Core Faculty Investigators
The 1917 Clinic Cohort’s Core Faculty Investigators come from numerous Schools and Departments at UAB, as well as multiple cores of the UAB Center for AIDS Research. Our investigators have a broad range of HIV-related research interests, including active programs in engagement and retention in HIV primary care, HIV stigma, smoking cessation, multimorbidity, and chronic pain. Additionally, their methodologic expertise includes clinical epidemiology, biostatistics, social and behavioral science, qualitative and mixed methods approaches, psychometrics, and econometric analyses. Our regular Research Roundtable meetings provide a forum for receiving feedback from this diverse group, and for Faculty Investigators to present periodic methods seminars.
Cohort Support Team
The Cohort Support Team come from diverse training backgrounds and plays a vital role in the implementation of the 1917 Clinic Cohort research and informatics agenda. The Research Support Team members contribute to a broad range of research activities including recruitment and enrollment, data collection, and manuscript and grant preparation. The Informatics Team is formed by a highly qualified staff of data analysts, programmers and information systems specialists. This group plays a critical role in maintaining and enhancing the functionality of the 1917 Clinic electronic medical record, as well as developing programs to allow for computed-assisted self-administered (CASI) collection of patient data across a spectrum domains using validated instruments.Core Faculty Investigators
Core Faculty Investigators
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Greer Burkholder, MD, MSPH
Dr. Burkholder first worked with the UAB 1917 Clinic Cohort during her Infectious Diseases fellowship from 2009-2012 and joined the UAB faculty in 2012. Her major research interests include age-related chronic diseases and multimorbidity in HIV-infected patients, primary outcomes in HIV-infected patients, including cancer prevention and screening, and barriers to management and prevention of non-HIV-related chronic diseases in HIV-infected patients. |
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Eric Chamot, PhD
Dr. Chamot received his MD from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland and his PhD in Epidemiology from Tulane University. His main research focuses on the measurement of patient reported outcomes, on the assessment of patient preferences and decision processes, and on the evaluation of the effectiveness, acceptability, and safety of interventions to prevent or treat infectious diseases and cancer. |
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C. Ann Gakumo, PhD, RN
Dr. Gakumo is an Assistant Professor in the UAB School of Nursing and holds joint appointments in the Center for AIDS Research and the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center. Her main research focuses on health literacy-based approaches in promoting HIV management and decreasing racial disparities. |
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Mirjam-Colette Kempf, PhD, MPH
Dr. Mirjam-Colette Kempf is an Infectious Diseases Epidemiologist with appointments in the Center for AIDS Research and the Center for Minority Health Research at UAB. Her research interest focuses on disparities in Gender and Minority Health for people living with HIV. Following her interest, she has mentored several students and fellows who conducted research projects with the UAB 1917 Clinic Cohort as well as collaborated with several UAB 1917 Clinic Cohort investigators on projects since 2004. |
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Karen Cropsey, Psy.D.
Dr. Cropsey is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of nicotine, opioid, and other substance use disorders in the criminal justice system, Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV), and other underserved populations. She is focused on reducing health disparities associated with smoking, HIV transmission risk, and drug use in these disadvantaged populations. |
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Michael J. Mugavero, MD, MHSc
Dr. Mugavero first participated in research studies with the UAB 1917 Clinic Cohort as an Internal Medicine resident from 2000-2003. After completing an Infectious Diseases fellowship and master's degree in clinical research at Duke University in 2006, he joined the faculty at UAB and embraced a leadership role with the 1917 Clinic Cohort. Dr. Mugavero's research focuses on all aspects of HIV health services utilization from diagnosis and initial linkage to care to long-term clinical outcomes. |
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Michael Saag, MD
Dr. Saag founded the UAB 1917 HIV/AIDS Clinic in 1988 and established the Clinic Cohort Database in 1992. Over the years, he has fostered the career development of numerous students, residents, fellows, and faculty and has conducted innovative outcomes and translational research studies that have informed practice and policy. Dr. Saag has facilitated collaboration of the UAB 1917 Clinic Cohort with numerous national and international observational cohort studies. |
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Janet Turan, PhD
Dr. Janet Turan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Care Organization and Policy at the UAB School of Public Health. Dr. Turan's main research interests are in the topic area of maternal and child health in low-resource settings of both developing and developed countries. She is currently conducting research aiming to reduce the adverse effects of HIV/AIDS on the physical and mental health of pregnant and childbearing women in Kenya. |
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Amanda Willig, RD
Dr. Willig joined the Division of Infectious Diseases as an Assistant Professor following a postdoctoral fellowship with the division focused on obesity and chronic diseases in patients living with HIV. She has received developmental awards from the UAB Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and the UAB Health Disparities Research Training Program to investigate the influence of nutrition on chronic disease risk in patients with HIV. |
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James H. Willig, MD
Dr. Willig worked with the UAB 1917 Clinic Cohort during his Infectious Diseases training from 2004-2008 and joined the UAB faculty in 2008. His interests in quality improvement and medical informatics have found expression in both research into quality issues in HIV primary care, as well as the integration of medication dosing decision support into the 1917 Clinic electronic medical record. |
Cohort Support Team
Cohort Support Team
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Alfredo L. Guzman, MEng, MSHI
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Bernadette Johnson
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Boniface Sindala
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Briana Bass
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Brooke Penney
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Candis Riggs, MSHI
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Christopher Hamlin, D.Min.
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Hannah Craft
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Kelly Ross-Davis, MS
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Kiko King, MAEd
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Manisha Jaiswal
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Michael Henderson
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Mohit Varshney, MPH
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Sarah Dougherty, BA
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Srini Ponna
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Suneetha Thogaripally, MA
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Tammi Thomas
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