HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in Rhode Island—there is both the need and opportunity to develop HIV-related research activities in Providence. Our faculty have a comprehensive HIV, STI and reproductive health research portfolio in collaboration with various domestic and international partners and funding agencies.

Current research focuses on uptake and adherence to antiretroviral medications for the prevention and treatment of HIV; documenting prevalence, incidence, and determinants (psychosocial, behavioral, biological and structural) of HIV and STI emergence and transmission in various at-risk populations; characterizing social, sexual and drug networks to better understand how connections (e.g., homophily, multiplexity), distributions (e.g., centrality, density), and segmentation (e.g., cohesion) potentiates HIV risk and infection; developing and testing integrated psychosocial treatment and HIV risk reduction interventions; development, evaluation, and implementation of interventions to modify behaviors that heighten an individual's vulnerability to becoming infected, or infecting others, with HIV; and research that advances health among myriad at-risk populations in resource-limited settings. A substantial body of research in BSS focuses on addressing alcohol, drug, and tobacco use in HIV prevention and care.

Current studies in this topic are being conducted across several continents, including Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Europe.