Caitlin Turner, PhD, MPH

Biography

Shaped by lived and professional experiences, my research sits at the intersection of HIV syndemics, social determinants of health, and causal inference. Navigating the impacts of co-occurring substance dependence, poverty, and violence in my family of origin while managing my own physical and mental health disabilities has given me an embodied understanding of why structural interventions matter. During my doctoral training in Epidemiology at UCSF and my prior work as an epidemiologist at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, I built foundational skills in testing structural HIV interventions for sexual and gender minority populations in the U.S.

For my postdoctoral training, I aim to gain expertise in simulation/transportability methods and apply them to populations underrepresented in rigorous policy research and disproportionately burdened by HIV syndemics, particularly sexual and gender minority populations, those in the sex trade, people with dependence on alcohol/substances, and those experiencing houselessness. This body of work will help inform positive, structural, anti-capitalist change with the ultimate goal of ending co-occurring epidemics of HIV, substance use, and mental health challenges.