HIV/AIDS Experts
Sarah Abboud
Expert on: Reducing health disparities, improving health outcomes in sexual and gender minority individuals, social justice
Dr. Sarah Abboud is an associate professor of Nursing in the Department of Human Development Nursing Science. Her research goal is to reduce health disparities by developing programs that improve health outcomes among Arab immigrants. Dr. Abboud’s work is grounded in social justice and health equity frameworks. She focuses primarily on overall health promotion, particularly sexual health, among Arab immigrants and sexual and mental health promotion among sexual and gender minority Arabs.
Natasha Crooks
Expert on: Black girls and women’s sexual and reproductive health
Dr. Natasha Crooks is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development Nursing Science. She is a faculty affiliate at the Center for Dissemination and Implementation Science in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Crooks’ research centers on protecting the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of Black girls and women across the life course. She uses a community-engaged approach, and her findings underscore the need for greater protection of Black girls to avoid poor SRH outcomes (i.e., HIV/STIs and sexual violence). Dr. Crooks collaborates on research focused on Black maternal health outcomes and HIV outcomes among Black sex workers in Chicago.
Gabriel Culbert
Expert on: Correctional health care
Dr. Gabriel Culbert is an associate professor in the Department of Population Health Nursing Science. His research draws on nursing and anthropology disciplines to develop and study interventions to treat and prevent HIV among people who inject drugs and people in prison. Most of his research has been carried out in Indonesia, where HIV is highly prevalent in prisons. He is the developer of two HIV interventions, including a nurse-led intervention to increase HIV medication adherence after prison release (K23 DA041988), and a prison-based HIV partner notification intervention called Impart (R34 MH115779). His current research (R01 MH138246) focuses on sustaining HIV prevention interventions within the organizational context of prisons.
Rohan Jeremiah
Expert on: Global public health; the intersection of substance use, violence and HIV/AIDS
Dr. Rohan D. Jeremiah is an internationally recognized scholar in global public health, applied medical anthropology, and health equity. As professor and associate dean for global health at the UIC College of Nursing, his expertise lies at the intersection of culture, health and healing, with a distinct focus on substance use, violence, trauma and HIV/AIDS. His research aims to advance the health and well-being of racial, ethnic, and gender minority populations, particularly minority men, by developing and implementing culturally responsive, community-engaged public health interventions.
With more than two decades of experience across academic, policy, and community sectors, Dr. Jeremiah’s methodological expertise spans qualitative research, community-based participatory research (CBPR), implementation science, and program evaluation, approaches that guide the development and assessment of equity-focused health initiatives. He has led multiple research projects and provided technical support to multilateral agencies throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and Latin America.
Sadandaula Rose Muheriwa-Matemba
Expert on: Maternal and child health; young adolescent sexual health and development
Dr. Sadandaula Rose Muheriwa-Matemba is an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development Nursing Science. Her research integrates childhood development, sexual health literacy, nursing and midwifery, community-based participatory approaches, and dissemination and implementation science into intervention development to support the sexual health development and overall wellness of young adolescents. Dr. Muheriwa-Matemba aims to advance sexual health literacy among parents, caregivers, and institutions responsible for the care and well-being of young adolescents, as well as equip and empower young adolescents (ages 10-14) with bio-behavioral sexual health literacy and skills as they transition to adulthood.