Biomedical Research in Rural America: Much Accomplished, Much To Do

DeWitt Stetten Jr. Lecture | Wednesday, November 30, 2022 | 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. ET

Sally L. Hodder, M.D.

Professor and Associate Vice President for Clinical and Translational Research; and Director, West Virginia Clinical & Translational Science Institute

West Virginia University

Website

I am a seasoned infectious diseases physician with extensive experience in the area of clinical trials, serving as Principal Investigator (PI) for several important NIH-funded U awards (2UM1AI069419; U54GM104942-02) and protocol chair for a large (>2000 participant) NIH-supported trial in the area of HIV prevention. From 2003-2005, I served as Vice President of Virology Medical Affairs, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, a position in which I was responsible for 118 Phase IIIb/IV trials worldwide. In 2005, I was recruited to Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, to build an HIV program where HIV prevalence was nearly 3% among the African American community, but where (at that time) there was not an active NIH Division of AIDS adult trial site. We successfully competed and were awarded as a site in the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) as well as the HIV Prevention Trials Network (both NIH-supported trial networks). As Protocol Chair for the HIV Prevention Trials Network 064 trial (a multi-site study of HIV incidence and risk behaviors among 2,099 US women), I worked effectively with investigator teams to successfully create and execute this study. In 2014, I was recruited to direct the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute (WVCTSI) and serve as PI for the current NIH funded Institutional Development Award (IDeA), Clinical and Translational Research (CTR), which was successfully renewed in 2017. 

Summary

This will be a remote-only lecture at https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=46035 with a start time of 3:00 p.m. ET (and not 2:00 p.m. like all other WALS talks.) No registration is needed.

Lecture summary from speaker: "West Virginia, the only state located entirely in Appalachia, has among the lowest life expectancy in the nation and ranks at or near the bottom in many chronic disease categories. Moreover, across America, rural mortality rates exceed urban rates, and the gap has accelerated since 1999, even when adjusted for age. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has further highlighted rural health disparities with demonstrated higher COVID-19 related mortality and hospitalization rates. To add to the problem is distrust in science that has become more prevalent. The presentation will describe the establishment of a statewide research program and engagement of rural communities in research. Specific research agendas and results will focus on innovative treatment of refractory substance use disorder using deep brain stimulation. Also discussed will be results relating to epidemiology and treatment of SARS-CoV-2."