Making it easier to collect social and drug-use network information for people affected by HIV
Official title: Network Canvas 2.0: Enhancing network data capture for drug use and HIV research
Funded at Northwestern University · NIH-11257713 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project is building a user-friendly, cloud-based tool to help researchers collect social and drug-use network information from people at risk for or living with HIV so prevention efforts can better reach them.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northwestern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2023 |
| Project end | January 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $561,338 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA057973-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11257713 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are people living with HIV, people who use drugs, or their social contacts who are willing to share information about their social and drug-use connections for research purposes.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not part of affected social or drug-use networks or who do not want to share personal network information (or who cannot use digital tools) are unlikely to benefit directly from participating.
What this research studies
You will hear this work described as upgrading Network Canvas into a modern cloud-based platform that researchers can use both in person and remotely. The team will add privacy, offline data capture, and features that let the tool feed realistic social data into epidemic models. They will work with people who use drugs and those affected by HIV to test usability and refine how questions and visualizations are presented. The developers will also improve data security and sharing so modelers can use the information without exposing identities.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help public-health teams identify and reach transmission networks more accurately, improving HIV prevention for people at highest risk.
How similar studies have gone: This work builds on an existing, widely used Network Canvas tool that has improved network data capture, while the proposed hybrid cloud approach is a newer expansion to broaden reach and functionality.
Where this research is happening
-
Northwestern University
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Birkett, Michelle — Northwestern University
- Study coordinator: Birkett, Michelle
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.