CHIPTS - Key Persons
Aaron Celious, PhD is an applied sociologist whose work focuses on how to best develop, implement and evaluate public health programs and policies. This includes understanding how to match the capabilities of an organization with the wants and needs of the target community. Recent projects include: (a) developing the HIV/AIDS Strategy for the City of Los Angeles AIDS Coordinator's Office, (b) developing the HIV Zero Initiative and evaluation plan for the City of West Hollywood, (c) testing the efficacy of mental health promoter programs (promotores de salud) for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, (d) assessing the potential to implement an HIV risk assessment as part of a standard patient encounter in a primary care setting, (e) examining barriers and motivators to implement routine opt-out HIV tests at health clinics in Los Angeles, and (f) evaluating the Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART) program for the City of Los Angeles Mayor's Office. He is a current member of the American Public Health Association, the Community Advisory Board for UCLA Center for HIV Identification, Prevention (CHIPTS), and the Community Advisory Board for UCLA Center for AIDS research (CFAR). In addition, Aaron is also a filmmaker who writes and directs comedy and psychological thrillers. He is a director/writer fellow of Film Independent's Project Involve, a fellow of the Guy Hanks Marvin Miller writing program at USC, a 2010 HBO Directing Fellow finalist, and a Groundlings theater alumna.
Ace Robinson, MPH, MHL is a leading administrative and policy HIV advocate and population health expert who serves NMAC as the Director of the Center to End the Epidemics. In addition, he cofounded the Avielle Foundation that combats violence through brain health research, community engagement and education. Ace also serves on the boards for the Economic & Policy Impact Center (EPIC SoCal) and the UCLA Center for HIV, Identification, and Prevention & Treatment Services (CHIPTS). Prior to joining NMAC, Ace served in senior leadership roles at Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) in New York City and the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation in Cape Town, South Africa. Robinson holds a Master of Healthcare Leadership from Brown University, a Master of Public Health
Allison J. Ober, PhD, is a health policy and behavioral science researcher at the RAND Corporation. She has expertise in implementation science and intervention research, and has over fifteen years of experience conducting HIV prevention and substance use disorder research with underserved populations. Ober recently served as principal investigator of a study examining adaptive strategies for avoiding HIV used by young black men who have sex with men and as co-investigator of a randomized controlled trial that tested the use of a collaborative care model for implementing substance use disorder treatment in a community health center. Ober's current research interests include increasing access to substance use disorder treatment and preventing HIV. Ober received her doctorate from the UCLA Department of Social Welfare, School of Public Affairs.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Clinical Population
Anne E. Fehrenbacher, PhD, MPH is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Population and Public Health Sciences in the Division of Disease Prevention, Policy and Global Health in the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Dr. Fehrenbacher is a social epidemiologist specializing in bio behavioral HIV prevention with sex workers and sexual and gender minority populations. Dr. Fehrenbacher is currently preparing to launch a five-year K01 study funded by the NIH Fogarty International Center on PrEP implementation science with hard-to-reach populations in India evaluating policy, structural, and organizational barriers to widespread rollout and scale-up of PrEP. Dr. Fehrenbacher is the PI for two studies on PrEP acceptability and adherence barriers among sex workers in India and Co-PI for a study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihoods of sex workers in collaboration with the Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee in West Bengal. Dr. Fehrenbacher serves as a Scientific Advisor for the Sex Work Lived Experience Affirming Research Network (SW LEARN) funded by the California HIV/AIDS Research Program (CHRP): Community-Centered Research Collaboratives to Address Local HIV-Related Syndemics Across California. Dr. Fehrenbacher is the recipient of the 2022 Mark A. Etzel Scholarship Award for Implementation Science Research from the UCLA Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services for her work to develop scalable, sustainable, and effective PrEP implementation strategies to reduce disparities in HIV incidence globally. Previously, Dr. Fehrenbacher was a Research Scientist and Postdoctoral Fellow in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Bio behavioral Sciences and completed a Fogarty GloCal Fellowship sponsored by the UC Global Health Institute with the Public Health Research Institute of India and Ashodaya Samithi in Karnataka. Dr. Fehrenbacher earned her PhD and MPH in Community Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and her BA in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Policy Impact Core
- Health Economist
Arleen Leibowitz, PhD, is a health economist with over 25 years of experience in HIV research, beginning with her leadership of the economics team of the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study. Currently, she directs the Policy Impact Core of the UCLA Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services (CHIPTS), where her research examines HIV testing among at-risk groups as well as the use and financing of medical care for persons living with HIV (PLWH) and at risk for HIV. Her analyses examine the role of public policies on HIV detection, linkage to care, transmission, adherence, and viral suppression. She has examined Medicaid costs of treating HIV, the effects of the Affordable Care Act on treatment for PLWH, and whether HIV specialists provide high quality care for non-HIV comorbidities of PLWH. Dr. Leibowitz also brings a policy perspective to examining HIV prevention, including the impact of California budget cuts on HIV testing and prevention and the analysis of biomedical prevention strategies including male circumcision and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV (PrEP). Her cost-effectiveness analysis of condom distribution in jails showed that the savings to society resulting from reduced costs of treating the HIV infections averted would more than offset the cost of the program. Dr. Leibowitz mentors graduate students, infectious disease fellows, junior research investigators and community partners, particularly those who wish to develop or expand their ability to conduct Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER). She has provided training in CER to both students and public health officials in the U.S. as well as to audiences in Beijing, China and Bangkok, Thailand.
Job Titles:
- Core Co - Director, Policy Impact Core
Ayako Miyashita Ochoa, JD, is an Adjunct Professor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Department of Social Welfare. She serves as Associate Director of the Southern California HIV/AIDS Policy Research Center which brings the most relevant and timely evidence to bear on California's efforts to develop and maintain efficient, cost-effective, and accessible programs and services to people living with or at risk for HIV. Ayako's interests focus on HIV-related health disparities at the intersection of race/ethnicity, sexual and gender identity, and migrant status. Prior to her position at Luskin, she served as a Director in the Clinical and Experiential Learning department of UCLA School of Law. Ayako taught courses focused on HIV law and policy and, as a licensed attorney, she directed the Los Angeles HIV Law and Policy Project (LA HLPP), a legal services collaborative dedicated to addressing the unmet legal needs of primarily low-income people living with HIV in Los Angeles County.
Job Titles:
- CAB Member
- Project Manager and Trainer at the Primary Care Development Corporation
Brandon Harrison is a Project Manager and Trainer at the Primary Care Development Corporation. As Project Manager, Brandon is responsible for providing training and technical assistance to health care organizations across the country. He has served in leadership positions implementing HIV prevention, and sexual health programs across the country, in communities most impacted by health disparities. Throughout Brandon's career, he has been diligent in raising awareness to issues such as stigma, HIV/AIDS, LGBTQ issues, violence, sex work and other issues affecting vulnerable communities. Brandon remains a leader, supporter, and role model inspiring others to continue their resilience.
Job Titles:
- Patient Care Manager at AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Carolyn D. Belton currently works as a Patient Care Manager at AIDS Healthcare Foundation providing psychosocial assessments and services to patients experiencing stressful life events in addition to their medical care. Carolyn has worked in the field of HIV care for five years and views it as her "passion population". Carolyn has been involved in direct HIV outreach and spoken at community panels addressing HIV and health disparities in communities of color, with particular focus on women. Additionally Carolyn was a Project Facilitator on a NIH funded research study called FemAALES which focused on safer sex practices and overall esteem building for African American women in South Los Angeles. Carolyn holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Master's of Science degree in Human Services (MSHS) with a specialization in Multidisciplinary Human Services.
Job Titles:
- Core Director, Combination Prevention Core
- Senior Research Scientist With Friends Research Institute
Cathy J. Reback, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist with Friends Research Institute and the Director of the Combination Prevention Core for the UCLA Center for HIV Identification, Prevention and Treatment Services. Additionally, Dr. Reback is the Founder and Executive Director of Friends Community Center the community-based site for Friends Research Institute, which provides publically funded, culturally responsive, substance use and HIV prevention services for sexual and gender minority individuals. The focus of Dr. Reback's research is an examination of the intersection of substance use disorders and HIV risk behaviors among sexual and gender minority individuals in community settings. Dr. Reback has an extensive background in conducting community-research collaborations, managing large-scale HIV prevention and intervention programs, designing and implementing technology-based and mHealth interventions, designing and implementing venue- and street-based intervention programs, evaluating behavioral and biomedical treatment therapies for populations with substance use and mental health disorders, and conducting mixed methods research studies. Additionally, she has collaborated with several local community-based organizations to adopt, tailor, and transfer evidenced-based interventions into public health and community settings. Dr. Reback's community and policy work includes current and past membership on numerous local and national HIV/AIDS and substance use task forces and advisory committees.
Chandi Moore, a Los Angeles native, is a nationally recognized HIV and Trans activist. She currently works for Children's Hospital Los Angeles Center for Trans Youth and Development. Chandi has extensive knowledge and experiencing working with Trans and gender non-conforming youth. In her current role she leads a nationally recognized and evidenced based trans youth specific project called BLUSH (Brave Leaders Unified to strengthen our Health). Chandi is a commanding public speaker and facilitator with years of HIV testing/counseling experience. She is also known for managing and supporting special events and creatively collaborating within the local and national HIV community as well as being an advocate and spokeswoman for the Trans-community and LGB communities. A previous Co-Chair for the TSPN (Transgender Service Providers Network). She was recently named as one of Advocate Magazine's 25 Trans pioneers who took us past the tipping point in 2015. Also in 2015 she joined forces with the Center of Disease Control for their Act against AIDS initiative campaign "Doing It" which encourages the community to get tested for HIV and knowing their status. A 2015 Positive Images Statement of Courage Award Recipient and the 2018 Better Brothers Los Angeles Advocate Award winner. Chandi can also be seen alongside American television personality and retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete Caitlyn Jenner on the GLAAD media award winning "I Am Cait". Chandi Moore is someone who loves to empower others to reach the light that is at the end of the tunnel.
Chelsea L. Shover, PhD is an epidemiologist and Assistant Professor-in-Residence at the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research. She completed her PhD in Epidemiology at the University of California Los Angeles and a postdoctoral fellowship in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. Her research focuses on substance use, infectious disease, and their shared social and structural risk factors. Her 2019 study on the changed association between cannabis laws and opioid overdose mortality was named among that year's top 10 Proceeding of the National Academy of Science papers contributing to public understanding of science. She co-authored a report published in The Lancet: "Responding to the opioid crisis in North America and beyond: recommendations of the Stanford-Lancet Commission." Alongside her academic work, she has served as an epidemiologist in government and non-profit positions, most recently as Supervising Epidemiologist for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's COVID-19 response in homeless shelters and encampments. Supported by a Career Development Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, her lab's current projects include methods to use rapidly available overdose data to inform public health policy, as well as community-based implementation of harm reduction strategies. Using medical examiner data, her team has identified key local drug supply changes (i.e., fentanyl's westward spread; xylazine's increasing presence in various markets) and then worked with policymakers and community organizations to improve on-the-ground overdose prevention.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine
- Core Scientist, Combination Prevention Core
Cherie Blair MD, PhD is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where she specializes in Infectious Diseases. She went to medical school at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and completed her residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship training in Infectious Diseases at UCLA. During her fellowship training, she participated in the UCLA STAR program where she obtained a PhD in Health Policy and Management from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Her interests include sexually transmitted infections, HIV prevention, substance use, and public health. Currently, her research is primarily focused on the impacts of substance use and sexually transmitted infections on systemic and mucosal inflammation. She is a clinical provider at the UCLA CARE Center, where she focuses on the prevention and treatment of HIV and other STIs.
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Methods Core
Christina M. Ramirez, PhD research interests generally relate to uncovering the mechanisms behind HIV and viral pathogenesis. To this end, Christina worksclosely with investigators in the clinical and basic sciences. Christina is particularly interested in drug resistance mutation/recombination, viral fitness and HIV co-receptor utilization. Christina works to develop methods to understand the evolutionary dynamics of gene regions under the selective pressure of the host immune system and antiretrovirals. Christina also is interested in complex, high-dimensional data analysis where we have large p and small n. This has led to the development of machine learning methods for complex data with correlation.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Psychologist
- Scientific Advisory Board Member
Christina Psaros, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She is the Associate Director of the Behavioral Medicine Program at Massachusetts General Hospital where she also co-leads the Qualitative Research Unit in the Division of Clinical Research. Her research has focused primarily on psychosocial aspects of HIV care and prevention for cisgender women both domestically and abroad, and men who have sex with men, with an emphasis on intervention development. She has led NIH funded studies in the United States (e.g., R34MH118044, R34AT009170) and South Africa (e.g., K23MH096651, R01MH112385), and developed the adherence intervention protocols for two major PrEP trials (HPTN083 and Partners PrEP). She has over 80 publications and is the first author on the Lifesteps for PrEP intervention manual, which is part of the CDC compendium of evidence-based interventions and best practices for HIV prevention. She provides mentorship to junior investigators, post-doctoral fellows, and other mentees/students around qualitative methods, intervention development, and behavioral science.
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Policy Impact Core
Corrina Moucheraud ScD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Policy & Management. She is a global health policy and systems researcher. Her main areas of work include the processes and outcomes of policy implementation at the global and national levels; and incorporating health system information into quantitative methodologies for evidence-based decision-making in low-resource settings. She has participated in research across many countries, particularly in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Dahlia Ferlito, MPH, earned a Master's of Public Health degree at California State University, Northridge and has extensive experience working in the field of HIV/AIDS and substance abuse in nonprofit and research settings; including Cambridge Cares About AIDS, Asian Pacific Health Care Venture, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center and Friends Research Institute. Dahlia has coordinated comprehensive HIV and STD prevention programs that involved sexual education, street outreach, HIV test counseling, Comprehensive Risk Counseling Services, Motivational Interviewing, and HIV Health Education/Risk Reduction and is a certified HIV Testing Counselor, Family Planning Counselor, and Reproductive Health Counselor. Dahlia is a founding member of the County of Los Angeles Testing, Linkage to Care Plus.
Job Titles:
- Core Co - Director, Development Core
Dallas Swendeman, PhD, MPH, is an applied multi-disciplinary behavioral scientist whose research currently focuses on leveraging mobile phones' nearly ubiquitous integration into our daily routines for innovative intervention and research methods, specifically for prevention, self-management, and treatment adherence and retention interventions targeting HIV/AIDS, substance use, sexual risk behaviors, mental health and quality of life. He has a parallel line of research on empowerment and community-led structural interventions with sex workers in India (www.durbar.org), and recently began collaboration with partners in Cambodia. Dr. Swendeman has over 20 years of professional research implementation experience in HIV prevention and self-management interventions, with his earliest experiences focused on youth living with HIV (YLH) and developing and testing behavioral interventions that have been scaled nationally by the CDC in the Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions (DEBI) program (CLEAR and Together Learning Choices).
Damone Thomas got his first taste of HIV/AIDS Advocacy as a volunteer when he was a high school student in Kingston, Jamaica where he was born and raised. In 2008 Damone worked behind the scenes in several different HIV organizations learning the mechanics of advocacy, which later helped him start his own organization. In September, just two months after the XIX International AIDS Conference of 2012, Damone started his own HIV Advocacy Campaign called Healing with Hope (HwH). Along with his online effort to promote awareness to the Faith and Caribbean Community in Los Angeles County and beyond. He is currently enrolled in the BA in Human Services Administration program at Antioch University and Board Co-Chair for To Help Everyone (T.H.E) Health & Wellness Center.
Debra A. Murphy, PhD, is a Professor Emerita on Faculty Recall with the Health Risk Reduction Projects within the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Program (ISAP). She graduated from Florida State University in 1987 with a PhD in Psychology. She has conducted HIV/AIDS behavioral research on children, adolescents, adults, and families over the past 26 years. Overall, her work has been behavioral research in HIV/AIDS with children, adolescents, adults, and families. Her primary areas of research are: (1) protective and risk factors among children and adolescents affected by maternal HIV/AIDS; (2) mental health among at-risk and HIV-positive adolescents; and (3) assessment of children and adolescents. She conducted an NIMH-funded R01 to assess the impact of maternal HIV/AIDS on their children (in what became a 15-year longitudinal study, as she followed the families since the children were 5 - 11 until they were late adolescents/early adults, over 3 NIH-funded R01s). Findings from that longitudinal observational study indicated a large number of mothers and children experience psychological distress and that these families need supportive intervention. Overall, she has been the P.I. on nineteen federally funded or state funded grants, as well as a Co-Investigator on twenty-three federally funded projects. She is an author on over 160 peer-reviewed papers. Prior to coming to UCLA, she was the Associate Director for the Center for AIDS Intervention in Wisconsin, and Co-Investigator on a series of federal grants focused on outcome evaluations of HIV behavioral risk-reduction interventions.
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Policy Impact Core
Dilara K. Üsküp, PhD, PhD, is a joint doctoral graduate of the University of Chicago's Department of Political Science and the Divinity School. Her forthcoming manuscript, Sex in God's City, examines theology as political persuasion. Dr. Üsküp's research clarifies the ways in which religion, spirituality, and religious institutions affect behavioral interventions and biometric outcomes of the most vulnerable populations, especially African American/Black women. Her research interests include: race/ethnicity, religion, and gender/sexuality at the intersection of public opinion and health policy. Dr. Üsküp completed a T32 post-doctoral fellow at UCLA from 2018-2020 with Dr. Mary Jane Rotheram and Dr. Steve Shoptaw.
Dr. Amanda Miller has been conducting HIV and substance use research since 2010. She received her doctorate from University of California, San Diego (UCSD), her masters from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and she is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Miller's research primarily focuses on the synergy between alcohol use, experiences of intimate partner violence and HIV. Her dissertation research examined how alcohol use and intimate partner violence impact HIV care and treatment outcomes in Uganda. Her postdoctoral research is focused on addressing perinatal alcohol use among pregnant and breastfeeding women who are at high risk of HIV infection of living with HIV in South Africa. She is also co-investigator on a study to assess the feasibility of integrating point of care syphilis testing into routine antenatal care in Uganda and has ongoing mental health research at the same study site aimed at characterizing drivers of poor mental health and substance use and identifying gaps in mental health literacy in this setting to inform adaptation of interventions to address these issues.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Core Scientist, Combination Prevention
Dr. Erik D. Storholm is a tenured associate professor in the Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Science in the School of Public Health at San Diego State University. Dr. Storholm is a licensed clinical psychologist with an established behavioral research program focused on reducing health inequities through behavioral and biomedical interventions that prevent HIV/STI transmission by improving mental health and reducing substance use and violence among sexual and gender minority populations. Dr. Storholm is currently leading several NIH-funded projects focused on biobehavioral HIV prevention uptake and adherence among sexual and gender minorities. Prior to joining SDSU, Dr. Storholm was Behavioral Scientist at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica where he maintains an adjunct appointment. Storholm received his Ph.D. from New York University and completed his clinical training in the Departments of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center and the Mount Sinai Hospital System in New York City. He then completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in the NIDA-funded Substance Abuse Treatment Services and Research Program in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center.
Dr. Dvora Joseph Davey's research focuses on how best to prevent and treat HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in peri-conception, pregnant women and couples, as well as other vulnerable populations. She has expertise in study design and use of epidemiological methods to inform interventions aimed at reducing the burden of HIV and related diseases on women, children, and families. Most recently, she is examining the combination of behavioral and biomedical approaches to HIV prevention among vulnerable populations. Dr. Joseph Davey is currently an Associate Professor (Adjunct) in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Geffen School of Medicine and in the Department of Epidemiology at the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA. She is based in Cape Town, South Africa where she holds an Honorary Associate Professor Position at the University of Cape Town, South Africa School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Division of Epidemiology. She is the PI of a Fogarty International Research Science Development Award and two NIH R01 clinical trial awards that are evaluating how best to integrate PrEP into antenatal and postpartum care among pregnant and breastfeeding women. She has been involved in research in Southern Africa since 2003 where she has developed and evaluated donor-funded epidemiological studies to inform effective, culturally relevant interventions aimed at reducing the burden of HIV and related diseases on women, children, and families. Prior to joining the faculty at UCLA, Dr. Joseph Davey was a Country Director and Technical Director for a NGO implementing HIV prevention and treatment programs in Mozambique. Dr. Joseph Davey completed her doctoral studies at the University of California, Los Angeles and her Master's degree in public health at Columbia University.
Eddie Sanders has over 20 years of experience in addressing the health care, housing and psychosocial service needs of Los Angeles County's most vulnerable residents, particularly those impacted by HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and/or homelessness. Eddie is the Associate Director of Grants for Northeast Valley Health Corporation (NEVHC), a Federally Qualified Health Center that serves over 72,000 low-income patients across 14 licensed Health Centers throughout the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys, including their Van Nuys Adult Health Center, which specializes in the treatment of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis-C Virus, as well as two Health Care for the Homeless sites. Since 2006, Eddie has strategically raised millions of dollars in public and private grants, expanding NEVHC's physical and programmatic capacity to respond to the growing demand for low-cost, comprehensive medical, dental and behavioral health services. Additionally, since 2008, Eddie has served as Co-Chair for the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valley Homeless Coalition. This cross sector coalition has over 35 active member agencies that work year-round on collaborative projects to help end homelessness in "The Valleys." For the past 3 years, the Coalition has been scaling up the region's Coordinated Entry System model, which streamlines individuals and families into permanent housing and connects them to needed services.
Prior to NEVHC, from 2001- 2006, Eddie was the Housing & Development Assistant for Safe House (a subsidiary of Friends Research Institute, Inc. [FRI]). Located in North Hollywood, Safe House provided emergency, transitional and permanent housing to homeless individuals living with HIV/AIDS who also had histories, or active conditions, of mental illness and/or chemical dependency. Abiding by Safe House's high tolerance/harm reduction model, Eddie facilitated intake assessments, navigated clients to and from off-site appointments, provided housing location support and wrote grant proposals to help sustain and expand the project. During 2003-2006, he was also the Secretary for the SPA 2 HIV Consortium.
From 1998-2001, Eddie worked at FRI's Friends Health Center in Hollywood, where he was a 1) Research and Lab Assistant on a NIDA-Funded study that provided cognitive behavioral therapy, HIV risk reduction and contingency management services for MSM/MSMW struggling with methamphetamine abuse, and 2) HIV Risk Reduction Counselor for a Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Project.
Job Titles:
- Core Coordinator, Administrative Core
Edgar Enrique Sanchez, BS, serves as the CHIPTS Core Coordinator. Responsibilities include supporting center-wide communications (maintaining the CHIPTS website, email listservs, and social media accounts); collecting and organizing information for evaluating center-related activities; supporting center data compilation and literature reviews; and providing administrative and coordination support for center events and meetings. Prior to working with CHIPTS, Mr. Sanchez provided administrative support to both government agencies and local non-profit organizations in Los Angeles County. He is heavily involved in community outreach, having promoted health education on a series of health challenges: Type 2 Diabetes, Leukemia & Lymphoma, and most recently COVID-19. He is a recent graduate from California State University - Los Angeles and has a Bachelor of Science in Public Health.
Job Titles:
- Ending the HIV Epidemic Coordinator, Administrative Core
Elena Rosenberg-Carlson, MPH, provides project management, analytical, and dissemination support for several CHIPTS projects as the CHIPTS Ending the HIV Epidemic Coordinator. She has significant experience facilitating public health efforts in partnership with diverse stakeholders, most recently for the infectious disease division at the Minnesota Department of Health. With a background in intervention development, health education, evaluation, and quality improvement, she is passionate about using data-driven, collaborative approaches to address health disparities. Ms. Rosenberg-Carlson received her BA from Carleton College and her MPH from the University of Michigan.
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Policy Impact Core
Erika Martin, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Professor of Public Administration and Policy at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York. As an applied health policy researcher, she uses mixed methods to evaluate issues related to the allocation of scarce public health resources, and the adoption and impact of public health policies. Recent work in HIV policy includes examining the fairness and flexibility of the federal allocation formula for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, interstate variation in state HIV programs, the national budget impact of expanded HIV screening on public programs, the effects of the New York State HIV testing law on epidemic outcomes and resources needs, and how national health reform will affect HIV care across states. Dr. Martin is also studying the release of open health data, and how public health agencies can make these data more usable and fit for public health research. At Rockefeller College, Dr. Martin teaches courses in policy analysis and research design. She received her BA from Brown University, her MPH in epidemiology from the University of Michigan, and her PhD in health policy and administration from Yale University.
Job Titles:
- Physician Assistant
- CAB Member
Felipe Findley is a Physician Assistant providing HIV treatment and prevention services to communities of color for seventeen years getting his start in his hometown Chicago, Illinois. He currently works at Watts Healthcare Center. Social justice work has also been integral to his work, and is involved in investigating the intersections of racism, police violence and mass incarceration on health outcomes and organizing health care professionals as well as working with families impacted by police violence.
Job Titles:
- Core Associate Director, Policy Impact Core
Gabriel Edwards, MD, MPH, is an Assistant Project Scientist at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. His work centers around studying mobile peer-based service navigation interventions to reduce risk of HIV, STIs, and recidivism among the recently incarcerated. He leads efforts by the Policy Impact Core to disseminate CHIPTS investigators' research findings to policymakers and policy advocates. Prior to his position at UCLA, he completed a post-doc year at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he focused on mental health care transitions for people with serious medical illness leaving the hospital. He earned his BA at University California, Berkeley, MD at Oregon Health & Science University, and most recently his MPH at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health in the Department of Health Policy and Management.
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Policy Impact Core
Ian Holloway, PhD, MSW, MPH is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and an Associate Professor of Social Welfare at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. His applied behavioral health research examines the contextual factors that contribute to heath disparities among sexual and gender minority people. Dr. Holloway is an expert in social network analysis and is particularly interested in how social media and new technologies can be harnessed for health promotion and disease prevention. He has served as the PI on research studies funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Department of Defense, and the California HIV/AIDS Research Program. He currently directs the Southern California HIV/AIDS Policy Research Center, which brings the most relevant and timely evidence to bear on California's efforts to develop and maintain efficient, cost-effective, and accessible programs and services to people living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Psychologist
- Scientific Advisory Board Member
Jane M. Simoni, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and a Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Global Health at the University of Washington in Seattle. She is active in the UW Center for AIDS Research, serving as the incoming Director of the Behavioral Science Core, the incoming Senior Advisor of the eHealth Scientific Working Group, and the current Associate Director of the Substance Abuse and HIV/STI Scientific Working Group. She co-chairs NIAID's HIV/AIDS Network Coordinating Committee's Behavioral Science Consultative Group. Her research has focused on behavioral aspects of HIV treatment (especially medication adherence), and she has led NIMH-funded intervention studies in New York (R01 MH58986), Seattle (R01 MH58986), China (R34 MH074364), the U.S.-Mexico border (R34 MH0846740), and Haiti (R34 MH112378). The Chinese national government has recognized her with a "High-End Foreign Expert" Award for 2015-2018. She has over 180 publications, and two of her medication adherence intervention strategies (peer support and electronic reminders) are included among those with "Good Evidence" in the CDC's DEBI program for adherence interventions. She has participated in research and training awards on HIV, mental health, and substance use in the U.S. as well as India, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa. Her current work aims to employ digital technology to enhance intervention impact and dissemination. A recipient of a K24 from NIMH and several mentoring awards, she actively trains students and early career investigators across disciplines, having been a primary sponsor on numerous F31, F32, T32, and K awards.
Job Titles:
- Center Administrator, Administrative Core
Jennifer Baughman, MPA, holds a Master of Public Administration with a focus on nonprofit management. As the Center Administrator, she oversees budget allocations and subcontracting procedures for CHIPTS and regularly monitor spending. She provides guidance and consultation to young Investigators on how to structure their research teams and on issues of compliance with applicable grant and University regulations. She has a Master's Degree in Public Administration and over 20 years of experience in nonprofit management, the majority of which have been dedicated specifically to coordination of NIH-funded projects including clinical trials and behavioral research.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Core Scientist, Combination Prevention Core
Jesse Clark, MD, is Associate Professor-in-Residence in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease and Department of Family Medicine in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. His research addresses the integration of new prevention technologies within the social and sexual networks of Latin American and Latino MSM. He studied History and American Civilization at Brown University and Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, completed Internal Medicine Residency at Montefiore Medical Center, and Infectious Diseases Fellowship at UCLA. He is Director of the UCLA South American Program in HIV Prevention Research (SAPHIR) training program in Lima, Peru and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Current research includes: Use of social networks to promote PrEP adherence among Transgender Women in Peru; Rectal STI screening as a strategy to identify and control HIV/STI transmission risks within MSM sexual networks in Peru; and Evaluation of sexual network patterns among Latino MSM in Los Angeles. Dr. Clark is also Investigator of Record (IOR) for the UCLA Vine Street Clinic site of the HVTN704/HPTN085 Antibody-Mediated Prevention (AMP) trial of monoclonal antibodies to prevent HIV acquisition and the HPTN 083 trial of injectable cabotegravir for pre-exposure prophylaxis among MSM and TW.
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisory Board Member
John K. Williams, MD, is the Regional Associate Director for Asia & Europe for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Williams joined CDC in 2014 as a Medical Officer on the Key Population Team in DGHT's HIV Prevention Branch. His primary role was to provide technical assistance to several countries and regions in developing programs that address the HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men, female sex workers, transgender individuals, people who inject drugs, and people in prisons and other closed settings. He has also worked on special initiatives including the DREAMS Initiative and completed a detail in Central America where he assumed the role of the DGHT Program Director. Prior to joining CDC, Dr. Williams was an Associate Professor-in-Residence at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. Dr. Williams received his bachelor of science degree in Biology from St. Lawrence University and his medical degree from the State University of New York at Syracuse. He has authored and co-authored more than 60 manuscripts and book chapters.
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisory Board Member
Judith Auerbach, PhD, is currently an independent science and policy consultant and Professor in the School of Medicine at UCSF. She recently served as Vice President, Research & Evaluation at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF), where she was responsible for developing, leading, and managing SFAF's research and evaluation-related activities. Prior to joining SFAF, Dr. Auerbach served as Vice President, Public Policy and Program Development, at amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research), where she managed its Public Policy Office in Washington, D.C. and coordinated programmatic activities across the foundation. Prior to amfAR, Dr. Auerbach served as Director of the Behavioral and Social Science Program and HIV Prevention Science Coordinator in the Office of AIDS Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She also has served as Assistant Director for Social and Behavioral Sciences in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, as a Senior Program Officer at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and as Associate Director for Government Affairs of the Consortium of Social Science Associations.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Medicine
- Scientific Advisory Board Member
Judith Currier, MD, is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine. She is also the Division Chief for Infectious Diseases and the Associate Director of the UCLA Center for Clinical AIDS Research and Education (CARE). Dr. Currier is trained both in Infectious Diseases and Clinical Epidemiology, and her research interests include the treatment and prevention of complications of antiretroviral therapy, gender-related issues in HIV therapy and the evaluation of antiretroviral treatment strategies in resource limited settings. Dr. Currier has been involved in the conduct of clinical research studies focused on improving the treatment of HIV infection. Her work has been conducted through the NIAID funded AIDS Clinical Trials and through industry funded studies. Dr. Currier is the Principal Investigator for the UCLA AIDS Prevention and Treatment Clinical Trials Unit and Vice Chair of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG). Her areas of research focus include understanding the pathogenesis and management of long term complications of HIV disease, specifically cardiovascular and metabolic complications associated with HIV treatment
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Combination Prevention Core
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisory Board Member
Job Titles:
- Core Affiliate, Policy Impact Core
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Combination Prevention Core
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Methods Core
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Policy Impact Core
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisory Board Member
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisory Board Member
Job Titles:
- Core Affiliate, Policy Impact Core
Job Titles:
- Core Director, Policy Impact Core
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Combination Prevention and Development Cores
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Combination Prevention Core
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisory Board Member
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Methods Core
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Development Core
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Combination Prevention Core
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Combination Prevention Core
Job Titles:
- Center Director, Administrative Core
Job Titles:
- Core Director, Methods Core
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisory Board Member
Job Titles:
- Core Co - Director, Methods Core
Job Titles:
- Global HIV Co - Director, Administrative Core
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisory Board Member
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Administrative Core
Job Titles:
- Core Scientist, Methods Core