Graduate

October 15, 2024

Hanna Shephard

Hanna Shephard is a second-year PhD student in the Epidemiology department at the University of Washington. Her research focuses on the impact of infectious diseases, especially sexually transmitted infections, on maternal and child health outcomes.

Austin is a PhD student in the Department of Epidemiology. He holds an M.S. in Genetic Epidemiology from the University of Washington Institute for Public Health Genetics. His research is focused on examining the relationships between rare genetic variation and multiple cancer types. Austin is also passionate about teaching and has worked to facilitate student…

October 11, 2024

Collrane Frivold

Collrane is an epidemiology PhD student working as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Chu Lab where she supports projects focused on the design and evaluation of strategies to diagnose, prevent, and treat respiratory pathogens. Her primary research interests include infectious disease epidemiology and vaccines, in particular generating data to inform the design and implementation…

October 8, 2024

Emerging Patterns of Substance Use and Buprenorphine Nonadherence

Abstract Emerging Patterns of Substance Use and Buprenorphine Nonadherence Kaitlin A Zinsli Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Brandon Guthrie Department of Epidemiology Opioid overdose deaths are the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, most of which consist of opioids such as fentanyl. In the midst of this crisis, we are also experiencing…

Improving Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery for HIV prevention among women of reproductive age in Sub-Saharan Africa

Adolescent girls and young women in East and Southern Africa are disproportionately affected by HIV. Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)-based oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) reduces the risk of HIV acquisition with consistent daily adherence and has been recommended for use since 2015 by the World Health Organization. However, for a multitude of reasons, young African women…

State-of-the-ART Care: Revolutionizing Medication Delivery in Rural Settings with a Person-Centered Care Approach

As of 2022, there were 7.8 million people living with HIV in South Africa. HIV prevalence in South Africa varies geographically, with the KwaZulu-Natal province continuing to have the highest HIV prevalence in the country and rural formal farming communities reporting a higher HIV prevalence than urban areas. It is important to identify strategies that…

Cancer detection to treatment: Health disparities and factors that contribute to them

Despite advances in strategies for cancer prevention and early detection, marked disparities in incidence and mortality in several forms of cancer have persisted and grown. Disparities have been observed across the census tract environment, and recently, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. Such factors, the census tract environment and the COVID-19 pandemic, may…

Reproductive health impacts of structural gendered racism: moving from measurement to action

Intersecting systems of oppression, such as structural racism and sexism, have long been identified as fundamental causes of health inequities by activists and scholars. However, the field of epidemiology has only recently increased attention towards measuring systems of oppression and power in order to inform strategies to advance health equity. Racialized inequities in adverse birth…

Quantifying SARS-CoV-2 and mpox transmission patterns through phylodynamic inference

Emerging infectious diseases represent an urgent public health challenge. Unequal coverage of public health surveillance as well as asymptomatic spread, however, limit our ability to respond to outbreaks in a precise and timely manner. In this dissertation, I describe how genomic epidemiology can aid traditional public health investigations of emerging infectious disease dynamics. I begin…

Sexual Stigma, Depressive Symptoms, and HIV Vulnerability Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men in Kenya

The studies within this dissertation address sexual stigma and its associations with HIV behavioral vulnerability among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). GBMSM experience stigma and discrimination due to their sexual minority status. This work: 1) establishes the magnitude of reported depressive symptoms and alcohol use among GBMSM at three…

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