Other Interests

I am working with colleagues in Ghana, Uganda and Guatemala on how to improve the quality and ethical standards of short-term medical missions. You can read about it here.

I am also interested in HIV prevention and treatment services. One of my most satisfying jobs was working as the HIV Planning Council Coordinator in the Minneapolis St. Paul Transitional Grant Area. During my time there, I became interested in how HIV Planning Councils center equity in planning and allocation of federal Ryan White funds. My colleagues and I published work that highlights the relevance of disparities/inequities committees in planning councils.

My scholarship focuses on understanding why new HIV infections are highest among young adults, especially gay and bi-sexual men of color, even when they are more likely to get tested and to engage in fewer risky behaviors compared to their white peers. I am currently building on work published in the Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services to explore how structural racism shapes these inequities and how we can address them.

I am interested in social isolation and well-being, gun violence, and global health volunteering. I am working with a diverse group of stake-holders in Allentown, PA to address social isolation, exclusion, and gun violence as related and as separate issues that affect health.