Conversations with CEI

PrEParing for Lenacapavir Implementation in Your Clinic: Early Lessons Learned

On June 18, 2025, the FDA approved Yeztugo, the brand name for subcutaneous lenacapavir, a prescription medication used for the pre-exposure prophylaxis of HIV.  Subcutaneous lenacapavir is administered twice a year (every six months) to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 infection in adults and adolescents at risk. With patients only needing lenacapavir twice a year for HIV prevention, the field has been optimistic about the potential for lenacapavir to reduce barriers and improve access to PrEP. Since we are still early in the rollout subcutaneous lenacapavir, many providers have questions about how to offer it to their patients—from workflow to billing to managing potential side effects and drug-drug interactions.
On this episode, Antonio Urbina, MD, Medical Director for CEI’s HIV Primary Care and Prevention Center of Excellence, speaks with Alex Danforth, PharmD. Alex Danforth is a clinical pharmacist in Rochester, NY.  She practices at Trillium Health, a federally qualified health center, where she works with patients and providers to help manage medications and optimize care.  Alex currently provides clinical leadership for HIV treatment and prevention programs. 
Drs. Urbina and Danforth talk about the latest New York State Clinical Guidelines for PrEP, which were updated on October 16th. The new guidelines provide important updates, including subcutaneous lenacapavir. They discuss important considerations for initiating patients on lenacapavir as well as some early lessons learned from implementing lenacapavir in their Rochester- and New York City-based clinics. Related Content: 
PrEP to Prevent HIV and Promote Sexual Health
University of Liverpool HIV Drug Interactions Checker (website and app)
CEI Line: 1-866-637-2342
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Keeping an Eye on STIs – Have You Heard of TMVII?

This month, host Dr. Marguerite Urban chats with Dr. Jason Zucker, an adult and pediatric infectious diseases physician at Columbia University and the assistant medical director of the New York City HIV/STI Prevention Training Center, about an emerging fungal infection, Trichophyton mentagrophytes Genotype VII, also known as TMVII. Curious about what clinicians should know about TMVII? Listen now to learn more! Related Content:
CEI Line: 1-866-637-2342
www.ceitraining.org
www.hivguidelines.org
“Notes from the Field: Trichophyton mentagrophytes Genotype VII – New York City, April – July 2024” - https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7343a5.htm
Emerging Sexual Transmission of Trichophyton mentagrophytes Genotype VII Infections, United States - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/10/25-1056_article
Information for Healthcare Providers: Emerging Ringworm - https://www.cdc.gov/ringworm/hcp/clinician-brief-resistant-infections/index.html

Recap of the 2025 Annual New York State Hepatitis C and Drug User Health Conference

On September 9th, CEI hosted its first in-person conference dedicated to hepatitis C and drug user health. Agroup of New York State-based clinicians met in Catskill for a full day agenda focused on (1) integratingwellness into clinical practice as a way to improve patient care and outcomes, and (2) innovative decision-making frameworks to help clinicians navigate complex scenarios in the absence of strong formal evidence,like clinical guidelines and peer reviewed studies.This episode of “Conversations with CEI” features conference planner and facilitator Taylor Edelmann – aneducator and consultant working at the intersection of LGBTQIA+ health, drug user health and harmreduction – sharing his experience and insights about the day. Taylor currently oversees the LighthouseLearning Collective at the National Harm Reduction Coalition, a program focused on supportingLGBTQIA+ harm reductionists and people who use drugs and engage in sex work. As one of the first openlytransgender NCAA athletes, Taylor brings a deeply personal lens to his work advocating for gender-affirmingcare. He regularly provides clinical education and technical assistance to providers across the country,including Yale University and one of Connecticut’s largest federally qualified health centers, and recentlypresented at the 2025 Harm Reduction International Conference in Bogotá, Colombia. Taylor is also the co-creator of ChemSex Awareness Week, and the lead author of Gender Affirming Harm Reduction: A Toolkitfor Syringe Service Programs, the first resource of its kind developed specifically for social service providersin harm reduction settings.  Related Content: 
2025 Annual NYS Hepatitis C and Drug User Health conference website: https://ceitraining.org/conference/conferences/3
Lighthouse Learning Collective at the National Harm Reduction Coalition: https://harmreduction.org/our-work/action/lighthouse-learning-collective/
Gender Affirming Harm Reduction: A Toolkit for Syringe Service Programs: https://lighthousetoolkit.my.canva.site/
Narrative Medicine: https://www.aamc.org/news/narrative-medicine-every-patient-has-story
Drug, Set, and Setting: The Basis for Controlled Intoxicant Use: https://southwestrecoveryalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Drug-Set-and-Setting-Zinberg-N-1.pdf
CEI Clinical Consultation Line 1-866-637-2342 A toll-free service for NYS clinicians offering real-time clinical consultations with specialists on HIV, sexual health, hepatitis C, and drug user health.
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Insights from the 13th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science

In this episode of Conversations with CEI, Dr. Steven Fine unpacks some of the latest developments and research presented at the 2025 International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science, held in Kigali, Rwanda. From innovative treatment strategies to advancements in prevention and global health equity, Dr. Fine highlights the pivotal discussions and groundbreaking studies that are shaping the future of HIV care. Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of the strides being made in the fight against HIV and the collaborative efforts driving progress on a global scale. Related Content: 
The International AIDS Society (IAS) https://www.iasociety.org/conferences/ias2025 Official site for the IAS 2025, 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science, held in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 14-17, 2025.
https://www.iasociety.org/blog/takeaways-ias-2025 Takaways from the IAS 2025 Conference
CEI Clinical Consultation Line 1-866-637-2342 A toll-free service for NYS clinicians offering real-time clinical consultations with specialists on HIV, sexual health, hepatitis C, and drug user health.
www.ceitraining.org

Evolving Landscape of Geriatric HIV Care

The demographics of HIV care are rapidly changing, and with them, the clinical needs of patients aging with HIV. In this episode, host Dr. Tony Urbina, Medical Director for CEI's HIV Primary Care and Prevention Center of Excellence, sits down with geriatrician Dr. Angela Condo to explore the unique intersection of geriatric medicine and HIV care.
 
Dr. Angela Condo is a board-certified internist and geriatrician at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine, where she established the Comprehensive Program of Integrated Care for Older Adults with HIV at the Peter Krueger Clinic. With initial support from the Keith Herring Foundation and additional HRSA funding through the Aging with HIV initiative, her interdisciplinary program has been serving patients for five years using an innovative embedded consultation model. Related Content: 
NYS DOH AI Guidance on Addressing the Needs of Older Patients in HIV Care: https://www.hivguidelines.org/guideline/hiv-aging/
CEI Clinical Consultation Line 1-866-637-2342 A toll-free service for NYS clinicians offering real-time clinical consultations with specialists on HIV, sexual health, hepatitis C, and drug user health.
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Highlights and Perspectives from the 11th Annual NYS Sexual Health Conference

Live from Canandaigua…it’s the 11th Annual NYS Sexual Health Conference!
The CEI Sexual Health Center of Excellence hosted the 11th Annual NYS Sexual Health Conference in-person on Friday May 2, 2025, in beautiful Canandaigua, NY. This was the Center’s second in-person conference since the COVID-19 pandemic and was the Center’s largest in-person event held to-date, bringing together over 225 clinicians and public health professionals from across NYS (and beyond!). 
In this episode, host Juhua Wu, Director of the University of Rochester Center for Community Practice and team member of the CEI Sexual Health Center of Excellence, checks in live from the conference with four presenters about their experience at the conference, perspectives on what they learned from other sessions, and “need to know” highlights from their own presentations. Join Juhua, along with Rachel Hart-Malloy, PhD, MPH, Brenda Tesini, MD, Michael Brennan, DNP, FNP, and Jeremy Kidd, MD, MPH, for a real-time review of the conference! Related Content:
STI Dashboard New York: https://www.stidashboardny.org/  
Chemsex: Questions and Answers: https://www.suguidelinesnys.org/guideline/chemsex/ 
New York State Department of Health, Healthy Sex campaign: https://campaigns.health.ny.gov/SexualHealth 
University of Rochester Center for Community Practice: www.urccp.org 
CEI Clinical Consultation Line 1-866-637-2342 A toll-free service for NYS clinicians offering real-time clinical consultations with specialists on HIV, sexual health, hepatitis C, and drug user health.
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Xylazine & Medetomidine & Nitazines, Oh My! An Update on New York State’s Drug Supply

New York drug overdose deaths and death rates are on the decline, but with significant disparities and the current, toxic drug supply is partially to blame. Harmful additives like fentanyl analogues, xylazine and medetomidine, among others, have been found in cocaine, heroin, MDMA and pressed into pills. Additives are undetectable by sight, taste and smell which increases the risk of overdose for people who use and may not be aware of what’s in their drug supply.
This episode features Drs. Sharon Stancliff and Jennifer Love discussing additives commonly found in the New York State supply, including BTMPS, fentanyl analogues, medetomidine, nitazenes and an updates on xylazine. Related Content: 
New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute Clinical Guidelines Program for Substance Use Care: https://www.suguidelinesnys.org/
New York State Department of Health Drug Checking Program: https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/aids/consumers/prevention/oduh/drug_checking.htm
New York City Department of Health Drug Checking Program: https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/alcohol-and-drug-use-services.page
New York City Department of Health. Setting Up a Drug-checking Program: A Comprehensive Guide to Implementation. https://www.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/basas/drug-checking-program-implementation-guide.pdf
https://legislativeanalysis.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/BTMPS-Fact-Sheet-FINAL.pdf
Friedman, JR, et al. (2025) The detection of xylazine in Tijuana, Mexico: Triangulating drug checking and clinical urine testing data. J Addict Med. doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000001474
Krotulski, AJ, et al. (2024) Medetomidine Rapidly Proliferating Across USA — Implicated In Recreational Opioid Drug Supply & Causing Overdose Outbreaks, Center for Forensic Science Research and Education, United States. Available from https://www.cfsre.org/images/content/reports/public_alerts/Public_Alert_Medetomidine_052024.pdf
New York Medication for Addiction Treatment and Electronic Referrals (MATTERS) Program. Request test strips (for xylazine and fentanyl). Available from: https://mattersnetwork.org/request-test-strips/
New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS). Harm Reduction Delivered (online order for xylazine and fentanyl test strips). Available from: https://oasas.ny.gov/harm-reduction-delivered
NEXT Distro. Ordering Supplies (for safer drug use). Available from: https://nextdistro.org/nydistro 
CEI Clinical Consultation Line 1-866-637-2342 A toll-free service for NYS clinicians offering real-time clinical consultations with specialists on HIV, sexual health, hepatitis C, and drug user health.
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CEI…we got you! Evolving with the Science

In this episode of Conversations with CEI, we engage with CEI’s clinicians, researchers, and public health experts to explore current and emerging issues in HIV primary care, sexual health, Hepatitis C, and drug user health.
From the early days of the HIV epidemic to today’s complex syndemic approach, our experts share valuable insights and practical strategies for translating science into practice.
We emphasize the importance of a syndemic approach to care, recognizing the overlapping health needs of patients, particularly in the marginalized population. Through a wide range of training and resources, CEI supports New York State clinicians in delivering comprehensive and inclusive care. Related Content:
CEI Clinical Consultation Line 1-866-637-2342 A toll-free service for NYS clinicians offering real-time clinical consultations with specialists on HIV, sexual health, hepatitis C, and drug user health.
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Navigating Measles Vaccine Recommendations for Patients with HIV

In light of the increase in measles cases within the United States, this episode features Dr. Steven Fine, an infectious disease expert, who offers a comprehensive exploration of the history and progress of measles eradication efforts. Dr. Fine delves into the factors contributing to the resurgence of measles, particularly the role of misinformation in undermining public trust and vaccination efforts. Additionally, Dr. Fine walks us through the latest vaccination recommendations for patients with HIV, addressing the unique considerations required to safeguard this vulnerable group. Tune in to gain valuable insights and practical guidance on current vaccination recommendations aimed at protecting patients with HIV from measles in today's healthcare environment. Related Content:
Measles for Health Care Providers: https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/measles/providers/
Measles Cases and Outbreaks | Measles (Rubeola) | CDC https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html
CEI Clinical Consultation Line 1-866-637-2342 A toll-free service for NYS clinicians offering real-time clinical consultations with specialists on HIV, sexual health, hepatitis C, and drug user health.
ceitraining.org

The Invisible Latino HIV Crisis

In May 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its annual HIV surveillance reports. The new data show a continuation of year-over-year reductions through 2022 in the estimated number of new HIV infections in the United States. But disconcerting trends among Latino people — the country’s second-largest racial or ethnic group after White, non-Latino people — reflect persistent failures in HIV prevention and treatment systems that this overall progress has overshadowed. Related Content: 
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