FRI is pleased to announce that Dr. Cathy Reback, along with all of Friends Community Center, is recognized as one of CPDD’s (College on Problems of Drug Dependence) first Community Champions. CPDD defines Community Champions as members who are dedicated to enriching their communities, whether related to Substance Use Disorder science or any form of community service.

Friends Community Center (FCC), a division of Friends Research Institute, was founded by Dr. Cathy Reback to provide service delivery and community-based participatory research to sexual minority men (SMM), transgender women, and other gender-expansive individuals living with or at risk of HIV infection in Los Angeles County. The primary objective of FCC is to reduce HIV transmission and acquisition and the risks that can result from substance use. FCC is purposely located on the border of Hollywood and West Hollywood, at the hub of the drug use and sex work district (i.e., “the boulevard”), where SMM and trans women congregate. FCC serves highly impacted SMM and trans individuals experiencing multiple health disparities, two extremely marginalized key populations, and has developed a comprehensive continuum of culturally consonant research studies and service programs for these populations. Most participants actively use substances, engage in exchange sex, have repeated long- and short-term cycles of incarceration, are experiencing unstable housing and food scarcity, have untreated substance use and/or mental health disorder(s), and approximately 80% identify as a BIPOC individual. FCC provides a full spectrum of HIV and substance use programs for treatment seeking and out-of-treatment SMM and trans individuals who use substances from low-intensity street- and venue-based outreach and health education/risk reduction services to case management and high-intensity outpatient methamphetamine use treatment. Additionally, a warm “home cooked” meal is served daily to all FCC participants.

FRI is pleased to announce that Dr. Babak Tofighi, MD, MSc has joined the organization as a Research Scientist. Dr. Tofighi is a physician scientist with training in internal medicine and addiction medicine. He comes to FRI from New York, where he was an Assistant Professor at the New York University Department of Population Health. He received his MD from St. George’s University, his MSc in Clinical Investigation from the New York University School of Medicine, where he also completed fellowships in primary care research and addiction medicine.

Dr. Tofighi has extensive experience in direct patient care, which informs his research agenda. His clinical and training experiences include Attending Physician at Bellevue Hospital in New York and Physician at OnPoint, New York City’s Overdose Prevention Center. He was also a provider training consultant with the NYC Health+Hospitals system. Building on his disaster response work during Hurricane Sandy, Dr. Tofighi spearheaded the NYC Health+Hospitals Virtual Buprenorphine Clinic, which helped to ensure access to opioid use disorder treatment during the coronavirus pandemic throughout New York City.

Dr. Tofighi’s research interests include integrating community-based participatory research and health information technologies to address health equity in primary care, enhancing primary care-based disaster preparedness and response, medical education for substance use disorders, and leveraging technologies (such as telemedicine, health informatics, artificial intelligence, mHealth) to enhance access to primary care and improve outcomes among vulnerable populations.

His research has been supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), and the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ). Dr. Tofighi maintains an affiliation with the New York State Office of Mental Health Nathan Klein Institute, Division of Social Solutions and Services Research. At FRI, Dr. Tofighi will pursue a program of research on opioid use disorder focused around the use of peer-based approaches, intervention technologies, and minority health disparities.

FRI is delighted to welcome Dr. Tofighi and wishes him success with the organization.

Congratulations to Dr. Cathy Reback on receiving the 2023 Legacy Achievement Award from the Los Angeles LGBT Center. This award is given to those who have made a significant and long-lasting impact on the lives of sexual and gender minority individuals. Dr. Reback has had an extensive and established scientific career designing, implementing, and evaluating HIV prevention and treatment clinical trials; these include behavioral and biomedical treatment therapies, technology-based and mHealth interventions, venue- and street-based programs, and has conducted numerous community-research collaborations through community-based participatory research. Over the years, Dr. Reback’s work has resulted in countless individuals reducing their substance use and HIV sexual risk behaviors, and advancing through the HIV Prevention or Care Continuum. The Legacy Achievement Award honors her body of work that has so greatly impacted LGBTQ+ communities.