Harvard Catalyst Profiles

I am a pediatric infectious diseases physician with clinical expertise in immunocompromised hosts infectious diseases. Additionally, I am a global health researcher with a research program in India focused on young people in key populations (i.e., people who inject drugs, transgender persons, men who have sex with men), and adolescents and young adults with perinatal HIV. My work centers on understanding the unique vulnerabilities of young people in key populations, characterizing disparities they experience in the receipt of health services, and developing and implementing differentiated care interventions/ services for youth to facilitate engagement in health services broadly. I apply principles of participatory action research and am very fortunate to have formed long-standing collaborations with partners in India including NGOs, foundations, the adolescent medicine chapter of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, and youth in the communities I work with. I employ quantitative, qualitative and implementation science methods in my research. Ongoing work includes the following:

(I) Young people who inject drugs: I am developing and implementing individual and family centered psychosocial interventions to support engagement in substance use treatment and HIV services among young people who inject drugs in India.
(II) Young transgender and gender diverse persons: I am conducting research to better understand access to gender affirming services among young transgender and gender diverse persons in India. Some of this research is informing capacity building/ educational initiatives.
(III) Adolescents and young adults with perinatal HIV: I have co-led the implementation and evaluation of peer-led person centered interventions to address structural and psychosocial barriers to care among adolescents and young adults in India with perinatal HIV.

I have ongoing opportunities for students/ residents/ fellows who would like to be involved in this body of work.