Societal level Includes Epidemiology, Modeling, Biostatistics, Implementation Science
Training Faculty
Andrasik, Michele PhD
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Dr. Andrasik is committed to developing collaborative relationships between researchers and community members, and has extensive expertise utilizing Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and qualitative research methods and working with communities and community organizations. Her work has focused on addressing disparities in HIV and other STD in marginalized communities. Most of her work has focused on the African American community, MSM, and male-to-female transgender individuals.
Baeten, Jared MD PhD
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Research focuses on epidemiologic studies of HIV/STD transmission and clinical trials of HIV prevention interventions. He co-chaired the Partners PrEP Study, which demonstrated that emtricitabine/tenofovir pre-exposure prophylaxis provided protection against HIV transmission and led to FDA-approval of PrEP. Linked projects include a large observational study of PrEP adherence and laboratory analyses of innate and adaptive immune responses related to PrEP. Other projects include a) a phase III trial of dapivirine vaginal ring for HIV prevention in women (MTN-020/ASPIRE), b) implementation studies of combination HIV prevention, c) epidemiologic studies exploring use of hormonal contraception as an HIV risk factor, and d) demonstration projects to deliver antiretroviral treatment and PrEP for HIV prevention in African HIV serodiscordant couples.
Balkus, Jennifer PhD MPH
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Dr. Balkus is an infectious disease epidemiologist whose research spans the field of women’s reproductive health, with a specific focus on questions that interface between the vaginal microbiome and HIV/STI prevention. She is also the Associate Director of the Microbicide Trials Network Statistical and Data Management Center, an NIH-supported research network that focuses on reducing sexual transmission of HIV through development and evaluation antiretroviral-based microbicides.
Barnabas, Ruanne DPhil MSc
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Research focuses on HIV treatment and prevention, specifically on interventions that reduce HIV viral load, disease progression, and transmission. Dr. Barnabas’ projects use empirical data and mathematical models to better understand HIV clinical progression and transmission, and estimate the potential impact of HIV interventions at the population level. The ultimate aim is to estimate effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of HIV treatment and prevention interventions to inform clinical trial design. Dr. Barnabas was recently named the King K. Holmes Endowed Professor.
Brown, Elizabeth ScD MS
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Dr. Brown designs clinical trials of HIV prevention strategies and develops new statistical methods to elucidate effectiveness from efficacy in these trials. These methods reflect the heterogeneity in risk inherent in populations where HIV is highly prevalent. This heterogeneity is largely unaccounted for in current methods used to estimate the effectiveness of an intervention in preventing HIV infection. Additionally, she is developing models for evaluating the transition between HIV risk categories over time based on behavioral and biological data.
Celum, Connie MD MPH
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An infectious diseases epidemiologist with interests in prevention trials of effective strategies to reduce HIV acquisition and transmission, Dr. Celum was the PI of efficacy trials of HSV-2 suppression for prevention of HIV acquisition, transmission and disease progression (Partners in Prevention HSV/HIV Transmission Study and HPTN 039) in the US, Peru, and Africa. She was PI of the Partners PrEP Study in HIV serodiscordant couples in Kenya and Uganda, and of combination prevention studies with home-based HIV testing, linkages to care and evidence-based prevention interventions in South Africa and Uganda.
Dombrowski, Julia MD MPH
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Research is primarily focused on measuring and improving engagement in HIV care and viral suppression among persons living with HIV/AIDS in the US. She is currently leading the implementation and evaluation of a surveillance-guided public health intervention designed to improve engagement in HIV care and antiretroviral use among HIV-infected persons in Washington State. In addition, she conducts research on STD care and treatment, including the operational aspects of using a computer-assisted self-interview for the collection of medical history in routine STD care.
Golden, Matthew MD MPH
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Dr. Golden directs a research team that focuses on operational, clinical, and public health research related to STD, including HIV. The team seeks to train junior investigators for careers that integrate public health practice and research. Current areas of research include expedited partner therapy; the epidemiology and treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, particularly antimicrobial resistant N. gonorrhoeae; serosorting among men who have sex with men; STD clinic operations research and the role of technology in improving efficiency; and the natural history of male homosexuality and STD acquisition over the life course.
Goodreau, Steven PhD
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Primary research interests are the transmission and evolution of HIV, and include developing methodologies for the statistical analysis of social networks and their integration into demographic and epidemiological research. Dr. Goodreau has studied sexual role versatility among MSM in Peru and the effect of role segregation on HIV prevalence among MSM. He has published modeling work on commercial sex venues, serosorting, concurrent partnerships, sexual network structure, and HIV phylogenetics.
Hay, Simon DPhil, DSc
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Professor Hay’s career has focused on spatial and temporal aspects of infectious disease epidemiology to support the more rational implementation of disease control and intervention strategies. He now leads an international collaboration of researchers, from a wide variety of academic disciplines, with the objective of improving the outputs and outcomes of infectious disease cartography.
Heffron, Renee PhD MPH
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Dr. Heffron focuses on integration of biomedical HIV prevention with reproductive health. Her current projects include studies of young women and HIV serodiscordant couples in east and South Africa to understand 1) immunologic and microbial changes accompanying the initiation of contraceptives that may impact HIV susceptibility; 2) changes to bone health with the concurrent use of tenofovir-based PrEP and injectable contraception; and 3) ART-related impacts of PrEP delivery in public health clinics for HIV serodiscordant couples. She has expertise in clinical trial operations, complex epidemiologic analyses including causal inference, quantitative and qualitative methods to understand prevention behaviors, and work at the interface of reproductive health and HIV.
Hughes, James PhD MSc
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Dr. Hughes’ methodological biostatistical research focuses on the design of community level clinical trials and observational studies for HIV prevention. In particular, he is working on methods for the analysis of data from stepped wedge community randomized trials that may include delayed effects and/or interval censored outcome measurements. He also has an ongoing interest in methods for misclassified outcome data and is currently working on methods for estimating survival models based on misclassified data.
Mackelprang, Romel PhD
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Dr. Mackelprang’s research combines bioinformatics, epidemiologic, and statistical methods for analyzing high-throughput biological data in order to identify host factors involved in HIV-1 acquisition and disease pathogenesis, with the objective of elucidating targets for novel preventative and therapeutic interventions, including vaccines. His research integrates genome sequencing, gene expression and proteomics data with clinical, epidemiologic, and immunology data.
Manhart, Lisa PhD MPH
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Research focuses on clinical and behavioral epidemiology of STD, especially Mycoplasma genitalium. She has recently begun work, with Dr. Fredricks, to identify novel pathogens associated with male urethritis using a metagenomic approach. In collaboration with the Social Development Research Group she studies early life and genetic factors influencing sexual risk behaviors in two ongoing NIDA-funded cohorts. In India, Dr. Manhart is studying the relationship between HIV-related stigma, mental health and care-seeking behavior; and methods to assess and treat depression in HIV-infected patients.
Schiffer, Joshua MD MSc
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The aim of Dr. Schiffer’s research program is to gain a better understanding of the quantitative features of human pathogens and immune responses. In collaboration with colleagues at FHCRC and UW, he designs mathematical models that capture growth and decay kinetics of infectious organisms in vivo, including HSV and bacteria present in bacterial vaginosis. These models attempt to replicate detailed empirical datasets that are used to inform subsequent human studies and laboratory experiments.
Walters, Karina, PhD
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Dr. Walters has conducted extensive mixed methodological research (qualitative and survey methods) related to mental health, physical health, HIV risk prevention, and substance use with American Indian and Alaska Native populations throughout the country. The primary focus is on elucidating the factors associated with the intergenerational transmission of trauma, identification of culturally protective factors in stress-coping processes, as well as methodological innovation, including development of culturally based measures and innovative sampling methods, to access difficult-to-reach populations.
Winer, Rachel PhD MPH
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Research focuses on epidemiology and prevention of HPV infections and HPV-related cancers. Current projects focus on the epidemiology and natural history of HPV infections across the lifespan, and the feasibility of self-collected vaginal specimens for HPV testing. Populations of interest include female online daters (determine risk factors for new infections in women with new sex partners), 30-50 year old women at the University of Washington (to determine the frequency and risk factors for HPV reactivation in mid-adulthood), and Native American women (to explore feasibility and acceptability of HPV self-sampling).