Center for Global Health Faculty

Associate Professor

Academic Degrees

• PhD
• MPH

Departmental Affiliation

• Name:

  Epidemiology

  Affiliation Type:

  Primary

  Division:

  Infectious Diseases

• Name:

  International Health

  Affiliation Type:

  Joint

Departmental Address

Contact Information

Email:

vgo+jhsph.edu

Phone:

410-614-4755

Fax:

410-955-1836

Research and Professional Experience

Dr. Go is a social epidemiologist, whose research focuses on the design, implementation and evaluation of behavioral HIV prevention interventions among marginalized populations, including injecting drug users (IDUs) and men who have sex with men (MSM). A primary research interest of Dr. Go’s has been the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods in studies utilizing laboratory-based endpoints.  Recently, she has collaborated with several international working groups on developing standardized measures of HIV-related stigma and sexual concurrency.  

Dr. Go has conducted her research in a number of international settings, including Vietnam, South Africa, Thailand and India.  She has worked in Vietnam for over a decade to develop, implement and evaluate behavioral interventions among IDUs including a recently completed randomized controlled trial among HIV-negative IDUs and their injecting and sexual partners.  In Chennai, India, she was the lead ethnographer for an NIMH multi-site HIV/AIDS prevention trial of the community popular opinion leader (CPOL) intervention.  She is currently principal investigator of a 5-year study among Vietnamese HIV-positive IDUs, a multi-level behavioral intervention that focuses on providing enhanced counseling to IDUs and reducing HIV-related stigma in the community. 

In concert with these research efforts, Dr. Go is committed to building research capacity in the countries where she works.  Through the JHBSPH Fogarty AIDS International program she has facilitated a series of key regional cross-country research method trainings between US/Vietnam and Thailand/Vietnam.  Dr. Go has been a member of the Core Curriculum Committee for the first school of public health in Vietnam (Hanoi School of Public Health) since 2002 and has facilitated the formation of two internal review boards (IRBs) in Vietnam: the National AIDS Standing Bureau in Hanoi and the Center for Preventive Medicine in Thai Nguyen Province. 

Keywords

social epidemiology, stigma, concurrency, behavioral sciences, HIV, Asia, prevention, vulnerable populations, injection drug users,h Vietnam, India, South Africa 

Honors and Awards

Dissertation Research Grant, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, 1998. Gilbert Award for Innovative AIDS Research, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 1998. New Investigator Award, AIDS International Research Program, NIH, 1997. Fogarty Fellow, International Research Program, NIH, 1996. Delta Omega Honor Society, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 1995. Bronze Medal for Commendable Service, EPA, 1992. Magna Cum Laude, Hamilton College, 1988.

Selected Publications

Go VF, Srikrishnan AK, Parker CB, Salter M, Green A, Sivaram S, Johnson SC, Latkin C, Solomon S, Celentano DD. High prevalence of forced sex among non-brothel based, wine-shop centered female sex workers in Chennai, India. AIDS and Behavior (in press).

Go VF, Srikrishnan AK, Salter M, Metha S, Johnson SC, Sivaram S, Solomon S, Celentano DD. Factors associated with the perpetration of sexual violence among wine-shop patrons in Chennai, India.  Social Science and Medicine (in press).

Go VF, Frangakis C, Nam LV, Sripaipan T, Bergenstrom A, Li F, Latkin C, Celentano DD, Quan VM. Characteristics of high risk HIV-positive IDUs in Vietnam: implications for future interventions.  Substance Use and Misuse (in press).

Salter M, Go VF, Minh NL, Gregowski A, Ha TV, Rudolph A, Latkin C, Celentano DD, Quan VM.  Influence of secondary stigma and family on the response to HIV infection among injection drug users in Vietnam.  AIDS Education and Prevention (in press).

Panchanadeswaran S, Johnson SC, Sivaram S, Srikrishnan AK, Zelaya CC, Solomon S, Go VF, Celentano DD.  A descriptive profile of abused female sex workers in India.  Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition 2010; 28(3):211-220.

Schumacher C, Go VF, Nam LV, Bergenstrom A, Latkin C, Celentano DD, Quan VM. Social injecting and other correlates of high-risk sexual activity among injecting drug users in northern Vietnam.  International Journal of Drug Policy 2009; 20(4):352-356.

Quan VM, Go VF, Bergenstrom A, Nam LV, Thuoc NP, Giang PNV, Zenilman JM, Celentano DD. Risks for HIV, HBV, and HCV infections among male injection drug users in northern Vietnam: a case-control study.  AIDS Care 2009; 21(1):7-16.

Sivaram S, Zelaya C, Srikrishnan AK, Latkin C, Go VF, Solomon S, Celentano DD.  Associations between social capital and HIV stigma in Chennai, India:  considerations for prevention intervention design.  AIDS Education and Prevention 2009; 21(3):233-250.

Salter ML, Go VF, Celentano DD, Diener-West M, Nkhoma CM,  Kumwenda N, Taha TE.  Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the acceptability of an intravaginal gel by female participants in a randomized clinical trial in Blantyre district, Malawi.  AIDS Care 2008; 20(7):853-862.

Bergenstrom A, Quan VM, Nam, LV, Thuoc NP, Thuy M, Mccausland KL, Celentano DD, Go VF. Prevalence of non-fatal drug overdose and associated risk characteristics among injecting drug users in North Vietnam.  Substance Use and Misuse 2008; 43(1):73-84.

Panchanadeswaran S, Johnson SC, Sivaram S, Srikrishnan AK, Latkin C, Zelaya CC, Bentley ME, Solomon S, Go VF, Celentano DD. Female sex workers’ vulnerability to HIV in India: intersections of alcohol and violence.  International Journal of Drug Policy 2008; 19(2):106–112.

Sivaram S, Srikrishnan AK, Latkin C, Iriondo-Perez J, Go VF, Solomon S, Celentano DD. Male alcohol use and unprotected sex with non-regular partners: evidence from wine shops in Chennai, India.  Drug Alcohol Dependence 2008; 94(1-3):133-141.

Bergenstrom A, Go VF, Nam LV, Thuoc NP, Thuy M, Celentano DD, Frangakis C, Quan VM. Return to post-test counseling by out-of-treatment injecting drug users participating in cross-sectional survey in North Vietnam.  AIDS Care 2007; 19(7):935-939.

Go VF, Suniti S, Srikrishnan AK, Sivaram S, Johnson S, Sripaipan T, Murugavel KG, Latkin C, Mayer K, Celentano DD. HIV rates and risk behaviors are low in the general population of males in South India, but high in alcohol venues: results from 2 probability surveys.  Journal of AIDS 2007; 46(4):491-497.