HIP Presenters

Our monthly HIV Works-in-Progress (HIP) seminar is designed to enhance mentoring and peer-to-peer connections among emerging HIV investigators, supporting their career development and helping them successfully obtain their first R01 awards. Early-stage investigators present on a current HIV-related research project or grant proposal that they would like feedback on, and more established investigators offer guidance and tips for building a successful career in research. All are welcome to join these monthly virtual sessions, and Midwest D-CFAR members are invited to join us as presenters.

Please fill out this form to express your interest in presenting at a future HIP.

Thanks to all of those who have presented so far!

2026 Presentations

  • JANUARY | A Systems Approach to Expand HIV/STI Testing Access in St. Louis: The Clear Path Collaborative
    Presented by: Ginger McKay,assistant professor at WashU and Emmanuel Tetteh, research assistant professor at WashU

    FEBRUARY | Predicting HIV Seroconversion in Black and Latino LGBTQ Youth
    Presented by: Octavio Mesner, research assistant professor at WashU

    MARCH | Our Families, Our Voices: An Intraventive Approach to Sexual Health for Black LGBT Communities
    Presented by: Marlon Bailey, professor at WashU

    APRIL | The Impact of Air Pollution on Clinical Outcomes
    Presented by: Mintesnot Teni, assistant professor at SLU

  • JANUARY | Emotional Reflexivity in Global Health Research
    Presented by: Jean Hunleth, associate professor at WashU

    FEBRUARY | Luck favors the prepared mind - a lesson learned from a multifunctional HIV-1 enzyme
    Presented by: Sebla Kutluay, associate professor at WashU

    MARCH | The Clinical Care Continuum for Mental Health in HIV
    Presented by: Beau Ances, professor at WashU

    APRIL | Monitoring Treatment Response for Kaposi Sarcoma: What? So What? Now What?
    Presented by: Thomas Odeny, assistant professor at WashU

2025 Presentations

  • JANUARY | Adaptation of a mobile health application to improve HIV prevention and substance use treatment service access among people reentering the community from incarceration
    Presented by: Phillip Marotta, PhD, assistant professor at WashU

    FEBRUARY | Quantifying biological aging in people with HIV using MRI and epigenetics
    Presented by: Kalen Petersen, PhD, assistant professor at WashU

    MARCH | Phila kahle: Partnering with the public and private health sectors to improve access to mental health care in South Africa
    Presented by: Lindsey Filiatreau, PhD, assistant professor at WashU

    APRIL | Theory and generalizing: Two sides of the same coin
    Presented by: Charles Goss, PhD, assistant professor at WashU

    MAY | Structural interplay between HIV gag and CARD9 inflammasome
    Presented by: Chen Shen, PhD, assistant professor at WashU

    SEPTEMBER | Exploring ITIH4 as a marker of latently infected cells and a measure of the reservoir size
    Presented by: Javan Kisaka, Instructor at WashU

    NOVEMBER | HIV and Seizures: Understanding the Scope of the Problem in Vulnerable Communities
    Presented by: Jonathan Williams, MD, MSCR, Assistant Professor at WashU

    DECEMBER | An emerging TIMER-2C framework for addressing barriers to research culture and productivity among local healthcare providers in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa
    Presented by: Beryne Odeny, MD, MPH, PhD, Assistant Professor at WashU

  • JANUARY | Research priorities for an HIV cure
    Presented by: Liang Shan, PhD, associate professor at WashU

    FEBRUARY | AI for health: Harnessing machine learning to predict health outcomes
    Presented by: Chenyang Lu, PhD, Fullgraf Professor at WashU

    MARCH | A few ideas on chipping away at unjust power dynamics in research
    Presented by: Ginger McKay, PhD, assistant professor at WashU

    APRIL | Prioritizing your opportunities: How to overcome the bright, shiny object syndrome
    Presented by: Ross Brownson, PhD, Steven H. and Susan U. Lipstein Distinguished Professor at WashU

    MAY | Optimizing the mentorship process: The role of formal templates in fostering academic and professional growth
    Presented by: George Kyei, PhD, associate professor at WashU

    SEPTEMBER | Insights from geospatial data and science for HIV research
    Presented by: Enbal Shacham, professor, Associate Dean for Research at SLU

    NOVEMBER | Mentorship: Growing from Single Mentee to a Group-Based Model
    Presented by: Anne Sebert Kuhlmann, PhD, MPH, professor at SLU

    DECEMBER | What has HIV research given the world? How HIV Science Drives Innovation
    Presented by: Elvin Geng, MD, MPH, professor at WashU

2024 Presentations

  • JULY | ACCELERATE: A multisite Type II implementation - effectiveness hybrid mixed methods study of a simplified accelerated ART initiation protocol for people with HIV who are out of care
    Presented by: Dima Dandachi, MD, associate professor at the University of Missouri, Columbia (read recap)

    AUGUST | Designing and testing PrEP retention strategies Missouri-wide
    Presented by: Aditi Ramakrishnan, MD, MSc, assistant professor at WashU

    SEPTEMBER | Optimizing adherence to antiretroviral therapy among adolescents living with HIV in low-income settings
    Presented by: Samuel Kizito, PhD, assistant professor at WashU

    OCTOBER | Environmental impacts on immune and brain health in persons aging with HIV
    Presented by: Sarah Cooley, PhD, instructor at WashU

    NOVEMBER | Culturally responsive, podcast-based HIV prevention for Latine communities
    Presented by: Julia López, PhD, assistant professor at WashU

    DECEMBER | PrEP does not impact the circulation of gonorrhea and chlamydia in Black and Hispanic, sexual minority networks
    Presented by: Octavio Mesner, PhD, assistant professor at WashU

  • AUGUST | Finding fulfillment with grant writing to end the HIV epidemic in Missouri
    Presented by: Juliet Iwelunmor, PhD, professor at WashU

    SEPTEMBER | Pearls and tips from Dr. Fred (and the ICHAD team)
    Presented by: Fred Ssewamala, PhD, William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor; Proscovia Nabunya, PhD, associate professor; and Josephine Nabayinda, PhD, post-doctoral researcher at WashU

    OCTOBER | Preparing for a career development award: Thoughts from successful early-career awardees
    Presented by: Richard Grucza, PhD, professor at SLU

    NOVEMBER | Mastering the specific aims page: Techniques for securing your grant
    Presented by: Elvin Geng, MD, professor at WashU

    DECEMBER | Resilience in academia and strategies for success
    Presented by: Patricia Cavazos-Rehg, PhD, professor at WashU