2016 HIVMA Medical Student Program Award Winners

HIVMA Medical Student Program to support learning and research across spectrum of HIV care

HIVMA is pleased to announce the selection of 16 medical students from across the US and Canada who will receive funding for clinical learning and research projects through the HIVMA Medical Student Program. The program will support work in local and overseas settings that includes projects as diverse as an evaluation of risk factors for tuberculosis among HIV patients, an analysis of microeconomic benefits of treating HIV, and the development of a decision making tool to guide clinicians through treatment choices in patients with HIV drug-resistance. The students will receive mentorship from HIVMA members at their institutions, free membership to HIVMA and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and a stipend of $3,500 per year for up to three years.

“We’re proud to support the work of these students whose commitment to improved care and understanding of HIV will be critical to continuing progress in controlling the impacts of the epidemic and helping patients live long and healthy lives,” said HIVMA Chair Dr. Carlos Del Rio. “These medical students represent the future of the HIV/ID workforce, and we are excited by the talents and enthusiasm they bring to the field of HIV/ID.”

The selected students, their mentors, institutions, and project titles are:

Colleen Walsh Lang
MENTOR: Bradley Stoner, MD, PhD, FIDSA
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
Children Living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda: Managing Biomedical and Social Consequences

Jesús Luévano
MENTOR: Douglas S. Kwon, MD, PhD
Harvard Medical School
Impact of HIV-Associated Changes in the Gut Microbiome on Disease Progression

Sarah Rutstein
MENTOR: Mina C. Hosseinipour, MD, MPH
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Cost-effectiveness of Treating Depression to Improve HIV Care Outcomes in Malawi

Sunaina Kapoor
MENTOR: Maunank Shah, MD, PhD
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Development and Implementation of an Interactive Decision Support Tool for Anti-retroviral Therapy Selection (ART) in HIV Patients

Andrew Flynn
MENTOR: David Boulware, MD, MPH, CTropMed
University of Minnesota
Determinants of HIV Prevalence Changes in Uganda 2004-2011

Carlos Rodriguez-Russo
MENTOR: Ira Wilson, MD, MSc
Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
The Impact of Enrollment in Targeted Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services on Hospitalization and Institutional Care Use among Aging HIV+ Patients

Clara Van Ommen
MENTOR: Melanie Murray, MD, PhD
University of British Columbia
Exploring the Triad of Telomeres, HIV and Ovarian Aging

Nishant Munugala
MENTOR: Susanne Doblecki-Lewis, MD
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
The Impact of Health Numeracy on Attitudes toward PrEP for HIV Prevention

Rustin Zomorodi
MENTOR: Ann Avery, MD
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Increasing PrEP Uptake in High-Risk MSM through Community- and Provider-Focused Interventions

Vanessa Kung
MENTOR: Ryan Westergaard, MD, PhD, MPH
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Leveraging HIV Surveillance Data to Inform PrEP Implementation among Young, Black Men who Have Sex with Men

Bryna Harrington
MENTOR: Mina C. Hosseinipour, MD, MPH
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Perinatal Depression, Retention in HIV Care, and Viral Load Suppression among Malawian Women Enrolled in Option B+

Gregory Damhorst
MENTOR: Janet A. Jokela, MD, MPH
University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana
Calculation of Community Viral Load as an Indicator for HIV Programs in Champaign County Illinois

Hazar Khidir
MENTOR: Lynn Matthews, MD, MPH
Harvard Medical School
HIV Risk and Harm Reduction in the Periconception Period for Serodiscordant Couples in Durban, South Africa

Maya Koretzky
MENTOR: Robert Siliciano, MD, PhD
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Bedside Ethics, Provider Burnout, and Subsequent Career Trajectories: An Oral History of Interns and Residents at HIV Centers at the Height of the American Epidemic (1982-1986)

Michael Scolarici
MENTOR: Soumya Chatterjee, MD
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Use of a Validated Risk Assessment Tool to Assess Additional Variables in the Risk of Progression to Active TB in Patients with HIV and Latent TB Infection

Yanni Chang
MENTOR: Ann Duerr, MD, PhD, MPH
University of Washington
Focus Groups to Analyze Acceptability of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis and Self-Testing among Female Sex Workers in Pune, India

The HIVMA Medical Student Program is supported by independent grants from ViiV Healthcare and the Gilead Foundation.  More information is available online.