promotion

Mr. Martinez will provide an overview of his research and community projects, manuscripts, a sexual health assessment project in Guatemala City, and a research initiative on immigration law and health. Mr. Martinez’s commitment to health disparities and social justice are driven by his experiences as a political refugee and his work with marginalized groups, such as HIV-positive individuals, undocumented immigrants, and sexual minorities.

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

50 Beale/13^th floor/McKusick Conference Rm.