Carla Zelaya
Assistant Scientist
Departmental Affiliation
-
- Name:
-
Epidemiology
- Affiliation Type:
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Primary
- Division:
- Infectious Disease
Departmental Address
615 N. Wolfe St., E6535
Baltimore, MD, 21205
Research and Professional Experience
For the past seven years, Dr. Zelaya has worked collaboratively on HIV/STD prevention projects in India, Sub-Saharan Africa, Thailand, Vietnam and Russia. She is an expert in the design, implementation and assessment of behavioral interventions to reduce the risk of HIV infection and transmission, principally in marginalized populations such as injection drug users (IDUs) and men who have sex with men (MSM).
Dr. Zelaya is the lead investigator in the biological and behavioral assessment of Project Accept, an international multi-site trial, testing the effectiveness of a combined strategy of mobile voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and post-test support services which aim to change community norms and reduce risk for HIV infection in communities in sub-Saharan Africa and Thailand. Additionally she is an investigator on a behavioral trial in Vietnam, which aims to reduce stigma and increase social support among HIV positive IDUs, aiming to reduce sexual and drug injecting behaviors, which increase HIV transmission. Concurrently, Dr. Zelaya is a part of a team in Russia studying the epidemiology of HIV including experiences of stigma and discrimination and the HIV risk profile among high-risk men who have sex with men, in order to effectively design future prevention programs.
Dr. Zelaya’s primary research investigates the causes and impact of HIV stigma on HIV prevention efforts. Within this work, she focuses on the development of valid and reliable measures of psychological and social constructs and complex behaviors such as stigma, social capitol and sexual concurrency. She has recently collaborated with international working groups sponsored by UNAIDS and USAID to develop standardized measures of HIV/AIDS stigma and sexual concurrency. Dr. Zelaya specializes in developing and evaluating methods that aim to achieve sustained behavioral changes, which reduce disease transmission. She focuses on the applicability and effectiveness of these methods with various infectious diseases across multiple geographical and socio-economic contexts. In conjunction with the aforementioned work, Dr. Zelaya is collaborating on a CDC project to develop and implement an Infection Control behavioral intervention in two rural hospitals in Guatemala.
Keywords
Epidemiology; HIV/AIDS; Infectious Disease; Stigma; Social Capitol; Empowerment; Measurement; Psychosocial Methods; Structural Equation Modeling; Behavior change
Selected Publications
Panchanadeswaran S, Johnson SC, Mayer KH, Srikrishnan AK, Sivaran S, Zelaya CE, Go VF, Solomon S, Bentley ME, Celentano DD. Gender differences in the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and genital symptoms in an urban setting in southern India. Sex Transmitted Infections 2006 Dec; 82(6):491-5. (PMID: 16757513)
Wilson AP, Hayman S, Whitehouse T, Cepeda J, Kibbler C, Shaw S, Zelaya C, Cookson B, Singer M, Bellingan G. Importance of the environment for patient acquisition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the intensive care unit: a baseline study. Critical Care Medicine 2007 Oct; 35(10):2275-9. (PMID: 17944014)
Zelaya CE, Sivaram S, Johnson SC, Srikrishnan AK, Solomon S, Celentano DD. HIV/AIDS Stigma: Reliability and Validity of a New Measurement Instrument in Chennai, India. AIDS & Behavior 2008 Sep; 12(5): 781-788 (PMID: 18030613)
Genberg BL, Kulich M, Kawichai S, Modiba P, Chingono A, Kilonzo GP, Richter L, Pettifor A, Sweat M, Celentano DD; NIMH Project Accept Study Team (HPTN 043). HIV risk behaviors in sub-Saharan Africa and Northern Thailand: baseline behavioral data from Project Accept. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2008 Nov 1; 49(3):309-19 (PMID: 19519238)
Khumalo-Sakutukwa G, Morin SF, Fritz K, Charlebois ED, van Rooyen H, Chingono A, Modiba P, Mrumbi K, Visrutaratna S, Singh B, Sweat M, Celentano DD, Coates TJ; NIMH Project Accept Study Team. Project Accept (HPTN 043): a community-based intervention to reduce HIV incidence in populations at risk for HIV in sub-Saharan Africa and Thailand. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2008 Dec 1; 4 (4):422-31. (PMID: 18931624)
Sivaram S, Zelaya CE, A.K. Srikrishnan, Latkin C, Go VF, Solomon S, Celentano D. Associations between social capital and HIV stigma in Chennai, India: considerations for prevention intervention design. AIDS Educ Prev 2009 Jun; 21(3):233-50
UNAIDS Reference group on estimates modeling and projections - working group on measuring concurrent sexual partnerships. HIV: Consensus indicators are needed for concurrency. Lancet. 2010 Feb 20; 375(9715):621-2 (PMID: 19954832
Panchanadeswaran S, Johnson SC, Sivaram S, Srikrishnan AK, Zelaya C, Solomon S, Go VF, Celentano D. A descriptive profile of abused female sex workers in India. J Health Popul Nutr. 2010 Jun; 28(3):211-20 (PMID: 20635631)
