Associate Professor Dr. Karen A. Johnson has received the Deep South Mentored Career Development K Award, funded by the National Institutes of Health and awarded by the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS).
Dr. Johnson’s prior funded research has focused on refining and implementing the Empowering Black Women on the Road to Health (E-WORTH) intervention, which is an HIV/STI prevention intervention for cisgender Black women who use substances and are involved with the community corrections system (e.g. probation, parole). For this current grant-funded project, Dr. Johson will utilize innovative artificial intelligence approaches to analyze data from dyads of women at risk of HIV/STI and their healthcare providers to examine themes related to communication and trust regarding HIV/STI prevention and treatment. Dr. Johnson’s project will involve collaborations with Black women in community corrections in Alabama, Five Horizons Health Services, and the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Parole.
As a career development grant, Dr. Johnson will be working closely with a team of experts related to her project, including: Dr. Renee Heffron (The University of Alabama at Birmingham Center for AIDS Research), Dr. Hee Lee (The University of Alabama School of Social Work), Dr. Jiaqi Gong (The University of Alabama Department of Computer Science), and Dr. Trace Kershaw (Yale University School of Public Health).