Grace John-Stewart, MD, MPH, PhD

Professor of Global Health, Epidemiology, Pediatrics, and Medicine, University of Washington

Dr. Grace John Stewart, MD, MPH, PhD, has conducted research over the past >25 years, with her research growing from an initial focus on HIV transmission and pathogenesis in women and children, as part of a collaborative research team in Kenya. The first studies she conducted were designed to define risk and timing of mother-to-child HIV transmission, particularly to understand breastmilk transmission of HIV. Her group has contributed comprehensively across a spectrum of research that has included clinical trials, molecular epidemiology, implementation science, and large-scale evaluations. In addition, through mentorship she has sought to catalyze new research with young investigators to advance studies of growth, co-infections (herpes viruses, TB), HIV prevention and treatment support in mothers, adolescents, and children. Overall, her research has been disseminated in >400 peer-reviewed publications. The work she does with women and children also led naturally to studies on pathogenesis and interventions to improve outcomes in HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) and infected children and adolescents. She has been a Co-Investigator on studies focused on infectious diseases in women and children and was the Founding Director of the Center for Global Health of Women, Adolescents and Children (Global WACh) for which she currently serves as Co-Director. She is a long-standing member of the UW Kenya Research and Training Center (KRTC) and the team’s research is predominantly based in Kenya. She is committed to mentoring next generation scientific leaders.

Publications

  1. Scharer, CD, Escudero, JN, Hicks, SL, Sasser, LE, Subuddhi, A, Cranmer, LM et al.. Maternal HIV Exposure Is Associated With Transient Transcriptional Changes in Monocytes and Natural Killer Cells in Early Infancy. J Infect Dis. 2026; :. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiag452. PubMed PMID:42770213 .
  2. Kang, YJ, Wang, N, Malik, A, Lu, P, Grossman, A, Njuguna, I et al.. An Fc receptor and IgA functional signature identifies TB disease in children living with HIV. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2026; :. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piag101. PubMed PMID:42752603 .
  3. Watoyi, S, Larsen, A, Akim, E, Concepcion, T, Mogaka, J, Abuna, F et al.. Motivations of Pregnant Women Initiating HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis Within Routine Antenatal Clinics Enrolled in a Randomized Trial in Western Kenya. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 2026; :. doi: 10.1097/JNC.0000000000000696. PubMed PMID:42720206 .
  4. Concepcion, T, Strong, M, Kinuthia, J, Otieno, FA, Akim, E, Aketch, H et al.. A rapid qualitative analysis of health care worker and community focus groups on determinants and implementation strategies for long-acting PrEP in antenatal and postpartum settings in Kenya. Discov Health Syst. 2026;5 (1):74. doi: 10.1007/s44250-026-00415-x. PubMed PMID:42661813 PubMed Central PMC13518471.
  5. Tiwari, R, Collett, BR, Oucho, I, Otieno, C, Lihanda, P, Magedson, A et al.. Changes in neurodevelopmental outcomes from 24 to 36 months among children HIV-exposed uninfected (CHEU) and HIV-unexposed (CHU). AIDS. 2026; :. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000004608. PubMed PMID:42592846 .
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