Susan M.

Graham

MD, MPH, PhD

related links

bio

Dr. Graham earned a medical degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, a master's degree in public health from Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and a PhD in clinical epidemiology from the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada. She holds Visiting Scientist appointments at the University of Nairobi and the Kenya Medical Research Institute.

Dr. Graham is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine and Global Health and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology. She has been in the UW Department of Medicine since 2003, when she came from Brigham & Women's Hospital to begin fellowship in Infectious Diseases and a career in HIV research. She has authored or co-authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications in journals such as the Journal of Infectious Diseases, AIDS, Journal of the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (JAIDS), and PLoS One. In addition, she directs the UW School of Medicine's Global Health Pathway and is the Track Director for the University of Washington's concurrent MD-MPH program in Global Health. She also co-directs the annual "Principles of STD/HIV Research" course.

Dr. Graham's major research interests are in two areas: (1) HIV treatment and prevention, with a focus on marginalized populations; and (2) HIV pathogenesis and disease progression. Her work on HIV treatment and prevention is based in Kenya, and focuses on female sex workers (FSW) and men who have sex with men (MSM). She is currently co-leading an NIH-funded R01 project to identify undiagnosed acute and prevalent infections at health facilities in Kenya and provide assisted partner notification services to all newly diagnosed patients, modeling the impact and cost-effectiveness of this intervention in the Kenyan setting. She has recently completed an NIH-funded R34 project to develop and test an intervention to promote adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV-positive MSM, using provider and peer support. In addition, she is a co-investigator for ongoing cohort studies of MSM and other high-risk adults on the Kenyan coast and for a new study, called "Anza Mapema" to demonstrate the effectiveness of a test-and-treat approach for MSM in Kisumu, Kenya. She has studied the impact of sexual violence on physiologic and immunologic biomarkers of HIV risk among FSW in Mombasa, Kenya, and is developing new projects to investigate HIV and aging in older Kenyan women.

Dr. Graham's work on HIV pathogenesis and disease progression has focused on the role of endothelial activation and hemostasis/thrombosis in the development of non-AIDS defining complications such as all-cause mortality, Kaposi sarcoma, myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and ischemic stroke. She is co-leading an NIH-funded R21 project to investigate biomarkers of increased cardiovascular risk in treated HIV patients.

research interests

HIV prevention and care for vulnerable populations in Kenya and the US

clinical interests

HIV care, PrEP care, and hepatitis C treatment

education & training 

MPH, Boston University, Boston, MA (1990)

MDCM, McGill University, Quebec, Canada (2000)

PhD, Clinical Epidemiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada (2011)

Intern and Resident, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA (2000-2003)

Fellowship in Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle WA (2003-2006)

honors

Clinician Scientist Award, University of Toronto (2006)

Gillian Hawker Award & Maureen Dixon Memorial Award, Clinical Epidemiology & Health Care Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto (2009)

CFAR New Investigator Award, University of Washington (2010)

publications

Graham SM, Mugo P, Gichuru E, et al. Adherence to antiretroviral therapy and clinical outcomes among young adults reporting high-risk sexual behavior, including men who have sex with men, in Coastal Kenya. AIDS Behav. 2013; 17(4):1255-65.
• PubMed Abstract

Sanders EJ, Okuku HS, Smith AD, Mwangome M, Wahome E, Fegan G, Peshu N, van der Elst EM, Price MA, McClelland RS, Graham SM. High HIV-1 incidence, correlates of HIV-1 acquisition, and high viral loads following seroconversion among MSM. AIDS. 2013; 27(3):437-46.
• PubMed Abstract

Graham SM, Rajwans N, Jaoko W, Estambale BBA, McClelland RS, Overbaugh J, Liles WC. Endothelial activation biomarkers increase after HIV-1 acquisition: plasma vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 predicts disease progression. AIDS. 2013; 27:1803-1813.
• PubMed Abstract 

Graham SM, Jalalian-Lechak Z, Shafi J, et al. Antiretroviral treatment interruptions predict female genital shedding of genotypically resistant HIV-1 RNA. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2012; 60(5):511-8.
• PubMed Abstract

Graham SM, Masese L, Gitau R, et al. Antiretroviral adherence and development of drug resistance are the strongest predictors of genital HIV-1 shedding among women initiating treatment: a prospective cohort study. J Infect Dis. 2010; 202(10):1538-42.
• PubMed Abstract