The Type 1 & 2 systemic lupus erythematosus model: Perspectives of people living with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: In the new Type 1 & 2 model for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Type 1 SLE represents classic inflammatory manifestations, such as arthritis, while Type 2 SLE encompasses symptoms such as pain and fatigue where the relationship to inflammation is less clear. The objective of this study was to interview individuals living with SLE to determine the content and face validity of the Type 1 & 2 SLE model.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with a purposeful sample of participants who met classification criteria for SLE.

Patient and Physician Perspectives of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Flare: A Qualitative Study.

Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) flares are associated with increased damage and decreased health-related quality of life. We hypothesized that there is discordance between physicians' and patients' views of SLE flare. In this study, we aimed to explore patient and physician descriptions of SLE flares.

The National Conference on Health Disparities Student Research Forum.

The annual National Conference on Health Disparities (NCHD) was launched in 2000. It unites health professionals, researchers, community leaders, and government officials, and is a catalyzing force in developing policies, research interventions, and programs that address prevention, social determinants, health disparities, and health equity. The NCHD Student Research Forum (SRF) was established in 2011 at the Medical University of South Carolina to build high-quality biomedical research presentation capacity in primarily underrepresented undergraduate and graduate/professional students.

Training Academic and Community Investigator Teams for Community-Engaged Research: Program Development, Implementation, Evaluation and Replication.

Background: Community-engaged research (CEnR) is an approach to conducting research that actively involves both academic and community partners. Yet many academic researchers have limited knowledge of emerging science and processes for effectively engaging communities and community members are often subjects of research with limited knowledge and participation in the development and implementation of research.

Objectives: The purpose of this article is to explore two CEnR research training programs, both funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH), for the explicit purpose of facilitating translational science.

Communicating and disseminating research findings to study participants: Formative assessment of participant and researcher expectations and preferences.

Introduction: Translating research findings into practice requires understanding how to meet communication and dissemination needs and preferences of intended audiences including past research participants (PSPs) who want, but seldom receive, information on research findings during or after participating in research studies. Most researchers want to let others, including PSP, know about their findings but lack knowledge about how to effectively communicate findings to a lay audience.

Methods: We designed a two-phase, mixed methods pilot study to understand experiences, expectations, concerns, preferences, and capacities of researchers and PSP in two age groups (adolescents/young adults (AYA) or older adults) and to test communication prototypes for sharing, receiving, and using information on research study findings.

BMI, physical activity, and breast cancer subtype in white, black, and Sea Island breast cancer survivors.

Higher BMI, lower rates of physical activity (PA), and hormone receptor-negative breast cancer (BC) subtype are associated with poorer BC treatment outcomes. We evaluated the prevalence of high BMI, low PA level, and BC subtype among survivors with white/European American (EA) and African American (AA) ancestry, as well as a distinct subset of AAs with Sea Island/Gullah ancestry (SI). We used the South Carolina Central Cancer Registry to identify 137 (42 EAs, 66 AAs, and 29 SIs) women diagnosed with BC and who were within 6-21 months of diagnosis.

Community advisory boards: Experiences and common practices of clinical and translational science award programs.

Community advisory boards (CABs) are a valuable strategy for engaging and partnering with communities in research. Eighty-nine percent of Clinical and Translational Science Awardees (CTSA) responding to a 2011 survey reported having a CAB. CTSAs' experiences with CABs are valuable for informing future practice.

Alcohol and Tobacco Use in an Ethnically Diverse Sample of Breast Cancer Patients, Including Sea Island African Americans: Implications for Survivorship.

Data suggest that modifiable risk factors such as alcohol and tobacco use may increase the risk of breast cancer (BC) recurrence and reduce survival. Female BC mortality in South Carolina is 40% higher among African Americans (AAs) than European Americans (EAs). Given this substantial racial disparity, using a cross-sectional survey design we examined alcohol and tobacco use in an ethnically diverse statewide study of women with recently diagnosed invasive breast cancer.

Evaluating the reliability of the Attitudes to Randomized Trial Questionnaire (ARTQ) in a predominantly African American sample.

Purpose: To evaluate the reliability of the Attitudes to Randomized Trial Questionnaire (ARTQ) in measuring perceptions of cancer clinical trials in a predominantly African American (AA) sample in South Carolina (SC).

Methods: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cronbach's alpha estimates were used to assess the reliability of the ARTQ in a convenience sample of 315 participants (81.4 % AA) who were recruited from 2008 to 2013, and who live in eleven different counties in South Carolina with high rates of racial disparities in cancer mortality rates.

Physician perspectives on colorectal cancer surveillance care in a changing environment.

The purpose of this formative qualitatively driven mixed-methods study was to refine a measurement tool for use in interventions to improve colorectal cancer (CRC) surveillance care. We employed key informant interviews to explore the attitudes, practices, and preferences of four physician specialties. A national survey, literature review, and expert consultation also informed survey development.

Construction of recombinant attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium vaccine vector strains for safety in newborn and infant mice.

Recombinant bacterial vaccines must be safe, efficacious, and well tolerated, especially when administered to newborns and infants to prevent diseases of early childhood. Many means of attenuation have been shown to render vaccine strains susceptible to host defenses or unable to colonize lymphoid tissue effectively, thus decreasing their immunogenicity. We have constructed recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccine strains that display high levels of attenuation while retaining the ability to induce high levels of immunogenicity and are well tolerated in high doses when administered to infant mice as young as 24 h old.