Published: November 30, 2021
Christine Markham, PhD,investigator for the Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research andprofessor and interim department chair forHealthPromotion andBehavioralSciences,has beenselected toserve onthe Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention/Health Resources and Services Administration(CDC/HRSA)Advisory Committee on HIV, Viral Hepatitis and STD Prevention and Treatment.The committee is responsible for providing guidance on national objectives and policies for HIV, viral hepatitis, and other STD prevention and treatment efforts.
“I’m honored tobeselectedfor this critically important committee,” saidMarkham. “This is a great opportunity toshape evidence-based practice and policy across the HIV/STI prevention and treatment continuum.”
Committee members work directly withthe Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, theDirector of theCDC, and theAdministrator of theHRSAto determine strategies and priorities for infection surveillance, laboratory research, professional education, healthcare delivery, and prevention services in theU.S..The committee also includes representation frompersons living with HIV and other affected populations.
Markham’s appointmentrepresentsthe more than 20 years of research in HIV/STI prevention and treatmentconductedby UTHealth School of Public Health faculty, as well as their extensive work in facilitating a comprehensive research effort in reaching diverse populations and settings.The school has a number ofactive and ongoing HIV/STI projectson topicsincluding:
- Online, interactive sexual healtheducationcurricula(Dr. Markham,Melissa Peskin, PhD,Belinda Hernández, PhD,SusanTortoleroEmery, PhD,Ross Shegog, PhD)
- Schooland clinic-based HPVvaccinationprograms(Dr. Shegog,Maria E. Fernandez, PhD,Paula M. Cuccaro, PhD,Sally Vernon, PhD,Lara Savas, PhD)
- Mindfulness approaches to HIV/STI prevention among youth experiencing homelessness (Diane M. Santa Maria, DrPH, UTHealth School of Nursing, Dr. Cuccaro)
- Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)use for HIV prevention(Kayo Fujimoto, PhD,Michael威尔克森博士)
- HIVprevention and treatment among injected drug usersin Tanzania(Sheryl McCurdy, PhD)
- 性和生殖卫生adolescents in India(Marie Brault, PhD)
“Thisappointmentis a testament toour faculty’s commitment to innovation in the HIV/STI space,”shesaid.
Markhamwill serve a five-year term on the advisorycommitteefrom December 1st, 2021toNovember 2025.