Inter-CFAR HIV Research in Women Working Group Virtual Symposium: “Promoting Balanced Choices in HIV Prevention and Care for Women”

Dr. Kathleen Powis is an Associate Professor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, a practicing Internist and Pediatrician at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a Research Associate in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research is focused on understanding health outcomes of women living with HIV and their children. She has used research findings to inform health policy. Dr. Powis serves as a member of the United States Health and Human Services Panel on Antiretroviral Therapy and Medical Management of Children Living with HIV. She has collaborated with the Panel on Treatment of HIV in Pregnancy and Prevention of Perinatal Transmission to update the guidelines around maternal HIV testing and identification of perinatal HIV exposure, a guidelines section addressing HIV testing recommendations for postpartum persons who are breastfeeding and are either living with or at risk for acquiring HIV. Dr. Powis is the co-Chair of the Inter-CFAR Collaboration on HIV Research and Women’s Health Working Group, a group that unites researchers, clinicians, community members and funders with a goal of promoting cutting-edge science in HIV research and women, developing new strategies for future research to address HIV-related issues unique to women, and promoting career development and professional growth among junior investigators interested in this field.

Dr. Alcaide is a physician scientist and leader in infectious diseases, professor of Medicine, OB/GYN, and Public Health Sciences, and Vice Provost for Research at the University of Miami. Dr. Alcaide has over 15 years of impactful HIV research focused on treatment, prevention, and the unique challenges faced by women. Her work focuses on the female reproductive tract’s microbiome and its influence on HIV vulnerability. She leads major national HIV cohort studies, the Study of Treatment And Reproductive outcomes (STAR) and the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS), providing vital platforms for translational research on HIV and related comorbidities and reproductive health. Beyond her scientific achievements, Dr. Alcaide is a dedicated mentor, guiding junior investigators and leading national and international programs, and is deeply committed to advancing women’s health, HIV research, and global scientific excellence in the field of HIV and women.

William R Short, MD, MPH, AAHIVS, is Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. He received his medical degree from Hahnemann University Hospital/Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, and master’s degree in public health with a concentration in epidemiology and health systems policy from UMDNJ School of Public Health – Rutgers in Newark. Dr Short completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in infectious diseases from MCP/Hahnemann University Hospital. His clinical interests include the treatment and management of patients with HIV and AIDS. Dr Short has authored or coauthored articles that have been published in peer-reviewed journals such as HIV Medicine, Antiviral Therapy, Clinical Infectious Diseases, and Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care. He is a member of the American College of Physicians, HIV Medical Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine, and Infectious Disease Society of America.  He serves as a scientific member of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) guideline panel on the treatment of HIV-infected pregnant women and prevention of perinatal transmission.

Dr. Sheth is a Professor at Emory School of Medicine (Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases). Her clinical and research interests focus on the treatment and prevention of HIV among women. Dr. Sheth is PI of the Study of Treatment and Reproduction (STAR) and the Atlanta MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS). Her research program seeks to optimize delivery of HIV prevention interventions in women’s health settings and understand HIV management for women of reproductive age. She was an Associate Director of the Emory CFAR Clinical Core, Project Director of the Emory-Nigeria Research Training Program, Project Director of the Building Interdisciplinary Research in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) K12 program, and Co-Director for the Georgia CTSA postdoctoral TL1 program.

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Dr. Aadia Rana is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Alabama-Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine in Birmingham, AL USA and Director of the UAB Center for AIDS Research Implementation and Community Sciences Core. Dr. Rana’s primary research area focuses on disparities in access and adherence to medical treatment among people living with HIV, evaluation and implementation of novel antiretrovirals including long-acting antiretroviral therapy , and implementation of evidence-based interventions to improve engagement with care across the status-neutral HIV Care continuum.

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Gaea Daniel, PhD, RN, PMHNP-BC, is Assistant Professor at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, where her program of research focuses on understanding the sociocultural and environmental influences that affect sexual health behaviors and outcomes. She is particularly interested in sexual health outcomes of Black women that present as race-based disparities, including STIs and HIV/AIDS. Dr. Daniel devotes her time to health equity-related initiatives in her research and the nursing profession, and she is co-editor of the award-winning book Taking Action: Top 10 Priorities to Promote Health Equity and Well-being in Nursing. Dr. Daniel lives in Metro Atlanta, Georgia, and is passionate about working with and in the community to serve others.

Jennifer McKinney MD MPH is an Assistant Professor of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Her main clinical and research interests include infectious disease (especially HIV) in pregnancy, as well as public health program design and implementation. She currently leads the maternal HIV program within the county hospital system in Harris County, one of the largest maternal HIV programs in the United States. She is also Maternal Medical Director at Ben Taub Hospital in Harris County where she leads the obstetric quality and performance improvement (QAPI) program. Through her clinical, research, and quality improvement work, she strives to improve care for all pregnant patients living with HIV at the local, state, and national levels.

Eileen Scully is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University. She earned her MD and a PhD in Immunobiology from the Yale University School of Medicine and completed Internal Medicine residency at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston followed by Infectious Diseases fellowship at the Harvard Combined program. Dr. Scully did additional dedicated training as the HIV fellow focused on clinical care of people living with HIV. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Dr. Scully started her laboratory studying HIV immunopathogenesis and cure, and moved the lab to Johns Hopkins in 2016. She is active in translational research, co-chairing an interventional cure trial through the ACTG specifically in women and serving on the lnter-CFAR HIV in Women Executive Committee. At Johns Hopkins she teaches a longitudinal curriculum on HIV to the ID fellows, leads the weekly CFAR clinical conference and is the Director of the CFAR clinical core, co-Directs the Physician Scientist Pathway in the Osler Medical Residency program and cares for patients in both the Bartlett clinic and on the dedicated inpatient HIV service.

Dr. Alcaide is an Infectious Diseases physician scientist, faculty member of the University of Miami for over 15 years. Throughout her career as a clinician and researcher, Dr. Alcaide has provided scientific and administrative oversight to numerous multidisciplinary research studies focused on HIV and other emerging infections in the US and other international settings. Dr. Alcaide has served as a principal investigator on many NIH-funded studies. Her research portfolio in 2022 was over $10 million, and she is among the top funded NIH scholars. She has provided exceptional leadership as Director of Clinical Research since 2020 at the Miller School of Medicine. She is also the director of the Miami CTSI and the Miami Center for AIDS Research mentoring programs, and plays a critical role in mentoring junior investigators, with a focus on women and underrepresented groups. As the Vice Provost for Research and Scholarship, she will oversee the University’s burgeoning research portfolio under the Office of the Vice Provost for Research Administration, and the development of university-wide scholarship initiatives.

Dr. Omar Gustavo Sued, MSc, MD, PhD is an Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases Specialist from Argentina, currently serving as Regional Advisor for HIV Treatment and Care at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the World Health Organization’s office for the Americas, based in Washington, D.C. He earned his medical degree from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba and specialized in Infectious Diseases at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. He later completed a Master’s and PhD in Acute HIV Infection at the University of Barcelona, Spain. Dr. Sued has worked in HIV care since 1997, across diverse settings. Between 2012 and 2021, he was Director of Research at Fundación Huésped, a leading Argentine NGO focused on HIV and infectious diseases. Under his leadership, the department joined major international research networks such as the HIV Prevention Trials Network, AIDS Malignancies Consortium, and HIV Vaccine Trials Network. Dr. Sued was President of the Argentinean Infectious Disease Society (SADI) from 2019 to 2021, and previously served as its Treasurer (2015–2019) and Secretary (2013–2015). He chaired the National Infectious Diseases Congress in 2016 and 2021. He has contributed to several WHO guideline development groups, including those on post-exposure prophylaxis, co-trimoxazole prophylaxis, cryptococcal disease, and antiretroviral therapy. He has authored or co-authored over 175 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and clinical guidelines.

Dr. Sued is also a Governing Council Member of the International AIDS Society (IAS), representing Latin America and the Caribbean. He has actively participated in IAS and AIDS conferences, serving as rapporteur, co-chair, and lead presenter, and is a strong advocate for evidence-based interventions and human rights for people living with HIV.

Elizabeth Barr is the Associate Director for Interdisciplinary Research at the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH). In this role, she leads strategic initiatives that strengthen cross-sector collaboration and address biopsychosocial drivers of women’s health outcomes. Dr. Barr is a community-trained researcher with over 15 years of experience advancing HIV research and women’s health through interdisciplinary, data-driven, and community-engaged approaches. Since joining ORWH in 2019, Dr. Barr has advanced integration of social determinants of health (SDOH) into women’s health research, managed and expanded the ORWH interprofessional education program, and developed initiatives centered on HIV and women. Dr. Barr earned her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture and her M.S. from Towson University in Women’s and Gender Studies. Prior to joining ORWH, she served on the faculties of Towson University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she led interdisciplinary, cross-sector projects aimed at increasing women’s engagement in health research.

Ciarra “Ci Ci” Covin is a dedicated board-certified human services practitioner with a profound commitment to advocating for the autonomy of women living with HIV and their families. Through her lived experience as a woman living with HIV and skill to connect with diverse communities through the skill of storytelling, Ci Ci has emerged as a respected and sought-after speaker, expert, and facilitator within the HIV community and beyond. In her capacity as Director of Programs at The Well Project, she tirelessly advocates for their needs and ensures they receive adequate support from healthcare teams, fostering an environment where autonomy and informed choices are prioritized. With her expertise and passion, Ci Ci is poised to make a significant impact through intentional collaboration to reach the communities who need it the most.

Dr. Cynthia Pauline Aluoch Auma, MBChB, is an MPH student in the Women and HIV/IARTP Program at the University of Washington (UW), funded by the Fogarty International Center. She started her professional career as the resident medical officer at a large private hospital and moved on to work as a senior medical officer in the public service where she served diverse populations in both rural and urban public facilities. Dr. Auma currently works as a clinical research scientist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Centre for Microbiology Research in Kisumu. In this capacity, she has served as a study coordinator/co-investigator on multiple implementation science studies and clinical trials including: the MOVe AHEAD study – evaluating efficacy and safety of Molnupiravir as COVID-19 prophylaxis; the INSIGHT study – evaluating young African women’s PrEP preferences as well as in Pharmacy PrEP studies – evaluating PrEP delivery in pharmacies. Her research interests focus on biomedical and behavioral interventions for HIV prevention among young African women. Her mentors include Prof. Elizabeth Bukusi (KEMRI, UW), Dr. Kenneth Mugwanya (UW) and Dr. Victor Omollo (KEMRI). 

Alyssa Robillard is an associate professor. She studies health equity using a social-ecological framework to understand and address inequalities, with a focus on HIV among groups where the burden of disease is comparatively higher and the web of social and structural determinants more complex. She examines community-engaged approaches using storytelling to promote health.

Dr. Bengtson is a perinatal epidemiologist focused on improving perinatal, women’s health, and pediatric health outcomes in two main areas. First, her work explores the impact of HIV and its treatment with antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy, postpartum, and childhood. She has a particular interest in understanding how HIV and its treatment influence cardiometabolic risk for women during pregnancy and postpartum, and on mental health comorbidities, including perinatal depression. Second, Dr. Bengtson’s work addresses cardiometabolic complications, such as gestational diabetes and hypertensive disorders, during pregnancy and postpartum. Dr. Bengtson’s research portfolio includes both global (Malawi, South Africa) and domestic (American Samoa and Atlanta) projects. 

Lauren F. Collins, MD, MSc is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory University. She is a graduate of the Boston University School of Medicine and completed her Internal Medicine residency at Duke University. She completed her Infectious Diseases fellowship and Master of Science in Clinical Research at Emory University. Dr. Collins’ clinical and research interests focus on improving the care of persons with HIV and in particular, women with HIV and those affected by the Southern HIV/AIDS epidemic. In her research, she studies the mounting burden of non-AIDS comorbidities experienced by aging persons with HIV and specifically investigates the role of premature aging, sex differences, shared mechanistic drivers, and traditional and HIV-specific risk factors contributing to overall comorbidity burden. She is also interested in the clinical, service delivery and public health implications of coinfections affecting persons with HIV, namely chronic HCV and SARS-CoV-2. She is a recent KL2 career development awardee supported by the Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance and her project evaluates the use of a novel retinovascular imaging tool to explore microvascular dysfunction as a common pathogenesis – and potential screening target – of age-related comorbidities among women with and without HIV. Dr. Collins is also a co-investigator for the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) and the Emory Specialized Center of Research Excellence on Sex Differences (SCORE).

Deja Knight, MPH, MA, is a PhD candidate in the Social and Behavioral Interventions program in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research focuses on intersectional social determinants of health, HIV, and substance use in the United States, specifically among minoritized and low-resource communities. Deja is a graduate research assistant in both the Department of International Health and Department of Mental Health. She also serves as a Steering Committee Member in the Department’s IDARE Group and is a Teaching Council Fellow at the School. She also serves as a Section Counselor in the Community Health Planning and Policy Development Section of the American Public Health Association. Previously Deja’s professional work included providing risk assessments and free, confidential HIV and Hepatitis C testing to high-risk communities in Iowa. Deja is passionate about promoting health equity and committed to addressing health disparities in communities through her research and advocacy.

Salome completed her PhD in epidemiology from McGill University where her research focused on the implications of intimate partner violence for HIV control in women, girls, and infants. Prior to her PhD, Salome worked on implementation research studies in India, Tanzania, South Africa and Malawi. 

Bio Coming Soon!

Bio Coming Soon!