The Social Intervention Group (SIG)

08/24/2026

In a new paper from Dr. Nabila El-Bassel and the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 094 study team, they share findings about the feasibility of the peer navigation intervention implemented in 5 major urban areas in the United States.

Using a 2-arm randomized trial, HPTN 094 evaluated whether participants offered 26 weeks of integrated “one-stop” health care services from a mobile health unit with peer navigator support had improved retention in medication of opioid use disorder, PrEP, and HIV care. In New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., they found that there was a good amount of engagement with the peer navigation program, indicating that this is a feasible way of engaging people who might not otherwise be captured by existing public health interventions.

Read the full paper in the Journal of Addiction Medicine:

Objectives:To describe HPTN 094 study’s peer navigation (PN) intervention, implemented in 5 urban US cities among people who inject drugs (PWID) at...

07/06/2026

It is a great pleasure and honor to announce that, effective July 1, Professor Alissa Davis will serve as Co-Director of the Social Intervention Group. Professor Davis brings to this role a deep commitment to SIG’s mission, vision, and future growth. She has been part of the SIG community for more than 11 years, first as a postdoctoral fellow, then as a faculty affiliate, and now as Co-Director. Throughout this time, she has contributed meaningfully to SIG’s research, training, mentorship, and intervention development efforts, helping to strengthen SIG’s impact and advance its leadership in the field.

In her new role, Professor Davis will work closely with Dr. El-Bassel and the SIG management team to strengthen SIG’s infrastructure, advance its research and training agenda, and build on SIG’s long-standing record of innovation, collaboration, and impact.

Reflecting on her new role, Professor Davis shared: “SIG is a unique research center that focuses on critically important areas of research and training. Over the years, SIG has designed numerous interventions that have been recognized as best practices and has trained many scholars, faculty, students, and community partners. As Co-Director, my mission is to continue advancing this important work, strengthen SIG’s infrastructure, and collaborate with the amazing team and faculty affiliates at SIG.”

Congratulations, Professor Davis!

Read more: https://sig.columbia.edu/news/welcoming-professor-alissa-davis-co-director-sig

06/05/2026

The Social Intervention Group recently published a new study in Social Science & Medicine, which is among the first to examine the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals with diverse gender expressions at a national scale in China. The study examined the associations between gender nonconformity and victimization attributed to sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression (SOGIE), including discrimination, violence, and barriers to accessing public services in seven different social contexts.

Key findings included that higher levels of gender nonconformity were significantly associated with greater risk of victimization and gender nonconformity showed significantly positive associations with barriers when accessing public restrooms and bathing facilities.

Read more: https://sig.columbia.edu/news/sig-publishes-landmark-nationwide-study-victimization-lgbtq-individuals-diverse-gender

06/01/2026

At this year's Beyond the Bars conference, hosted by Center for Justice at Columbia University, participants were given space to think about the roots that already exist that they can rely on and where they can plant roots to ground themselves and their communities during rising authoritarianism.

Relive the weekend of celebration, solidarity, skill-building, and resistance to the expansion of criminalization: https://centerforjustice.columbia.edu/news/beyond-bars-conference-2026-recap

05/26/2026

In two new papers, findings from the JasSpark study in Kazakhstan show the potential for using crowdsourced material to allow adolescents to frame HIV stigma in their own words, and how sexual and gender minority stigma shapes perception of barriers to HIV testing. Read more: https://sig.columbia.edu/news/two-new-jasspark-papers-examine-perceptions-hiv-stigma-among-youth-kazakhstan

05/19/2026

A new report from the Center for Justice at Columbia University, "Ending Endless Punishment," calls on New York to pass the Second Look Act. Co-authored by a man who returned to society two years ago after spending more than 24 years in prison, the report makes a comprehensive case that New York should review sentences handed down decades ago, often during periods of punitive excess, racialized enforcement, and political fear. https://centerforjustice.columbia.edu/news/new-report-ending-endless-punishment-calls-new-york-pass-second-look-act

05/19/2026

Dr. Nabila El-Bassel joined the Journal of Addiction Medicine's Beyond the Abstract podcast to discuss artificial intelligence and stigma in addition research. Listen now: https://journal.podbean.com/e/artificial-intelligence-and-stigma-in-addiction-research-insights-from-the-healing-communities-study-coalition-meetings/

04/13/2026

On Thursday, April 30, join CHOSEN for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies for SUD: A Contextual Overview. Jae Sevelius, PhD, and Heidi Allen, MSW, PhD, will discuss psychedelic-assisted therapies as a promising new approach to treating substance use disorders. They'll provided an overview of current regulatory landscape, commonly studied psychedelic compounds, and the rationale for their use in SUD treatment, with attention to proposed mechanisms of action including shifts in narrative and sense of self.

Zoom link provided by email after registration. Register: sig.columbia.edu/Psychedelics

03/30/2026

In a new review of existing research on intimate partner violence in the Caribbean and among Caribbean diaspora women, a SIG-led research team found that while it remains a critical public health issue, the evidence base needed to drive effective policy and intervention is strikingly thin. The review also sheds light on the compounded vulnerabilities facing immigrant survivors of intimate partner violence, particularly women from English-speaking Caribbean communities in the United States, who face significant social and systemic barriers including racism, xenophobia, lack of culturally relevant services, and fear of immigration consequences.

Read more about the findings: https://bit.ly/4sHhz9n