Postponement of research and PhD applications for 2020

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and in line with other research funding authorities, STIRF announces that applications for funding for:

Research funding

PhD studentship

Are postponed until further notice.

STIRF apologizes for any inconvenience, thanks all those working in the health service for their hard work and dedication and wishes everyone a healthy and productive year.

Let us look forward to a stronger and better NHS and academia once we have overcome this epidemic together.

Mohsen Shahmanesh

Hon Secretary, STIRF

March 26 2020

New PhD project funded

We are delighted that Xola Potelwa has been awarded a STIRF PhD studentship. Xola is undertaking her PhD at the University of York, under the supervision of Dr Amanda Mason-Jones.

Xola is an early career researcher who was previously based in Johannesburg, South Africa where she was leading a team that is investigating comorbidities amongst residents in Soweto, a large peri-urban settlement in the south of the city. She has worked on research projects in fields such as human rights law, diagnostics, youth leadership and health. Prior to that Xola spent several years interacting with emerging market policymakers and traders as a financial journalist for Bloomberg and Reuters. She earned her master’s degree in Health Sociology from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg where she investigated uptake of the HPV vaccine amongst middle class and wealthy families in South Africa. Xola likes to read for pleasure. It is possible that she has moved to York simply to finally learn how to ride a bicycle!

Invitation to apply for research funding: 2020 round

We invite researchers in various fields related to sexual health, HIV and other sexually transmitted viruses to apply for research funds.

Sexually Transmitted Infections Research Foundation (STIRF) was set up to pump prime research projects relating to the epidemiology, pathophysiology, management, and health care delivery of sexually transmitted infections and HIV in the West Midlands, Trent, Yorkshire, Northern and North West regions.

The primary aim is to provide initial funding to allow promising projects from researchers early in their career to obtain preliminary results as a prelude to acquire further funds from larger funding bodies.

We invite applications from researchers in the above regions on projects relating to sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. All projects will be initially screened by the Scientific Committee of STIRF and those considered suitable will be sent for peer review by experts in the field.

The following fields of research will be considered in relation to STIs and HIV

  • Epidemiology of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases
  • Research on HPV and other sexually transmissible malignancies
  • Health care delivery including views of clients
  • Issues relating to deprived or marginalised communities.
  • Pathophysiology of diseases and syndromes
  • Inter-relationship between diseases
  • Treatment modalities
  • Complications of treatment and co-morbidities

 

Applications should not exceed £50,000 in the first year. Depending on satisfactory reports a further £25,000 may be available for the second year. Joint funding with other grant giving bodies will be considered.

For further information and guidance on how to apply visit

https://stirf.org/application-for-research-funds-from-stirf/

 

Deadline for applications: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in line with other fund giving bodies, applications are suspended until further notice

Applications using the appropriate form downloaded from the STIRF web site should be sent with a short CV of the lead investigator by email to:

Dr Mohsen Shahmanesh, (Hon Secretary STIRF)

Stirfweb@gmail.com

Invitation to apply for PhD Studentship 2020

The Sexually Transmitted Infection Research Foundation (STIRF) is a local charity which supports research relating to all aspects of sexual health including clinical practice, public health, microbiology, health economics and behavioural science.

STIRF wishes to fund a PhD Studentship up to a maximum of £60 000 over 3-4 years and is inviting applications with a closing date of February 29, 2020.

Applications would only be considered from universities in the following UK health regions:

West Midlands, Trent, Yorkshire, Northern and North West regions

For details of how to apply go to:

Applications for part funding of PhD in sexual health and related topics

Project on after care of sexual violence and funded jointly by STIRF and UHB Charity is published

Measuring patient experience and outcome in health care settings on receiving care after sexual violence: a systematic review

Project number: 035

This project was completed in March 2018.

The aim was to identify key themes regarded by patients as priorities for delivering a high-quality service for individuals who have experienced sexual violence.

The investigators found that while the experience and outcome as reported by the patients are important measures in themselves, there are are no gold standard instruments against which their experience can be measured.

The patients themselves identified the need to feel in control throughout, which is enabled by listening without judgment, carefully conveying information.

The findings present challenges for healthcare professionals who may feel obligated to ensure particular outcomes, such as emergency contraception being offered when the patient simply wants to be offered choices.

Funding for this project has been kindly provided by JoLi Trust and University Hospitals Birmingham Charity.

Publication: Caswell RJ, Ross, JDC and Lorimer K. Sex Transm Infect 2019;95:419–427. doi:10.1136/sextrans-2018-053920

STIRIG: Sexually Transmitted Infections Research Interest Group

Visit STIRIG: if you are interested in current research going on in sexually transmitted infections.

SITRIG is part of London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

LSHTM is a world-leader for STI research, and is a WHO Collaborating Centre for Sexually Transmitted Infections.

STIRIG aim to:

  • Raise awareness of STI-related research being conducted at LSHTM
  • Increase cross-disciplinary and cross-Faculty work on STIs
  • Develop internal and external collaborations
  • Maximise funding opportunities

See the January issue of their newsletter.

 

Invitation to apply for research funds: 2019 round

We invite researchers in various fields related to sexual health, HIV and other sexually transmitted viruses to apply for research funds.

Sexually Transmitted Infections Research Foundation (STIRF) was set up to pump prime research projects relating to the epidemiology, pathophysiology, management, and health care delivery of sexually transmitted infections and HIV in the West Midlands, Trent, Yorkshire, Northern and North West regions.

The primary aim is to provide initial funding to allow promising projects from researchers early in their career to obtain preliminary results as a prelude to acquire further funds from larger funding bodies.

We invite applications from researchers in the above regions on projects relating to sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. All projects will be initially screened by the Scientific Committee of STIRF and those considered suitable will be sent for peer review by experts in the field.

The following fields of research will be considered in relation to STIs and HIV

  • Epidemiology of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases
  • Research on HPV and other sexually transmissible malignancies
  • Health care delivery including views of clients
  • Issues relating to deprived or marginalised communities.
  • Pathophysiology of diseases and syndromes
  • Inter-relationship between diseases
  • Treatment modalities
  • Complications of treatment and co-morbidities

 

Applications should not exceed £50,000 in the first year. Depending on satisfactory reports a further £25,000 may be available for the second year. Joint funding with other grant giving bodies will be considered.

For further information and guidance on how to apply visit

https://stirf.org/application-for-research-funds-from-stirf/

 

Deadline for applications:  February 29 2019

Applications using the appropriate form downloaded from the STIRF web site should be sent with a short CV of the lead investigator by email to:

Dr Mohsen Shahmanesh, (Hon Secretary STIRF)

Stirfweb@gmail.com

PhD Studentship award at University of York

STIRF has awarded a 3-year PhD studentship under the supervision of Professor Amanda J. Mason-Jones at the Department of Global Health, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of York, UK.

Subject:

“HPV vaccination for preventing cervical and other HPV-associated cancers: Comparing the knowledge and understanding of factors influencing initiation and completion of the UK and Ugandian school-based vaccination programme”.

Funding for this project has been kindly provided by JoLi Trust

 

Suitable applicants should apply at the following site:

PhD studentship application

 

Mycoplasma genitalium: the next sexually transmitted superbug?

Antimicrobial resistance and treatment failures are the biggest challenges

The publication of national treatment guidelines does not usually generate headlines in national newspapers. However, the recent release of draft management guidelines for Mycoplasma genitalium infection was accompanied by high profile media coverage suggesting that it is the next sexually transmitted “superbug.” So what are the facts behind these headlines, and how concerned should we be?

First isolated in 1981, M genitalium is the smallest known self replicating bacterium. Most infections are probably asymptomatic and have no adverse health outcomes. Nonetheless, evidence that M genitalium is associated with serious genitourinary and reproductive health morbidity is accumulating.

In men, there is an unequivocal association with non-gonococcal urethritis, and it is detected in up to 40% of men with persistent and recurrent urethritis. In women, a recent meta-analysis found significant associations with a range of clinical syndromes and adverse reproductive health outcomes, including cervicitis, postcoital bleeding, pelvic inflammatory disease, preterm birth, and spontaneous abortion, and a weak association with infertility.

The population prevalence of M genitalium infection ranged from 1.3% to 3.9% and was higher in countries with a low development index. In Britain, a probability sample survey estimated a prevalence of around 1.3% in the sexually active British population aged 16-44 years.4 In common with many other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), M genitalium infection rates can be considerably higher in men who have sex with men, sex workers, and people attending STI clinics.

Antimicrobial resistance

The main concern is M genitalium’s increasing resistance to azithromycin and moxifloxacin, the recommended first and second line treatments in Europe, North America, and Australia, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. For example, single nucleotide polymorphisms in region V of the 23S rRNA gene, which confer macrolide resistance, were found in over 60% of M genitalium specimens from people attending STI clinics in Australia in 2015. Furthermore, selective pressure can lead to the emergence of macrolide resistance after exposure to suboptimal levels of drug.

Importantly, resistance markers are highly correlated with treatment failure, especially when the organism load is high.

New project approved for 2018: Provision and Accessibility of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in North England and the West Midlands.

Project title: Exploring perspectives on provision and accessibility of Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in North England and the West Midlands.

Principal Investigator Professor Marie Claire Van Hout

Team: Professor Vivian Hope; Mr Jim McVeigh: Mrs Jennifer Germain

Site: Public Health Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool

The United Kingdom (UK) has a concentrated HIV epidemic, with an estimated 101,200 people living with HIV in 2015. A decrease in diagnoses among men who have sex with men (MSM), the group most affected by HIV transmission, has recently been observed, and is probably due to increased frequency of testing (3 monthly) among those at greatest risk and rapid treatment for those testing positive.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an evidence based biomedical HIV prevention strategy which involves HIV negative individuals taking antiretroviral drugs to reduce probability of infection if exposed. The UK PROUD study found PrEP reduced HIV infection risk by 86% among MSM. PrEP is available on the NHS in Wales and Scotland. In October 2017, the IMPACT trial commenced in England, with PrEP being rolled out to 10,000 eligible people.

The project will explore and describe MSM and health professional perspectives on PrEP using qualitative interviews in three Northern cities (Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield) and one city in the West Midlands (Birmingham) where PrEP is available through the IMPACT trial. Interviews with a purposive sample of participants (8-12 MSM and 4-8 health professionals per city) will focus on: PrEP awareness and sources of information including eligibility, compliance, drug interaction and online sourcing; impact of PrEP on HIV testing patterns, hepatitis C, sexual risk and other sexually transmitted infections; and on issues related to accessing PrEP and optimal service provision

The project is timely given the current IMPACT trial in England, with results informing policy, practice and professional training.