Faculty

Connie Celum

Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology
Professor, Global Health
Professor, Medicine - Allergy and Infectious Dis.
Director, International Clinical Research Center, Global Health


Education

MD Medicine, University of California (San Francisco), 1984
MPH Epidemiology, University of Washington, 1989

Contact


Box 359927
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
University of Washington
Box 359927
Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Seattle, WA 98195

Research Areas

Research Interests

Dr. Celum's research currently focuses on HIV prevention and vaccine trials with the objective to find effective strategies to reduce HIV acquisition and transmission. She utilizes epidemiologic data on behavioral and biologic risk factors for HIV acquisition and transmission to identify potential intervention strategies and then to conduct randomized clinical trials to determine safety and efficacy of these interventions with biologic outcome measurements. Her current effort is focused on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), particularly genital herpes, as co-factors for HIV acquisition and transmission and clinical trials of candidate HIV vaccines. First, she is investigating HSV-2 as a co-factor for HIV acquisition and transmission, through a large randomized trial of daily antivirals for HSV-2 suppression to determine whether HIV acquisition can be reduced by 50% among HIV-negative, HSV-2 seropositive women in two African sites, and among MSM in Peru and two US sites. Second, to determine the effect of genital herpes on HIV infectiousness, she is conducting a large multi-center trial of HSV-2 suppression among HIV-discordant couples in Africa and India. Third, she is studying the effect of HSV-2 on mucosal HIV shedding with a double-blind cross-over study of valacyclovir among HIV/HSV-2 co-infected men and women in Peru. Fourth, she is studying the prevalence, incidence and risk factors for HSV-1 and HSV-2 acquisition among high-risk men who have sex with men in a multi-center trial of a behavioral intervention (Project Explore). Fifth, as part of her interest in the evaluation of HIV vaccine trials, she is developing approaches to assess the effect of partially-effective HIV vaccines on viral set-point and disease progression, including a standardized approach to provision of antiretroviral therapy for breakthrough infections in phase III trials.

Dr. Celum has developed research clinical units in Seattle and Lima, Peru, to conduct epidemiologic studies and clinical trials of HIV prevention interventions and vaccines. In addition, she serves as the PI on two multi-center international clinical trials of HSV-2 suppression and HIV transmission with sites in Africa, India, and Latin America, which provide opportunities for graduate students interested in studying the epidemiology of STD and HIV infection

HIV prevention; microbicide; vaccine trials with the objective to find effective strategies to reduce HIV acquisition and transmission.

Recent Publications (PubMed)

Correlates of long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) use among young women in Southern Africa: a secondary analysis from HPTN 082.
(2025 Sep 18)
medRxiv
Ssemambo PK, Burton M, Mirembe BG, Nakabiito C, Donnell D, Beauchamp G, Delany-Moretlwe S, Celum C, Velloza J
Combining HIV prevention Options with Mental health service delivery for Adolescent girls and young women (CHOMA): results of a pilot hybrid effectiveness-implementation randomized trial in South Africa.
(2025 Sep)
J Int AIDS Soc 28(9): e70037
Velloza J, Ndimande-Khoza N, Mills L, Poovan N, Adler A, Sherwin EB, Mathew C, Sokhela Z, Verhey R, Chibanda D, Gandhi M, Celum C, Delany-Moretlwe S
Higher acceptability of the monthly dapivirine ring versus daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis among adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa in the REACH trial.
(2025 Aug 28)
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr
Friedland BA, Browne EN, Roberts ST, Ngure K, Nakalega R, Macdonald P, Mpongo CN, Tenza S, Mhlanga N, Szydlo D, Johnson S, McClure T, Nair G, Celum C, Hillier S, van der Straten A, MTN-034 REACH clinical trial team
A cross-sectional study evaluating the frequency of HIV drug resistance mutations among individuals diagnosed with HIV-1 in tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-based pre-exposure prophylaxis rollout programmes in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and South Africa.
(2025 Aug)
J Int AIDS Soc 28(8): e70011
Parikh UM, Kudrick LD, Levy L, Bosek E, Chohan BH, Mukui I, Masyuko S, Ndlovu N, Mahaka I, Mugurungi O, Ncube G, Hettema A, Matse SN, Mullick S, Wallis CL, Heaps AL, Penrose KJ, McCormick KD, Wiesner L, Anderson PL, Peterson JM, Celum C, Richardson BA, Castor D, Allen S, Torjesen K, Mellors JW, Global Evaluation of Microbicide Sensitivity (GEMS) Project
HIV-phyloTSI: subtype-independent estimation of time since HIV-1 infection for cross-sectional measures of population incidence using deep sequence data.
(2025 Aug 14)
BMC Bioinformatics 26(1): 212
Golubchik T, Abeler-Dörner L, Hall M, Wymant C, Bonsall D, Macintyre-Cockett G, Thomson L, Baeten JM, Celum CL, Galiwango RM, Kosloff B, Limbada M, Mujugira A, Mugo NR, Gall A, Blanquart F, Bakker M, Bezemer D, Ong SH, Albert J, Bannert N, Fellay J, Gunsenheimer-Bartmeyer B, Günthard HF, Kivelä P, Kouyos RD, Meyer L, Porter K, van Sighem A, van der Valk M, Berkhout B, Kellam P, Cornelissen M, Reiss P, Ayles H, Burns DN, Fidler S, Grabowski MK, Hayes R, Herbeck JT, Kagaayi J, Kaleebu P, Lingappa JR, Ssemwanga D, Eshleman SH, Cohen MS, Ratmann O, Laeyendecker O, Fraser C, HPTN 071 (PopART) Phylogenetics protocol team, the BEEHIVE consortium and the PANGEA consortium
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