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. John-Stewart, G, Njuguna, I. Getting to zero: when can we guarantee vertical transmission of HIV will not occur?. Lancet. 2025; :. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01282-6. PubMed PMID:40652948 .
  2. Mutai, BC, Were, F, Aluvaala, J, John-Stewart, G, Maleche-Obimbo, E. Effect of diet video-drama and telephone messages on improving parental knowledge and diet diversity of malnourished children in Kenya: A randomised controlled trial. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2025;5 (7):e0004818. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0004818. PubMed PMID:40632749 PubMed Central PMC12240368.
  3. Kohler, P, Jiang, W, Badia, J, Kibugi, J, Dyer, J, Kadima, J et al.. Data-informed Stepped Care (DiSC) to improve adolescent and young adult HIV care outcomes in Kenya: a cluster randomized trial. J Int AIDS Soc. 2025;28 Suppl 3 (Suppl 3):e26501. doi: 10.1002/jia2.26501. PubMed PMID:40622356 PubMed Central PMC12232485.
  4. Bulterys, MA, Siu, G, Mujugira, A, John-Stewart, G. The Untapped Power of Fathers in Families Affected by HIV. Pediatrics. 2025; :. doi: 10.1542/peds.2024-070428. PubMed PMID:40495276 .
  5. Ngumbau, NM, Kimonge, D, Dettinger, JC, Abuna, F, Odhiambo, B, Gómez, L et al.. Cofactors of earlier uptake of modern postpartum family planning methods in Kenya. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2025;5 (6):e0004353. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0004353. PubMed PMID:40478852 PubMed Central PMC12143578.
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