CIRA will host three international HIV scholars in October 2019 as part of the fourth International Visiting Fellow Program. The initiative aims to support collaborative HIV research endeavors between the visiting fellows and CIRA faculty hosts, organize the International HIV Research Seminar Series for the visiting fellows to present their research, and facilitate new research partnerships with others in CIRA's research community. CIRA will continue to support and monitor progress of the fellows and faculty hosts' collaborative activities in the 18-month period after the visit.
This year's international visiting fellows and Yale faculty hosts are:
- Thomas Guadamuz, PhD, MHS (left in photo) - Associate Professor of Social Epidemiology at the Center of Excellence in Research on Gender, Sexuality and Health at Mahidol University, Thailand
- CIRA/Yale host: Jeffrey Wickersham, PhD
- Dr. Guadamuz's research has addressed the syndemic of substance abuse and HIV among gender and sexual minorities in Thailand, particularly among vulnerable, young men who have sex with men and transgender women.
- Marina Njelekela, MD, MPH, PhD (center in photo) - Chief of Party, USAID Boresha Afya Program with Deloitte Consulting Limited and Honorary Lecturer at the Department of Physiology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Tanzania
- CIRA/Yale host: Donna Spiegelman, ScD
- Dr. Njelekela's research interest is in understanding the facilitators and barriers to treatment and care of HIV infected children and investigating non-communicable diseases/communicable diseases interrelationship.
- Reena Rajasuriar, PhD (right in photo) - Pharmacy Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Malaysia
- CIRA/Yale hosts: Frederick Altice, MD, Julia Rozanova, PhD, and Sheela Shenoi, MD, MPH
- Dr. Rajasuriar has an expertise on HIV and aging, specifically with experience with cohort studies and assessment of biological markers.
A seminar series featuring presentations by the five visiting fellows will be held on the following dates:
- Thu, October 10: Thomas Guadamuz, PhD, MHS, Mahidol University, Thailand, "Circuit Parties as 'Risk Environment': Preliminary Findings from Thailand" (Download Flyer)
- Thu, October 21: Marina Njelekela, MD, MPH, PhD, USAID Boresha Afya Program Deloitte Consulting Limited, Tanzania, "Performance of a Prevention, Care and Treatment Program in Tanzania: 2016-2019" (Download Flyer)
- Thu, October 24: Reena Rajasuriar, PhD, University of Malaya, Malaysia, "Exploring Multidimensional Aspects of Aging in HIV" (Download Flyer)
Contact Dini Harsono (dini.harsono@yale.edu) with any questions about CIRA's International Visiting Fellow Program.
Published: Monday, September 9, 2019
