# CAMELLIA Cohort: A longitudinal study to understand sexual health and prevention among women in Alabama

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2024 · $148,500

## Abstract

Abstract
Despite the availability of effective HIV prevention tools such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), significant
disparities persist among communities of color, particularly among women in the Deep South where the rate of
HIV diagnosis is fourteen-times higher for Black women compared to White women. Current literature supports
that alcohol use is associated with condomless sex and increased number of sexual partners, which may
predict greater likelihood of STI/HIV acquisition among Southern Black women. The proposal takes advantage
of a dynamic and innovative collaboration of experienced HIV-prevention investigators from the University of
Alabama-Birmingham, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Centers for AIDS Research, and the Alabama
Department of Public Health (ADPH). In the parent Camellia Cohort, a population-based approach is used to
establish a geographically representative cohort of cis- and trans-gender women (‘Camellia Cohort,’ N = 800)
at significant risk for future HIV acquisition, based on recent gonorrhea or syphilis infection, across the state of
Alabama (AL), highlighted as a geographic hotspot by the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic strategy, to better
understand factors associated with risk of STI and HIV diagnosis and predictors for PrEP use. Leveraging
current enrollment into this cohort, we will recruit a subset of women to assess the following aims: 1) describe
subjective and objective measures of alcohol use in a cohort of women vulnerable to HIV and living in AL by
consenting 200 women form our parent study to self-collect alcohol biomarkers; 2) evaluated the association of
objectively measured alcohol use with a) incidence of STI and b) PrEP uptake and 3) explore the acceptability
and feasibility of biomarker evaluation among a cohort of women vulnerable to HIV by interviewing women who
consented to enroll in the supplemental study and those who did not (n = 12, each arm). Study findings will
provide updated estimates of how alcohol use impacts health outcomes and HIV prevention behaviors while
also providing critical information regarding how best to collect these data from women. Our data measures will
harmonize measures across the AWARE-funded projects providing the opportunity to provide data for
community partners launching initiatives to promote a reduction in HIV/STI incidence.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11094574
- **Project number:** 3R01HD110097-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** Latesha Ellen Elopre
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $148,500
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-09-08 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11094574

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11094574, CAMELLIA Cohort: A longitudinal study to understand sexual health and prevention among women in Alabama (3R01HD110097-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11094574. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*