Keynote: Igho Ofotokun, MD, MSc, FIDSA
Understanding the AIDS Epidemic through four decades of Longitudinal Observational Data: The MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study
Igho Ofotokun, MD, MSc
Associate Dean, Research Development
Grady Distinguished Professor of Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
Dr. Ofotokun is the Grady Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and Professor of Behavioral Social, and Health Education Sciences at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. He is a Staff Physician at Grady Memorial Health System, the Associate Dean for Research Development, Emory School of Medicine, the Associate Division Director for Research, Infectious Diseases Division, and the Co-Director of the Emory Center for AIDS Research Clinical Core.
As a clinician-scientist, Dr. Ofotokun’s career is devoted to combating the long-term sequalae of HIV, particularly among underrepresented populations. His work has focused on the threat that age-related comorbidities pose to healthy aging in persons with HIV. He leads an innovative global research collaboration to understand the pathobiology of these phenomena and has demonstrated that age-related comorbidities may be driven by disruption in the organ-immune interphase (an amenable target).
Dr. Ofotokun serves as the administrative PI of the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study, the Director of Emory Specialized Center of Research Excellence (SCORE) in Sex Differences, the Co-Director of the Georgia CTSA KL2 Program, the administrative PI and Co-Director of Emory Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) and the Co-Director, Emory Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR R38).
Drawing on his HIV experience, he leads the Atlanta hub of the NIH initiative, Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) aimed at understanding the long-term post-acute-sequelae of COVID-19. He serves as the national Chair of the RECOVER Adult Cohort Coordinating Committee that oversees the governance of the Adult Cohort – one of the largest of such cohorts in the world.
Dr. Ofotokun has contributed substantially to the expanded representation of women and minorities in biomedical research, leveraging his expertise to promote research education and training locally, nationally and across the globe (Nigeria, Ethiopia, Georgia, Vietnam). As an advocate for equitable representation in the biomedical workforce, he has briefed congressional staff, advised NIH leadership, Africa CDC, and African governments on multiple occasions.
Dr. Ofotokun has authored over 240 peer-reviewed original articles, editorial/review articles, books, and chapters. His contributions have been recognized by several awards. He is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and was honored by the Society with the prestigious John F. Enders named lecture at the 2023 IDWEEK. He was elected to the Emory University Woodruff Leadership Academy in 2022 and the National Academy of Medicine in 2023.
ESI Presentation: Lauren Suchman, PhD, MA
HIV and midlife among cisgender women: How do providers work with patients going through the menopausal transition?
Lauren Suchman, PhD, MA
Assistant Professor, Institute for Health & Aging/Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences
Lauren Suchman is an Assistant Professor in the Institute for Health and Aging and the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She is also a Faculty Affiliate with UCSF’s Institute for Global Health Sciences and the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health. Dr. Suchman received her PhD in Anthropology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and her MA in Population and Reproductive Health Research from the Institute for Population and Social Research at Mahidol University, Thailand. Her research interests lie at the intersection of gender equity, and sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Dr. Suchman’s current work focuses on improving access to treatment for women living with HIV who are going through the menopausal transition, and growing the workforce in qualitative research with a focus on young women researchers working in SRH globally. Previously, she has led the qualitative components of multi-country studies that aimed to improve women's access to quality SRH products and services. Dr. Suchman has conducted research in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Malawi, Nigeria, Thailand, and the U.S.