# Intervention to reduce drug use and HIV incidence among high PrEP priority partnered YMSM

> **NIH NIH R01** · HUNTER COLLEGE · 2020 · $922,038

## Abstract

Project Summary
CDC recommendations identify MSM in non-monogamous relationships and those in
relationships with an HIV positive partner as candidates for PrEP. Estimates suggest as many
as 79% of new HIV infections among young MSM (YMSM; ages 18-29) are transmitted between
main partners. Drug use is an established correlate of HIV transmission risk. For partnered men,
relational factors (e.g., sexual agreements) contextualize drug use and both drug use and
sexual agreements predict receptivity to PrEP. Together, these findings point to the need for
integrated intervention services – targeting drug use and sexual health –tailored for partnered
YMSM. Such services are essential to addressing the HIV epidemic in the US.
In response, our team has developed a 4-session MI-based intervention targeting PrEP
uptake/adherence, HIV TRB, and drug use among partnered YMSM. PARTNER (Prevention
And Risk: Treatment with a New Emphasis on Relationships) is delivered to individual YMSM in
relationships (not couples), which enhances the scalability of the proposed intervention. Our
preliminary pilot work has established the acceptability and feasibility of PARTNER. The primary
goal of the current study is to test the efficacy of PARTNER relative to an attention-matched
educational control condition used in previously funded NIH studies with HIV-negative YMSM.
We propose to recruit 240 HIV-negative partnered YMSM who report recent drug use and
sexual behavior consistent with CDC guidance for PrEP candidacy into a randomized control
trial. As part of a secondary aim, this project seeks to enhance the range of biological
measures for PrEP adherence currently available. The field standard for assessing tenofovir
metabolites is dried blood spot assay; however, fingernail assay has high acceptability and
lower cost. We propose to validate fingernail samples for PrEP adherence by correlating results
obtained from fingernail samples with dried blood spot data.
The study team is led by Dr. Tyrel J. Starks (PI), a new investigator with substantial experience
in the study of relationship factors associated with sexual health and MSM in relationships. He
has collaborated on numerous projects examining the nature of sexual agreements and their
association with substance use and HIV transmission risk behavior. He is supported by a study
team which includes Dr. Jeffrey Parsons, the PI of multiple intervention studies targeting sexual
health and substance use. He is also joined by Dr. Monica Gandhi, an expert in biological
assessment for PrEP adherence who has pioneered the use of novel matrices in previous NIH-
funded studies. The team brings extensive experience in behavioral intervention research,
relationship research, and biomedical assessment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9926851
- **Project number:** 5R01DA045613-04
- **Recipient organization:** HUNTER COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** Tyrel J Starks
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $922,038
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-07-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9926851

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9926851, Intervention to reduce drug use and HIV incidence among high PrEP priority partnered YMSM (5R01DA045613-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9926851. Licensed CC0.

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