Name: Andrea Hobkirk
Title: DGHI Postdoctoral Fellow for Christina Meade
Duration of position: One year, but hopefully longer
Tell us more about your background and experience.
I earned my PhD in clinical psychology from the University at Albany, SUNY in July 2013. During my graduate training, my research and clinical interests focused on understanding mental health and health behaviors in chronically ill populations. My master’s thesis examined coping processes among women with Multiple Sclerosis and my dissertation assessed depression and cognitive impairment in adults with HIV. I first came to Duke in 2012 as a clinical intern at DUMC, where I treated patients in organ transplant and chronic pain services. My interests in substance use and HIV drew me to DGHI, and Christina Meade’s lab.
What countries do you work in?
I currently work on projects conducted in the United States and South Africa.
What is your role?
As a postdoctoral fellow, I am involved in all aspects of data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
What does your work focus on and why is this work important for global health?
I currently research the impact of methamphetamine use on HIV-risk in Cape Town, South Africa. Methamphetamine in Cape Town is commonly referred to as “tik” because of the sound it makes when it is smoked. Of particular interest is how tik increases the rate of risky sexual behavior, which may have significant implications for the already high HIV epidemic in this part of the world. In addition, I am interested in how tik use impacts HIV-infected engagement in HIV care. In the US, drug use is linked with worse medication adherence, but little is known about how tik use might impact adherence for residents in South Africa. The information gained from this research will be used to develop interventions designed to prevent the transmission of HIV among tik users, and also link HIV-positive tik users with HIV testing and treatment.
What do you hope to accomplish here?
I hope to learn more about the international impact of substance use on the transmission and course of HIV infection.
Why are you interested in global health?
Technologies like the Internet and air travel have helped us to cross borders that couldn’t be crossed just a few decades ago. We now have the opportunity to let our research positively impact people all over the world, which is very exciting.
To start a conversation with me, ask me:
What I had for lunch.
Tell us something interesting people don’t know about you.
I am from Hershey, Pennsylvania…the sweetest place on earth.
Where is your office located?
329 Trent Hall.
