Nelson Appointed to National Alliance Focusing on Improving HIV Care for Youth in Africa
LaRon E. Nelson, PhD, RN, FNP, assistant professor at the University of Rochester School of Nursing, has been selected to serve as a member of the Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance (AHISA).
The Center for Global Health Studies at the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center is launching the new initiative, which aims to enhance the effective use of evidence to help overcome implementation challenges related to prevention, screening, and treatment of HIV among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.
“This appointment reflects LaRon’s leadership in this field, both domestically and internationally,” said UR School of Nursing Dean Kathy Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP. “The knowledge he has gained from his own work in Africa will allow him to make invaluable contributions to this important initiative.”
Over the next two years, the Alliance will meet to exchange ideas in an effort to help understand the factors that drive uptake and adherence to adolescent HIV prevention and treatment strategies. The Alliance hopes to bridge the gap between research, programs, and policy, inform policymakers of promising evidence and encourage use of the data in decision making, and extend the impact of implementation science related to adolescent HIV prevention and treatment.
Nelson, who is also the associate director of international research at the University of Rochester Center for AIDS Research, has focused his research career on HIV prevention and the care of people living with HIV/AIDS. He has primarily worked with socially marginalized groups within African and African diaspora communities, including men who have sex with men in Canada, Ghana, and the United States.
“I am looking forward to collaborating with other individuals who are invested in improving HIV prevention in Africa,” said Nelson. “This is a unique opportunity to broaden my perspective and gain insights that will help inform my own work.”
The AHISA members include scientists, government representatives, and research collaborators, and they were selected based on the strength of their AHISA-related research, their partnership engagement and support, and their commitment to future implementation science and adolescent HIV research.
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