Epidemiology

PostDoctoral Trainees, Mentors, and Research Projects

Soniya Gandhi, MD | Denis Nash, PhD and Mary Ann Chiasson, PhD
Soniya Gandhi is currently working with Denis Nash on identifying programmatic predictors of baseline CD4 counts in ICAP care and treatment facilities, and analyzing the effects of strong linkages between testing sites and care and treatment facilities on CD4 counts. She is also conducting a survey on physician attitudes about the diagnosis and treatment of latent TB infection (LTBI) using the quantiferon TB gold assay.

Barbara Taylor, MD | Scott Hammer, MD and Mary Ann Chiasson, PhD
Dr. Taylor is pursuing clinical research on HIV transmission and treatment outcomes in minority communities in the U.S. and abroad. Her current work examines risk behavior by race/ethnicity in MSM, the impact of migration on HIV care in Latino communities, and HIV treatment outcomes in the Dominican Republic.

Tieu, Hong Van, MD | Scott Hammer, MD
Dr. Hong Van Tieu has been involved in several clinical research projects in Bangkok, Thailand. One study is a prospective cohort study analyzing immunologic markers as predictors of tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in HIV-infected persons initiating antiretroviral therapy in Thailand. Another study is a cross-sectional study evaluating the prevalence and acceptability of male circumcision for prevention of HIV among high-risk heterosexual Thai men.

Current Pre-Doctoral Trainees, Mentors and Research Projects

Sarah Braunstein, MPH | Denis Nash, PhD
Sarah Braunstein, MPH, is finishing her fourth year of doctoral studies in the Department of Epidemiology. She presented her thesis proposal in January 2008 on HIV incidence estimation among high-risk women in Kigali, Rwanda.

Michael Marco, MPH | Simon Tsiouris MD, MPH
Michael Marco, MPH, is finishing the second year of his doctoral studies in the Department of Epidemiology. Michael’s research interest include the feasibility and scale-up of male circumcision as an HIV prevention modality in developing countries, and he has recently begun work on his doctoral dissertation focusing on the association between HIV-negative serosorting and the risk of HIV acquisition in gay men who meet sex partners on the internet.

Veronica Frajzyngier, MPH | Crystal Fuller, PhD
Vera Frajzyngier, MPH, is finishing the second year of her doctoral studies in the Department of Epidemiology. She is currently working on an international observational research study concerned with the determinants of post-operative outcomes of fistula repair surgery, as part of her work with EngenderHealth. She is completing her course work, and is pursuing dissertation topic ideas related to social epidemiology and infectious disease risk.