JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY - Key Persons

Adam Bocek

Job Titles:

Position: Research Program Assistant

Agwu AL, Lindsey J, Ferguson K, Zhang H, Spector SA, Rudy BJ, Douglas S, Flynn P, Persaud D, and the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group 381 Study Team. Analyses of HIV-1 Drug-Resistance Profiles Among Infected Adolescents Experiencing Delayed Antiretroviral Treatment Switch Following Initial Nonsuppressive Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy. AIDS Patient Care and STDs 2008 May; 22(7). Agwu AL, James Bethel, Lisa B. Hightow-Weidman, John W. Sleasman, Craig M. Wilson Bret Rudy, and Bill G. Kapogiannis for the ATN 061 team. Substantial Multiclass Transmitted Drug Resistance and Drug-Relevant Polymorphisms Among Treatment-naïve Youth: A Multicenter Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN) Study. AIDS Patient Care and STDs 2012; 26(4): 193-6. PMID: 22563607 Wong FL, Hsu AJ, Pham PA, Siberry GK, Hutton N, and Agwu AL*. Antiretroviral Regimens in Highly Treatment Experienced Perinatally HIV-Infected Youth: What is the Optimal Strategy? Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal 2012; 31(12): 1279-83. PMID: 22926213 Agwu AL, Fleishman JA, Rutstein R, Korthuis PT, and Gebo KA. Changes in Advanced Immunosuppression and Detectable Viremia among Perinatally HIV-Infected Youth in the Multi-site U.S. HIV Research Network. Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. August 2013; 2(3): 215- 223. Agwu AL*, Neptune A, Voss C, Yehia BR, and Rutstein R for the HIV Research Network. CD4 Counts of Non-Perinatally HIV-Infected Youth and Young Adults Presenting for HIV Care were Essentially Unchanged between 2002 and 2010. JAMA Pediatrics 2014; 168(4): 381

Allison Agwu

Job Titles:

Associate Professor of Adult and Pediatric
Position: Associate Professor, Co - CRS Leader

Allison Agwu is an Associate Professor of Adult and Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Agwu graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1999 and completed a combined Internal Medicine and Pediatric Residency at University Hospitals of Cleveland/Rainbow Babies and Children's in Cleveland, Ohio in 2003. She then matriculated as the first combined adult/pediatric infectious diseases fellow at Johns Hopkins, which she completed in 2007. She came on faculty in 2007 with appointments in both pediatric and adult infectious diseases. Dr. Agwu's clinical and research interest is in HIV/AIDS and she has a special focus on adolescent and young adults living with HIV. She sees patients both in the pediatric and adult HIV clinics and as the founder and medical director of the Accessing Care Early (ACE) Clinic, has been integral to the transition of pediatric HIV infected patients to adult care. She also sees general pediatric infectious diseases consultations (in and outpatient). From a research perspective, Dr. Agwu's overarching goal is to optimize outcomes for youth and to that aim deciphers health disparities and optimal ART treatment strategies (initiation and failure) and prevention of co-morbidities (e.g., inflammation) for youth living with HIV. Dr. Agwu has worked with the HIV Research Network for seven years, and has spearheaded the pediatric/adolescent working group agenda. Additionally, Dr. Agwu is the Principal Investigator of the Johns Hopkins sites of the International Maternal Pediatric and Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials' Group (IMPAACT) and the Adolescent Trials' Network (ATN), and the Co-Clinical Research Site leader of the JHU Adult AID Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) Unit. In addition she has chaired protocols examining strategies to address ART and morbidities in HIV infected pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients. She is a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Pediatric Antiretroviral Treatment Guidelines.

Amita Gupta

Job Titles:

Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases

Dr. Gupta is Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She is also Deputy Director of the Center for Clinical Global Health Education (CCGHE), Faculty Co-chair of the Johns Hopkins India Institute, and Professor of Infectious Diseases at the JH School of Medicine, with a joint appointment in International Health at the JH Bloomberg School of Public Health. Board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in infectious diseases, Dr. Gupta specializes in international public health, clinical research, and education in infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and antimicrobial resistant infections. Since 2003, her work has been focused primarily on India, where she leads several Indo-JHU research collaborations. She serves in leadership positions as Co-Chair of the Faculty Steering Committee of the Johns Hopkins India Institute, Center Director for the Johns Hopkins Precision Medicine Center for Excellence for COVID-19, the US chair for the Indo-US Vaccine Action Program sponsored RePORT India TB research consortium, which is funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the government of India, Department of Biotechnology. She also serves on the global RePORT International Executive Committee, a multilateral global consortia for TB research. She is Co-principal Investigator of the NIH-funded Baltimore-Washington-India HIV and Infectious Diseases Clinical Trials Unit (BWI-CTU), and she is an active clinical investigator in multi-country trials conducted by the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) and the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Trials Network (IMPAACT), and has served as protocol chair for high impact studies that have resulted in publications in The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet. She is Co-chair of the NIH and AmFAR funded IeDea HIV/TB Working Group and Scientific Committee co-Chair for IMPAACT TB. She has been awarded research grants from the NIH, CDC, UNITAID, and several philanthropic foundations to investigate infectious diseases of importance to India and beyond. Learn about CCGHE India Research Partnerships In 2019, Dr. Gupta was appointed by the US Health and Human Services Secretary for a 4-year term to the NIAID Council, the chief advisory committee for National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. In 2020, she was invited to the Governing Board of the Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum. Dr. Gupta is an author of more than 200 peer-reviewed research publications and 7 book chapters on prevention and treatment of HIV, TB, and other infectious diseases, primarily in low- and middle-income settings. She has also mentored more than 35 junior scientists in India and the US to run research studies and submit their own scientific findings to peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Gupta received an undergraduate degree from MIT, a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School, and a Master of Health Sciences in clinical investigation from JH Bloomberg School of Public Health. She completed her internal medicine training at San Francisco General Hospital-University of California, San Francisco, followed by a post-doctoral fellowships with the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Foodborne and Diarrheal Diseases) and at the JHU School of Medicine (Infectious Diseases).

Amita Nagaraj

Job Titles:

Position: Sr. Finance Administrator, BJMC CRS

Bio Ms. Nagaraj (Seymour) has a Bachelor's degree in Commerce majoring in Accounting has fourteen years of experience in budgeting and monitoring all financial and administrative aspects of the BJMC Subcontracts. She is currently the Sr.Financial Administrator for the BJMC CRS India. She is responsible for preparing all budgets and justifications for BJMC CRS; ensure that it is in compliant with the sponsor's procurement requirements; oversees HR to see that for staff contracts, payroll, taxes are done on time; ensure that all expenses are correctly and timely recorded; overseas the prepare and reconcile of BJMC CRS project accounts and monthly invoice sent to the John Hopkins University. See that BJMC CRS audits are done in a timely manner.For John Hopkins University (JHU) Pune office prepares budgets and its justification for network and other studies undertaken by the JHU, Pune office; in charge of staff contracts and payroll, procurement and payments; taking care that time audit are done. She provide assistance and documentation to Ms.Smit in the preparation of budget projections and trends; ensure the financial activities and procedures are in compliance with sponsor's regulations; assist in the process of preparing the annual financial reports and annual progress reports due to the sponsor.

Andrea Weiss

aw..@jhmi.edu

Job Titles:

Position: Pharmacist of Record

Anita Shankar

Job Titles:

Consultant to NGOs
Position: Research Associate

Dr. Shankar has served as a consultant to NGOs, governments, and international organizations to improve health programming and monitor impacts. She is a review editor for EcoHealth, a new peer-reviewed journal focused on the co-relationship of environment and health.

Anne M. Rompalo

ar..@jhmi.edu

Job Titles:

Position: HPTN Site Leader
Professor of Medicine and Gynecology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Anne M. Rompalo, M.D., Sc.M. Dr. Rompalo is a Professor of Medicine and Gynecology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM), with joint appointments in Epidemiology, International Health and Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is Medical Director of the CDC-sponsored Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)/HIV Prevention Training Center at Johns Hopkins (PTC), and has previously been Acting Medical Director of the Baltimore City Health Departments STD Clinics and Medical Director of the Office of Population Affairs Male Training Center. She has over 15 years of experience as the Medical Director of the STD/HIV PTC, and has been a key investigator on several studies focused on the natural history of HIV among women including the HERS (HIV Epidemiology Research Study) and HIV prevention among U.S. women at high risk for infection, HPTN 064 trial.

Ashwin Balagopal

Job Titles:

Position: Co - Investigator

Charles W. Flexner

Job Titles:

Position: Site Leader
Professor of Medicine in the Divisions

Charles W. Flexner, M.D., is Professor of Medicine in the Divisions of Clinical Pharmacology and Infectious Diseases, and Professor of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is also Professor of International Health in the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Flexner is an expert on the basic and clinical pharmacology of drugs for HIV/AIDS and related infections, including viral hepatitis and tuberculosis. His scientific contributions include work on the important roles of pharmacokinetic enhancement, adherence, and dosing frequency in the long-term management of HIV/AIDS. He has published extensively on anti-infective drug transport and metabolism, and metabolic drug interactions. Dr. Flexner is currently the Deputy Director of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Johns Hopkins, where he serves as Program Director for Clinical Research Units. He also serves as Associate Vice-Chair for Academic Fellowship Programs in the Department of Medicine, and Associate Director of the Graduate Training Programs in Clinical Investigation of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Flexner is the Co-Principal Investigator of the Johns Hopkins University Baltimore-Washington-India Clinical Trials Unit (BWI CTU) supported by the NIH, and was Chair of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) Translational Research and Drug Development (TRADD) Committee from 2009-2011. Dr. Flexner served as President of the American Federation for Medical Research (AFMR) in 1999-2000, and was President of the AFMR Foundation from 2001-2002. He is a member of the editorial board of 10 scientific journals. He currently serves as a consultant to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and served as a consultant on FDA reform to the United States House of Representatives.

Chloe Thio

Job Titles:

Position: Investigator

Deborah Persaud

Job Titles:

Position: Co - Investigator

Denise A. Wright

dw..@jhmi.edu

Job Titles:

Position: Data Manager / Regulatory Coordinator

Bio Denise A. Wright has more than 20 years experience working with the Johns Hopkins ACTU, and is currently the Data Manager and responsible for Regulatory Affairs for ACTG and HPTN protocols. Ms. Wright oversees the CRS Data Management and Quality Assurance Team for all Network protocols.

Dr. Christine Durand

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Position: Co - Investigator

Dr. Christine Durand, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Oncology, is involved in clinical and transitional research focused on individuals infected with HIV and hepatitis C virus who require cancer and transplant therapies. Her current research efforts include looking at outcomes of hepatitis C treatment after solid organ transplant, the potential use of organ from HIV-infected donors for HIV-infected solid organ transplant candidates, and HIV cure strategies including bone marrow transplantation.

Dr. Eileen Scully

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Position: Investigator

Dr. Eileen Scully is an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She received her B.S. from the University of Notre Dame. She earned her Ph.D. and M.D. from Yale University. She completed her residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital and performed a fellowship in infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. Jason Farley

Job Titles:

Position: CTU Leader for HPTN Studies

Dr. Jason Farley is both a Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing faculty member and a nurse practitioner in the Division of Infectious Diseases within the Johns Hopkins AIDS Service. He also holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Cape Town, South Africa. His current research assesses the epidemiologic interactions of patients with HIV and drug resistance infections in both domestic and international settings. His projects include an evaluation of treatment outcomes in patients with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR- TB) with a high HIV/AIDS prevalence in South Africa in collaboration with the Medical Research Council of South Africa. His team of researchers recently completed a country-wide assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to infection control in hospitals in South Africa. The project successfully enrolled all 24 of the South African hospitals treating MDR-TB, and nearly 500 healthcare workers at these sites. In the U.S, he works to assess multidrug resistant Staphylococcus aureas (MRSA) colonization and infection among patients with HIV/AIDS in Maryland. He also is serving as the principal investigator on a grant exploring adherence to CVD guidelines in providers of HIV care within the Johns Hopkins AIDS Service and is a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Infection Control.

Eric Nuermberger

Job Titles:

Associate Professor of Medicine and International Health

Eric Nuermberger, M.D. is Associate Professor of Medicine and International Health at Johns Hopkins University. He has been involved in the development of new anti-tubercular agents since 2001. His research using in vitro and animal models of tuberculosis to optimize dosing of new and existing drugs and design optimal drug combinations has informed the clinical development of moxifloxacin, rifapentine, pretomanid, bedaquiline and sutezolid and the pre-clinical development of numerous other compounds. It is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, and various pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Nuermberger is a member of the AIDS Clinical Trial Group's TB Transformative Science Group and the Core Science Group of the TB Trials Consortium. He is also Co-Chair of the Preclinical and Clinical Sciences Work Group of the Critical Path to TB Drug Regimens (CPTR) initiative. Dr. Nuermberger also serves as an Associate Editor of the Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and the International Journal of TB and Lung Disease.

Gabriela Smit

Job Titles:

Position: Senior Research Service Analyst

Gail Graham

Job Titles:

Position: Global Community Advisory Board Representative

Heath Shirkey

Job Titles:

Position: Research Nurse

Ilene Wiggins

As CTU/CRS Coordinator/Research Manager, Ms. Wiggins is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the CTU with respect to domestic (U.S.) research activities. Ms. Wiggins has been a nurse coordinator for the Johns Hopkins AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (ACTU) for more than 20 years, and has been Research Manager/Coordinator for this Unit since 2002. In this role, she works closely with the PI's, CRS Leaders and investigators to plan and execute the CTU's scientific activities.

Jamilla Howard

Job Titles:

Registered Nurse
Position: Research Nurse

Jamilla Howard is a registered nurse living and working in Maryland. She began her career at Johns Hopkins Hospital as a clinical nurse extern in 2010 and transitioned into nursing after receiving her Bachelor's in Nursing from Coppin State University's Helene Fuld School of Nursing in 2012. Jamilla worked on the Neurosciences Critical Care Unit for 2 years before exploring other avenues of nursing. In Fall 2015, Jamilla began working for Johns Hopkins University with the AIDS Clinical Trials Group/HIV Prevention Trials Network where she has found a love for research.

Janet Siliciano

Job Titles:

Position: Investigator

Kelly Dooley

Job Titles:

Associate Professor of Medicine
Position: CRS Leader

Dr. Dooley is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology, and Molecular Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, with appointments in the Divisions of Clinical Pharmacology and Infectious Diseases. She is also a faculty member at the Center for Clinical Global Health Education. Dr. Dooley has an HIV outpatient practice and attends on the inpatient HIV service. Her research focuses on tuberculosis therapeutics with an emphasis on Phase I or II clinical trials of new or existing TB drugs and treatment of HIV/TB co-infection. She is Principal Investigator or Protocol Chair for several clinical trials involving TB drugs for drug-sensitive TB or drug-resistant TB and involved in the scientific committees of the Tuberculosis Trials Consortium, AIDS Clinical Trials Group, and IMPAACT networks. She has a special interest in optimizing TB drugs for special populations, including children and pregnant women. Dr. Dooley received her MD from Duke University, and completed residency training in internal medicine and an infectious diseases fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases.