Research to Improve Health
Cutting-edge research on the social and structural drivers of health.
To understand the drivers of population health, the systems around populations must be understood — as it is not individuals themselves, but the social and structural systems they encounter in their everyday lives that shape their health.
This is a paradigm shift from a single pathway toward how the entire system fits together to produce health inequities for a particular population. As such, this shift requires complex modeling and computational approaches, new tools and methods for the capture, integration and analysis of rich social data necessary to understand systemic influences on individual health.
Our Projects
Through numerous studies, our team has been at the forefront of understanding of the social and structural drivers of population health via measurement tools, modeling and analysis, and the transdisciplinary integration of scientists and community members.
SILOS
Structural Inequities across Layers Of Social-Context as Drivers of HIV and Substance Use
Learn more about SILOS on the Impact Institute site.
ChiSTIG
Simulation Modeling to Understand and Address HIV Disparities in Racial, Ethnic, and Sexual Minority Populations
Caregiver
Measuring Caregiver Networks of Older Adults with Alzheimer's Disease (Caregiver site)
Network Canvas
Network Canvas provides free and open-source software for surveying social networks, designed for both researchers and participants.
Learn More about Network Canvas here.
(R01DA042711;ODSS Supplement to R34DA052216; and R01DA057973)
PUG2
Leveraging Data Synthesis to Identify Optimal and Robust Strategies for HIV Elimination Among Substance-using MSM
Recent Publications
- McConnell EA, Birkett M "We Live in Different Chicagos": Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Neighborhood Affiliations of Young Men Who Have Sex with Men as Drivers of HIV Risk. AIDS Behav 2025 Sep;29(9):2764-2782. doi:10.1007/s10461-025-04734-7
- McConnell EA, Aleksyuk Y, Birkett M Structural factors shape racial differences in neighbourhood-level HIV risk environments for young men who have sex with men. Cult Health Sex 2025 Aug 27;:1-13. doi:10.1080/13691058.2025.2544776
- Min SH, Scroggins JK, Duncan DT, Garofalo R, Janulis PF, Kuhns L, Xiao F, Schnall R Identifying Hidden Barriers to PrEP Adherence Among Young Men Who Have Sex with Men: Application of Natural Language Processing. AIDS Behav 2025 Aug 19;. doi:10.1007/s10461-025-04863-z
- Mustanski B, Benbow N, Macapagal K, Li D, Madkins K, Saber R, Linas B, Smith JD, Brown CH, Munroe S et al. Comparing Implementation and Effectiveness Outcomes for Two Implementation Strategies of the Keep It Up! Digital HIV Prevention Program: A Type 3 Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Trial. AIDS Behav 2025 Aug 19;. doi:10.1007/s10461-025-04838-0
- Scott J, Money V, Ellis C, Hughes-Halbert C, Birkett MA, Magwood G Characterizing the influence of racism-related stress and pandemic-related changes in social connections on cardiovascular health: Study protocol and theoretical framework. PLoS One 2025;20(7):e0324839. pii:e0324839
- Schnall R, Radix A, Kuhns LM, Janulis P, Paredes C, Garofalo R Feasibility of the Adapted MyPEEPS Mobile App for HIV Prevention in Young Transgender Men. AIDS Educ Prev 2025 Jul;37(3):173-186. doi:10.1521/aeap.2025.37.3.173
- Janulis P, Phillips Ii G, Cascalheira C, Mustanski B, Wolff T, Birkett M Estimating Substance Use Homophily in the Sexual Network of a Large Cohort of Young Sexual and Gender Minorities Assigned Male at Birth. AIDS Behav 2025 Mar;29(3):933-938. doi:10.1007/s10461-024-04576-9
- Balogun M, Kuhns LM, Akanmu AS, Garofalo R, Badru T, Adekanmbi AF, Akinbami A, Agbaji O, David AN, Omigbodun O et al. Risk Factors for Viral Non-suppression Among Youth Living with HIV in Nigeria: Findings from the iCARE Nigeria Study. AIDS Behav 2025 Mar;29(3):848-857. doi:10.1007/s10461-024-04565-y
- Schnall R, Scherr TF, Kuhns LM, Janulis P, Jia H, Wood OR, Almodovar M, Garofalo R Efficacy of the mLab App: a randomized clinical trial for increasing HIV testing uptake using mobile technology. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2025 Feb 01;32(2):275-284. doi:10.1093/jamia/ocae261
- Taiwo BO, Kuhns LM, Agbaji O, David A, Akanmu S, Akinbami A, Omigbodun O, Adekanmbi F, Yiltok E, Ezemelue P et al. A Stepped-Wedge, Cluster-Randomized, Multisite Study of Text Messaging Plus Peer Navigation to Improve Adherence and Viral Suppression Among Youth on Antiretroviral Therapy. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2025 Feb 01;98(2):176-184. doi:10.1097/QAI.0000000000003549