Scientific Working Group on the Impact of HIV on Global Health

UMass Chan CFAR members work in collaboration with clinics and research projects all over the globe, including the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Liberia, Malawi, South Africa, Korea, and China. The Global Health Scientific Working Group (GHSWG) aims to form a support system for researchers involved in international studies, and a forum for them to discuss strategies and concerns that arise when working in resource-limited settings. This enhanced level of communication also makes it easy for researchers to share pertinent clinical data. 

The overall mission of the GHSWG is to provide scientific leadership that uses CFAR resources to stimulate innovative HIV-related research and the translation of discoveries into novel diagnostic, preventative, and treatment strategies for limited resource settings. This group focuses particularly on scientific investigation of co-infections such as TB and malaria common in areas of high HIV seroprevalence and on strengthening capacity for global HIV and HIV-related research. 

The GHSWG, together with the Office of Global Health, will bring together members of the medical, nursing and graduate schools and post-graduate programs to develop Global Health training programs. There is increased awareness and enthusiasm for Global Health initiatives at UMass Chan, and a growing number of collaborations with our UMass sister campuses, including Amherst (School of Public Health, Entomology), Boston (Center for Democracy and Development, Nursing school), Lowell and Dartmouth (Nursing schools).

Leadership

Katherine Luzuriaga, MD is Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Medicine, Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, and Associate Provost, Global Health. Dr. Luzuriaga is board-certified in Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases. As a physician-scientist, she has made numerous contributions to preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission (MTCT) and improving pediatric HIV treatment in the US and globally. More recently, she and Ms. Gallagher have organized the UMass Chan Office of Global Health, which is responsible for developing and supporting inter-disciplinary Global Health research and training programs. Dr. Luzuriaga and Ms. Gallagher also led the development of UMass Chan efforts to rebuild health care in Liberia after 20 years of conflict.

Donna Gallagher, BS, MSN, MA, FAAN is an Instructor in the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing and Dept of Family Medicine and is the Founding Co-Director of the UMass Chan Office of Global Health. She is a nurse practitioner with over 30 years’ experience in oncology and HIV care. Ms. Gallagher developed the model for the Harvard Health Plan AIDS Team as well as the Care Model for the Community Medical Alliance, which was the first Medicaid HIV HMO in the US. As the long-time PI/Director of the New England AIDS Education and Training Center (NEAETC), Ms. Gallagher works to ensure that individuals living with HIV/AIDS receive state-of the art, compassionate care by providing a full spectrum of capacity building, technical assistance, mentorship, clinical consultation, education, and training to health professionals. Over the past 30 years, Ms. Gallagher has led HIV training programs and developed nurse-led models of HIV and primary care in Romania, South America, and several African countries, including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, and Liberia.