Michael H. Chung, MD, MPH, BA

Assistant Professor, Allergy and Infectious Dis.
Assistant Professor, Global Health
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Epidemiology

Dr. Chung has been living and working in Nairobi, Kenya and Hanoi, Vietnam since 2002. At these sites in Africa and Southeast Asia, he has been involved in HIV treatment and care, field epidemiology research, and medical education. He has led several randomized controlled trials on a variety of topic including perinatal transmission of HIV, adherence to antiretroviral medications, and treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia among HIV-positive women. In 2004, Dr. Chung co-founded the Coptic Hope Center for Infectious Diseases, an HIV clinic in Nairobi which is one of the largest single-site antiretroviral treatment centers in Africa. He is the Director of the Treatment, Research, and Expert Education (TREE) program which is dedicated to addressing the health needs of people living in resource-limited settings through quality medical care, academic research, training and education. Dr. Chung's current interests include cervical cancer screening and treatment of HIV-positive women, education of health care workers in resource-limited settings through the internet, and HIV treatment of injection drug users in Vietnam.

Contact Information
325 Ninth Avenue
Box 359909
Seattle, WA 98104
Tel: 206-543-4278
mhchung@u.washington.edu

Research Interests

Dr. Chung has conducted several randomized clinical trials in Kenya including examining the effects of antiretroviral drugs on breast milk shedding of HIV-1 and the consequences of behavioral interventions on adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). His research has generally focused on perinatal transmission of HIV-1 and delivery of HIV health services in resource-limited settings. Other research studies he is leading or coordinating include the efficacy of cervical cancer screening and treatment among HIV-positive women, the evolution of antiretroviral drug resistance among women exposed to perinatal nevirapine, and the effect of lamivudine monotherapy on chronic hepatitis B among HIV co-infected individuals.

In 2003, Dr. Chung established the Tumaini Project to treat indigent HIV-infected patients with free antiretroviral medications. With sponsorship from the Slum Doctor Programme in Bellingham, WA, he was able to treat over a dozen patients. Seeking a clinical setting to treat these patients, Dr. Chung helped the Coptic Hospital in Kenya establish the Hope Clinic, a free HIV care and treatment clinic. In 2004, this relationship led to a collaboration between the University of Washington and the Coptic Mission to provide free HIV care and treatment to Kenyans with support from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). By 2009, over 10,000 HIV-infected Kenyans have received medical treatment at the Coptic Hope Center for Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Chung continues to treat patients in Nairobi.

Dr. Chung believes that educating Kenyans to provide care and treatment is necessary to meet the long-term health demands of the country. Towards this end, he conducts case conferences and journal club meetings at the Coptic Hope Center and Kenyatta National Hospital and mentors clinical officers and Internal Medicine residents and medical students at the University of Nairobi. He leads the UW in partnership with the University of Nairobi to teach HIV program management, health economics, and health informatics in an HIV management fellowship based in Kenya. Through this PEPFAR-funded fellowship program, Dr. Chung provides UW courses and lectures to Kenyans through live internet-based learning. Dr. Chung has helped pioneer this use of the internet to deliver UW academic courses to an international audience, building upon the principle that better medical education leads to better patient care.

Education
MD, Medicine (MD), University of Chicago 1998
MPH, International Health, Harvard University 1998
MD, Medicine (MD), University of Chicago 1998
MPH, International Health, Harvard University 1998
BA, Biology, English, Oberlin College 1990

Projects
Coptic Mission Hope Center
Addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic by establishing centers that cater to the physical, psychological, nutritional and spiritual needs of those who have HIV/AIDS. The Hope Center, located in Nairobi, currently works with an average of 6,000 patients. The center is unique in that it provides all services free of charge.

Selected Publications
Chung MH, Richardson BA, Tapia K, Benki-Nugent S, Kiarie JN, Simoni JM, Overbaugh J, Attwa M, John-Stewart GC. (2011). A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing the Effects of Counseling and Alarm Device on HAART Adherence and Virologic Outcomes. PLoS Medicine, 8(3), 1-11. PMC3046986.

Chung MH, McKenzie KP, Richardson BA, John-Stewart GC, Coombs RW, De Vuyst H, Njoroge JW, Nyongesa-Malava E, Sakr SR, Mugo NR. (2011). Cervical HIV-1 RNA Shedding after Cryotherapy among HIV-positive Women with Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia Stage 2 or 3. AIDS, 25(15), 1915-1919.

Kohler P, Chung MH, Benki-Nugent S, McGrath C, Attwa M, Sakr S, John-Stewart GC. (2011). Free Cotrimoxazole Substantially Improves Retention Among ART-Ineligible Clients in a Kenyan HIV Treatment Program. AIDS, 25(13), 1657-1661.

Pyne-Mercier LD, John-Stewart GC, Richardson BA, Kagondu NL, Thiga J, Noshy H, Kist N, Chung MH. (2011). The Consequences of Post-Election Violence on Antiretroviral HIV Therapy in Kenya. AIDS Care, 23, 1-7.

Kim HN, Scott J, Cent A, Cook L, Ashley-Morrow R, Richardson B, Tapia K, Jerome KR, Lule G, John-Stewart GC, Chung MH. (2011). HBV Resistance among Hepatitis B and HIV Co-infected Patients Starting Lamivudine, Stavudine and Nevirapine in Kenya. Journal of Viral Hepatitis, 18(10), 447-452.

Lester RT, Ritvo P, Mills EJ, Kariri A, Karanja S, Chung MH, Jack W, Habyarimana J, Sadatsafavi M, Najafzadeh M, Marra CA, Estambale B, Ngugi E, Ball TB, Thabane L, Gelmon LJ, Kimani J, Ackers M, Plummer FA. (2010). Effects of a mobile phone short message service on antiretroviral treatment adherence in Kenya:a randomised trial. The Lancet, 376(9755), 1838-1845.

 

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