Mentored Training Supplements
April 1, 2026: CHRP Announces $90,000 in New Mentored Training Awards
CHRP is proud to welcome our next cohort of nine trainees, who received funding to support their scientific contributions to current CHRP funded projects in the coming year. These awards provide trainees with research experience, mentorship, and technical training aligned with ongoing studies in areas such as immunology, molecular biology, social/behavioral science, applied epidemiology, implementation science, and policy research. This funding initiative is one way that CHRP is working to enrich pathways for future investigators in HIV-related research.
Joseph Awad
Californians Access to Resources for Housing and Economic Security to Promote HIV Care, UCLA
Joseph is a Cook Foundation scholar, a senior at UCLA, and an incoming PhD student in clinical health psychology. His research interests are concerned with addressing syndemic burden and intersectional stigma as they impact HIV prevention and care. With the support of this award, he will lead a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of housing instability on key mental, behavioral, and physiological health outcomes among PLHIV globally.
Taqwa Brookins
California Center for HIV Syndemics Policy Research, UCSF
Taqwa is a Research Program Manager in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), with eight years of public health and research experience. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University and has four years of professional experience in global HIV surveillance program implementation with UCSF’s Institute for Global Health Sciences. Her research with CHRP focuses on HIV prevention, testing, and treatment needs among people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in California and beyond. She has previously examined HIV prevention epidemiology among Black women who inject drugs in San Francisco, and her long-term research goals are to understand the unique challenges that minority women and girls with ASD face when accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare.
In her spare time, Taqwa enjoys exploring the outdoors through climbing, hiking, and snowboarding. Within these spaces, she advocates for the inclusion of minorities with disabilities in outdoor and movement-based activities.
Marissa Casas (they/she)
Project COMPA, San Francisco State, University
Marissa earned their B.A. from UC Irvine in the field of Gender and Sexuality Studies, and A.As in Ethnic Studies and Social Justice Studies from De Anza College. As a second-generation Mexican/-American, and queer lesbian, Marissa is passionate about exploring the nuanced and complex intersections of race/ethnicity, gender, and sexuality that impacts the sexual health outcomes of LGBTQ+ communities of color. Their passion for HIV research began as Clinical Assistant, co-facilitating community sexual health programming for BIPOC LGBTQ+ communities. They now engage diverse Latine populations in bilingual harm reduction programs, perform qualitative data analysis for the parent awardee project at SJSU, and recruitment and outreach for HIV research at SFSU.
Marissa contributed to the parent project, Project COMPA (Comunidades Ofreciendo Más Prevenciones Agradables) at SJSU, completing rapid qualitative thematic analysis exploring the implications of structural racism and utilization of Molecular HIV Surveillance/Cluster Detection and Response (MHS/CDR) among diverse Latine sexual and gender minorities (LSGM). With this award, they will move forward in leading a deeper analysis that focuses on immigrant Trans Latina Women participants, exploring how the intersections of cissexism, racism, and xenophobia affect their engagement of HIV/STI services in the United States.
Sungsub Choo (Billy) PhD, EdM
TransWealth, San Diego State University
Billy is a postdoctoral researcher at San Diego State University, focusing on social determinants of health disparities within the LGBTQ+ community. With this award, Dr. Choo will support the TransWealth project, where they will be mentored on conducting intervention studies with underserved communities, particularly low-income transgender individuals and their access to HIV care.
Jed Rodriguez
Sex Work LEARN (Lived Experience Affirming Research Network), UC Berkeley
Jed is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying Sociology and Cognitive Science. He is passionate about health justice, community advocacy and equitable research. With this award he will receive in-depth training on quantitative research methods and statistical modeling to contribute to the analysis of a mixed methods study on the implementation and evaluation of an adapted HIV prevention intervention for marginalized communities; focusing on how social support, community belonging, and structural factors shape HIV/STI outcomes.
Dillon Trujillo, MPH
Southern CA HIV Policy Research Center, UCLA
Dillon is a PhD Candidate in Community Health Sciences at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health. His research sits at the intersection of HIV prevention for sexual and gender minorities, occupational burnout among HIV frontline workers, and the development and evaluation of public health interventions grounded in community-based and health equity frameworks. Prior to UCLA, he worked at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, where he supported CDC-, HRSA-, and NIMH-funded HIV projects, including the development and evaluation of a digital text messaging intervention to support retention in HIV care among young people newly diagnosed with HIV. With this award, Dillon will translate his dissertation findings on assessing the acceptability of a PrEP-based conditional cash transfer into an HIV prevention policy brief for California by conducting a targeted literature and policy review, consulting with potential stakeholders, and disseminating actionable recommendations for CHRP channels.
Ryan Whitacre, PhD
Northern CA HIV Policy Research Center, UC Berkeley
Ryan is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Prevention Science at the UCSF School of Medicine. He holds a PhD in Medical Anthropology from UCSF and UC Berkeley. He has published on numerous topics related to HIV prevention, including PrEP persistence, missed prevention opportunities among PrEP users, survival strategies among queer refugees, and the U.S. public sector’s role in HIV drug development and access. Ryan's personal connection to the communities most affected by HIV motivates his long-standing focus on HIV research, and he is optimistic about the ways long-acting injectable PrEP will benefit communities in California.
Yijia Shi, MSPH
Geographies of Structural Racism and Intersectional Oppression and the House and Ballroom Community, UC Irvine
Yijia is a first-year PhD student at the UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health whose research interests lie at the intersections of mental health, HIV/STI treatment and prevention, and sexual health among marginalized communities. She integrates quantitative and qualitative methods with community-based approaches to better understand the complicated social and structural factors that drive HIV and STI-related health inequalities. In addition to receiving hands-on training in qualitative methodology, analysis, and community-engaged research, Yijia will also deepen their knowledge of the role of structural racism in shaping HIV/STI vulnerability.
September 14, 2025: Pre-Conference Symposium for CHRP-Funded Trainees
Just prior to the Resilience Through Community: CHRP Grantee Conference 2025, CHRP hosted a one-day symposium for our newest cohort of CHRP-funded trainees. We began with an interactive skill-building workshop on delivering scientific presentations, led by Bri McWhorter of Activate to Captivate, followed by the first session of a multi-part training on grant application writing techniques led by A.J. King of Next Level Consulting. Throughout the day, trainees worked with Calvin Fleming of goodpr to capture professional headshots. That evening CHRP brought together the new trainees and members of our Advisory Council, for an evening of lively conversation, career advice, and ceviche at Comal in Berkeley, before joining conference attendees on the rooftop patio for a no-host happy hour at the hotel. More information about the grantee conference is on our website under “in the news”.
April 1, 2025: CHRP Announces $120,000 in New Mentored Training Awards CHRP is proud to welcome our next cohort of twelve students and trainees, who have just received funding to support their scientific contributions to current CHRP funded projects in the coming year. These awards provide trainees with research experience, mentorship, and technical training aligned with ongoing studies in areas such as immunology, molecular biology, social/behavioral science, applied epidemiology, implementation science, and policy research. In response to feedback from our community of Principal Investigators we recently expanded eligibility criteria to include community-based scientists. This funding initiative is one way that CHRP is working to enrich pathways for future investigators in HIV-related research.
Rene Alegre is a first-generation Salvadoran-American undergraduate Public Health student at San Francisco State University. He is deeply committed to serving his community through research, advocacy, and direct support. Mr. Alegre will conduct mixed methods research exploring the implications of structural racism and utilization of Molecular HIV Surveillance/Cluster Detection and Response (MHS/CDR) among Latino sexual and gender minorities (LSGM) in the Bay Area, and will receive extended training in participant outreach, data collection systems, and disseminating research findings directly to the community.
Osirus Eisenman, BA, is a research technician with a keen interest in infectious diseases. He is working on HIV immunology studies wanting to make scientific findings accessible to affected communities. With this award, he will explore the HIV biology of T-cells and B-cells using samples from the Last Gift study, and will complete advanced coursework at UCSD in innate immune systems, drug development, and pharmacology.
Frederick Ferguson, MD, MS, is a postdoctoral trainee in the National Clinician Scholars Program at UCLA and a Black primary care physician. With this award, Dr. Ferguson will analyze transcripts of interviews from the parent study, “Refining Measures of Medical Mis/Trust and Positive Coping for Racialized People Affected by HIV.” His qualitative analysis seeks to understand the factors that influence medical trustworthiness and mistrust among Black sexual minority men.
Erik Gramajo, B.S. is currently contributing to the parent award at UCLA,where he is actively involved in constructing and reprogramming CAR-T cells to combat HIV. He has shown a strong interest and growing commitment to the field of cellular immunotherapy for HIV cure. With this award Erik will receive comprehensive training in molecular cloning techniques, assessment of CAR expression across multiple immune cell lineages, and data analysis. This experience will further deepen his expertise and prepare him for future contributions in HIV immunotherapy research.
Emma Gunderson, MS is a doctoral student at San Francisco State University whose interest inHIV research stems from her commitment to addressing health disparities in underserved communities, particularly among Black and Brown populations. With this award she will support the “Harnessing the Potential of Pharmacy Provision of Long-Acting Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)” Project by examining factors associated with seeking HIV testing and prevention services in the pharmacy setting.
Ebubechukwu Victor Imo is an undergraduate student at UCLA and a scholar in the Biomedical Sciences Enrichment Program (BISEP), who seeks to become a physician-scientist and work towards a cure for HIV. Victor is deeply committed to this work as his family is from Nigeria, where he has seen the effects of the HIV epidemic and lack of access to health care on the community. Mr. Imo’s laboratory research utilizes chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to enhance the body’s ability to fight infections. In this project, he will test whether adding specific investigative cellular docking sites to the CARs makes them more effective at targeting and destroying cells containing HIV.
Valentina Pedrero Classen, BA, has been working on the development and optimization of enveloped delivery vehicles for long-term HIV epigenome editing. With this award, she will train in stem cell culturing, brain organoid generation, light sheet microscopy, and single-cell RNA sequencing, ultimately contributing to the examination of latent HIV-infected cells for the
aims of the parent award.
Colbey Ricklefs, MD, MPH, is a first-year post-doctoral fellow in the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies. He is interested in working with sexual and gender minority adolescents and young adults, particularly in expanding sexual health access in primary care. With this award he will support the Breaking Barriers: Building Equitable Access to Long-Acting Injectable (LAI) PrEP in Sacramento and Fresno Counties project by expanding the qualitative research activities and support the implementation of LAI PrEP in Fresno County.
Joseph Serafino is third-year undergraduate student at UCLA, majoring in environmental science with a minor in global health. As a gay man he has direct knowledge about barriers to seeking sexual health care. With this award, Mr. Serafino will conduct a rapid response research project with the Southern California HIV/AIDS Policy Research Center to examine the intersection of HIV and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among men who have sex with men and identify facilitators and barriers to HPV vaccination.
Vanessa Warri, MSW, is a PhD student interested in research justice, and the first and only openly Black transgender woman to matriculate at UCLA. She has lived experience at the intersection of five distinct communities that are among the most highly impacted by HIV in California and the world, and has been working on the parent study since it’s development. With this award, she will expand her role to analyze the impacts of the study on the personal and professional lives of the interventionists themselves, as well as on their views on research involving their community.
Wendy Xie, BS, PharmD Candidate is a current student at the UCSF School of Pharmacy. Ms. Xie has challenged herself to push beyond cultural norms to adopt an ease of connection with clients and serve as an inspiration to colleagues. With this award, she will examine the experiences of Veterans who have used HIV self-tests dispensed at a San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System harm reduction vending machine.
Tala Zoukari, MPH, DrPH Candidate is a doctoral student at Loma Linda University committed to addressing health inequities. As a woman of color and harm reduction outreach specialist, Ms. Zoukari brings a unique perspective to the “Expanding HIV Prevention and Care Reach through Harm Reduction Vending Machines in Riverside County” project. With this award she will conduct qualitative interviews with patients and key informants, participate in data analysis and the development of a scientific manuscript.
April 1, 2024: CHRP announces $80,000 in new awards to support mentored training for eight early career-stage HIV researchers in California. New this year, we expanded eligibility beyond basic biomedical training to include all CHRP-funded awards, and were pleased to receive applications spanning all our priorities of clinical research, implementation science, and policy research.
Of the eight new researchers who are receiving these awards in 2024, each has lived experience in, and is committed to serving, many of our priority communities. We celebrate the accomplishments of these eight dedicated researchers and are grateful for the opportunity to fulfill the community mandate of “nothing about us without us”. These exciting projects will focus on resilience factors, housing insecurity, the California Healthy Youth Act, intimate partner violence, PrEP, and more; they will serve communities such as Latinx people with newly diagnosed HIV, transgender women of color, asylum seekers, youth, and internet-based sex workers. Below are short biosketches and photos of each of the eight members of this cohort of trainees, as approved by them. Congratulations and Welcome, Researchers!
Jamie Arangure, BA: Mi nombre es Jamie Arangure ( She/Ella). Soy una mujer transgenero inmigrante del estado Nayarit Mexico. Licenciada En Turismo De Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit Mex. Actualmente soy la Fundadora y Directora Ejecutiva de Proyecto Trans Latina San Diego. Co-Participante En La División de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Salud Pública Global, UCSD Escuela de Medicina. Representante LGBTQ+ de la Coalicion Fronteriza del Sur de California, California TGI Policy Alliance, y Trans Health Project ( Black & Latina Trans Community). Voluntaria humanitaria del Proyecto Mariposas Fronterizas, que es una colaboración de defensa de la frontera LGBTQ+ entre Transgender Law Center y Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement.
With this award, Ms. Arangure will work with the Trans(C)ending Collaborative to evaluate the implementation of an upstream evidence-based intervention (EBI) that can improve the utilization of available HIV services and reduce HIV transmission vulnerability, and will develop an implementation blueprint to address housing insecurity among Black and Latina transgender women.
Yuè Begay, BA: Yuè Begay yinishyé. Naakai Dine'é nishłį́. Kinyaa'áanii bááshishchíín. Dibéłzhiní da'shicheii. Tábąąhá da'shinálí. Ákót'éego t'áá diné asdzáán nishłį́. Ákót'éego t'áá nádleehí nishłį́ 'ałdó'. Kinłání Dookʼoʼoosłííd Biyaagidi shiʼdizhchį́. K'ad Indigenous Pride LA biChairwoman dóó Director of Operations nishłį́. Freelance Graphic Artist dóó website designer dóó Consultant nishłį́ ’ałdó’. Public Healthígíí bá naashnish. California State University State, Long Beachdę́ę́’ niniłtááh. K’ad Tovaangardi kééhasht’į́ ndi Tódí Néesh Zhee’dę́ę́’ naashá.
My name is Yuè Begay. I am of the Nomadic People Clan, Born for the Towering House Clan. My maternal grandfather is of the Black Sheep Clan and my paternal grandfather is of the Near the Water’s Edge Clan. In this way, I am a Navajo transgender woman. I was born in Flagstaff, AZ. I am the Chairwoman and Director of Operations of Indigenous Pride LA. I work as a Freelance Graphic Artist, website designer as well as a Consultant. I work in the Public Health field. I graduated from California State University, Long Beach. I currently live in Los Angeles, CA but am originally from Kayenta, AZ (Navajo Nation).] Ms. Begay is currently a Research Analyst with APAIT/SSG where she also is a key informant and stakeholder to the T.H3.E Project. With this award she will enhance her role on the study team, contributing to study design, data analysis and dissemination and continue pursuing her MPH at USC.
Chelsea Chan López, BA: is a first-generation American of Puerto Rican, Chinese, and Vietnamese descent pursuing her graduate studies in Social Welfare at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs. Her interest in sexual health and wellbeing of system-impacted youth who are minoritized due to sexual and gender identity is informed by her direct clinical experience working with clients navigating health and social service systems that often lack holistic approaches that center their needs, means to access resources, and/or lived experiences. Ms. Chan López will assist the Southern California HIV/AIDS Policy Research Center to evaluate California Healthy Youth Act compliance in school districts across the state. In addition, she will examine the intersection of HIV and intimate partner violence to identify strategic ways of implementing HIV prevention and treatment services for all women experiencing violence.
Martín Ibarra, BS: is a student researcher from San Diego State University, finalizing an MPH in Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences and an MA in Latin American Studies. As an immigrant to the US, Mr. Ibarra identifies as bilingual, bicultural, and part of the LGBTQ+ community. Mr. Ibarra’s research focuses on the intersection of queerness and health in Latin America. With this award, Mr. Ibarra will support his work examining the health condition of transgender individuals who migrated to the US from Latin America and the Caribbean seeking asylum. Outcomes from this work will be disseminated through the California Center for HIV Syndemic Policy Research Center.
Kristopher J. Jackson, PHD, MPH, MSN: is a first-generation college student and doctorly prepared nurse scientist. Growing up in rural New England, Kristopher has first-hand experience with the barriers and stigma that many LGBTQIA+ community members face during routine interactions with the American health care system. Kristopher's lived experience as a gay man has informed his program of research centered around improving the health and wellbeing of LGBTQIA+ community members. With this award, Kristopher will investigate the advertised health and risk-taking behaviors of MSM who engage in sex work -- a stigmatized, vulnerable population underrepresented in contemporary HIV prevention science literature. This investigation will inform the Northern California HIV Policy Research Center’s evidence-based policy recommendations regarding the provision of PrEP to Internet-based MSM sex workers.
Chloé Ópalo: has developed a career grounded in community-engaged research. For nearly 10 years Ms. Ópalo has been working within community organizations to support the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ clients. As a bilingual, Mexican/Latina woman of trans experience and a first-generation immigrant who grew up in poverty in the U.S., Ms. Ópalo has been an advocate for and facilitator to PrEP for many transgender and non-binary persons. With this award she will analyze interview data from PrEP Well participants and Trans Wellness Center staff to understand the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of the PrEP Well program.
Julieta Rodriguez, MD, MPH: is a Latina internal medicine and pediatric physician who is a current fellow at UCSF specializing in infectious disease. She will participate in study design and chart review of Latinx patients newly diagnosed with HIV and take coursework on community engaged research and implementation science. She has a strong interest in helping her surrounding community by improving health outcomes via early diagnosis and successful treatment of infectious diseases.
Luz Venegas, BFA, MPH (in progress): is a Latina immigrant and first-generation college student completing her Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology at the George Washington University. She is also a current Fulbright scholar based in Mexico City. With the support of this award, Ms. Venegas will collaborate with the Sex Work Lived Experience Research Network study to examine health outcomes, including HIV testing and medication adherence, among transgender immigrant participants. Her research aims to investigate potential associations between time residing in the United States and these key health indicators.