News: HIV/AIDS

As reported in PLOS ONE, a study by the School of Social Work’s Social Intervention Group found that both multimedia and face-to-face interventions worked well in reducing HIV risks for formerly incarcerated women in New York City who are on parole or under some form of community supervision.

Professor Nabila El-Bassel takes time out to answer some questions about her participation in the 2014 International AIDS Conference, where she is presenting a paper, and about her work of the past 25 years in the field of AIDS intervention research.

The Social Intervention Group and the Global Health Research Center of Central Asia pay tribute to the tragic loss of colleagues in the international AIDS field, on Malaysian Airlines Flight 17.

In this short video, Associate Professor Fred Ssewamala recounts a typical day in the life of a rural Ugandan youth—a story that helps provide context for the interventions he designs for helping young people in this East African country stay in school.

The National Institute of Drug Abuse division of the National Institutes of Health has announced funding for a new training program on bio-socio-behavioral HIV and drug abuse prevention, treatment, and care in the U.S. criminal justice system, with Professors Nabila El-Bassel of our School and Professor Linda R. Metsch at the Mailman School serving as lead investigators.

The Columbia Social Work Review serves as a forum for the exchange of innovative ideas from the perspective of social work students. Check out the highlights of this year’s issue in this slideshow celebrating the mid-April launch.

Jan Carl Park, the guest speaker at our event honoring World AIDS Day 2013, gave a moving introduction about a friend of his lost to the disease. The full text in available here, along with highlights from the rest of his talk—about New York City’s attempts to reduce infections by 2015, in line with National HIV/AIDS strategy.

In time for World AIDS Day, the international journal “Drug and Alcohol Dependence” has published a special issue on the AIDS crisis in Central Asia, guest-edited by Willma and Albert Musher Professor Nabila El-Bassel and two public health experts—a first.

Congratulations to Associate Professor Elwin Wu for being awarded tenure by Columbia University! Dr. Wu’s scholarship has been dedicated to constructing social interventions that address the specific syndemics of HIV, drug involvement, and interpersonal violence.

Trélan Holder (MS’06) is the president-elect of the CUSSW Alumni Association. In this interview, she tells us why she came to Columbia and what she hopes to achieve during her tenure.