Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP)

In Recognition of World AIDS Day

Lisa B. Hightow-Weidman, MD, MPH
Topic: Technology-based HIV Prevention and Treatment Interventions for Adolescents and Young Adults
December 5, 2024 | 12:30 PM | WebEx

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Lisa B. Hightow-Weidman, MD, MPH is a Distinguished and Endowed McKenzie Professor in the College of Nursing at the Florida State University (FSU). She is the founding director of the Institute on Digital Health and Innovation at FSU.
Dr. Hightow-Weidman is an expert in the development, implementation and evaluation of digital health interventions (DHIs) to address the HIV Care Continuum for adolescents and young adults, particularly among sexual and gender minority populations. Her research interests include technology-based HIV prevention and treatment interventions for adolescents and emerging adults, specifically interventions that incorporate game-based elements, self-monitoring and tracking and provision of social support to increase engagement and impact health behavior. She has developed technology-based interventions that aim to increase uptake and adherence to biomedical prevention and treatment, to increase HIV diagnosis, linkage and retention in care and to ameliorate stigma and increase resilience. She has published nearly 200 peer-reviewed articles on these topics and has a proven track record of successful funding from the National Institutes of Health, HIV/AIDS Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CT SSN is excited to partner with Representative Jaime Foster (D-57 (Ellington, East Windsor, and Vernon)), Representative Dominique Johnson (D-143 (Norwalk and Westport)), and UConn’s InCHIP to host the second “Moving Beyond Implications: Research into Policy” (Moving Beyond) conference. The conference will bring together academics, legislators, and other policymakers in advance of the 2025 Connecticut legislative session.

When: Thursday, December 12, 2024 | 11:30am lunch | 12pm-6pm conference programming
Where: Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT 06106

Details, Deadlines, and Registration

In Recognition of Heart Health Month

Kenneth E. Freedland, Ph.D., Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Topic: Cardiovascular Disease and Depression
February 27, 2025 | 12:30 PM | WebEx

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Dr. Freedland is a Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Most of his research has focused on depression in patients with heart failure or coronary heart disease. He has also conducted studies of other psychiatric comorbidities, behavioral problems such as poor self-care, and social determinants of health in patients with heart failure. He has been the principal investigator or a co-investigator on both single-site and multicenter trials of interventions for depression in cardiac patients and has served on clinical trial review committees for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). He also has expertise in behavioral trial methodology. Dr. Freedland is the founder of the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Cardiovascular Disease Special Interest Group and of the Behavioral Medicine Research Council, and a fellow of multiple organizations including the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. He was the Program Director of the annual NIH Summer Institute on Randomized Behavioral Clinical Trials from 2020 to 2024. He has been a member of the Summer Institute faculty since 2007 and the faculty of the NIH-funded ORBIT Institute on Developing Behavioral Treatments to Improve Health since 2022. He has also served as an Associate Editor of Psychosomatic Medicine and Editor-in-Chief of Health Psychology.

Christina H. Fuller, Sc.D., University of Georgia
Topic: Air quality, Environmental Health, and Justice
March 13, 2025 | 12:30 PM | WebEx

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Christina H. Fuller is an Associate Professor in the University of Georgia College of Engineering. She earned master’s and doctoral degrees in environmental health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from Northwestern University. Dr. Fuller conducts research on environmental health and justice. She has expertise in exposure science and epidemiology, which she uses to investigate air pollution exposure, pollution reduction strategies, health disparities and social-environmental interactions.

In Recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Kristin M. Anders, Ph.D., Kansas State University
Topic: Violence in Sexual and Romantic Relationships
April 3, 2025 | 12:30 PM | WebEx

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Dr. Ander’s research program focuses on sexual and relationship development in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Specifically, much of her work focuses on emerging adult sexual identity development, the use of violence in sexual and romantic relationships, and understanding how cultural or social norms affect identity development during adolescence. She uses this research to better inform and strengthen sexual and relationship education in high schools and colleges, along with promoting public scholarship in non-academic communities. Kristin currently serves as the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood (SSEA) Communications Chair and Sexuality Topic Network Emerging Scholar co-chair. Further, Kristin also serves as the Co-Director of Communications and Marketing for Relevate, a multidisciplinary project dedicated to increasing public scholarship of academic research to communities. Kristin currently co-leads the RUSH-21 Team with Dr. Yelland, along with co-leading the SHARE Team and being involved in the HAARRT Lab with Dr. Toews.