Wednesday, February 5, 2025
2/5/2025
Joseph D. Tucker, Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), submits this renewal application for a K24 Mid-Career Award. Dr. Tucker is a nationally recognized thought leader on HIV service delivery and crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing has a diverse group of people collectively solve a problem and then share solutions with the public. In this application, he proposes to develop skills that will serve his future work in this significant area of research, including training on asset- based community development, mentoring across differences, and leadership skills. Candidate: Dr. Tucker has been a highly productive HIV researcher and has developed a substantial HIV patient-oriented research program in global settings. He has 468 peer-reviewed publications, including several research studies that have informed national and global policies. Dr. Tucker is PI on two NIH R01 grants, one NIH UH3 grant, and one NIH R25 training grant. He co-led the development of a World Health Organization guide on institutionalizing research mentorship in low and middle-income countries and serves as the Co-Chair of the Asia Pacific AIDS and Coinfection Conference. As Director of the UNC-South China STD Research Training Center, Dr. Tucker has built capacity for HIV and STD research and training in China. He has served as the primary mentor for many new clinician investigators who have subsequently become successful independent HIV researchers. His trainees published 158 research manuscripts as first or final author since 2019, providing preliminary data for NIH grant applications. Dr. Tucker's trainees have been successful in obtaining faculty positions, NIH K Awards, and other NIH research grants. Mentoring Plan/Environment: This application will leverage the extensive training resources at UNC Project-China in Guangzhou, China and at UNC. In China, the UNC-South China STD Research Training Center and the SESH research team at Southern Medical University provide unique opportunities for research training. As founding Director of UNC Project-China, Dr. In Chapel Hill, the UNC Center for AIDS Research, the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Science (NC TraCS) program, and several HIV training grants provide research training that Dr. Tucker has helped junior investigators join. Dr. Tucker proposes to receive formal and informal guidance to sustain his mentorship role. Research Plan: Doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (dPEP) can decrease incidence of syphilis and chlamydia among men who have sex with men (MSM), but there has been limited behavioral and social research on this topic. Using an asset-based community development approach, Dr. Tucker will use co-creation, a crowdsourcing open call, and a pilot clinical trial to better understand dPEP uptake among young (18-30 years old) MSM in China. This will increase our understanding of integrated HIV/STD prevention programs and provide rich opportunities for mentee research and training. Tucker is well-positioned to mentor students, fellows, and junior faculty in China.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).