Short-term Trainees
These are advanced scholars already working in HIV/AIDS prevention who want to develop a greater knowledge or experience in AIDS methodology and research, or qualified scientists and health professionals not currently engaged in HIV research but who wish to obtain the theoretical and methodological skills to do so.

Medium Trainees
These are junior level faculty from the US who are provided resources and access to HIV/AIDS research opportunities in one of the participating countries, allowing them to gain knowledge and build collaborative relationships that will permit them to apply for and obtain additional research support to continue their US-based and international work.

Long-term Degree-seeking Trainees
These are promising individuals from our four participating countries seeking an MS or PhD at UIC in either the College of  Nursing or the School of  Public Health with a specialty in HIV/AIDS prevention.

Lisette Irarrazabal, MS (Chili), entered the SPH doctoral program as an AITRP trainee in fall 2010. Ms. Irarrazabal brings a solid history of AIDS research to her doctoral program. She has been P.I. for two reseach studies: (a) HIV prevention and intervention among socially disadvantaged Chileans (PUC competitive grant funding), and (2) an examination of the acceptability and feasiblity of implementing HIV oral testing within the Chilean National Health System (funded by the Chilean Ministry of Health). In recognition of her promise as a future research scientist, Ms. Irarrazabal has received tuition coverage and partial stipend support from the Chilean government through PUC to help support her doctoral program. She will return to the faculty of PUC when she completes her studies.

Diana Jere, MS (Malawi), entered the doctoral program in 2009 in the College of Nursing at UIC as an AITRP trainee. Prior to coming to UIC, Ms. Jere was Principal (Dean) for Kamuzu College of Nursing at the University of Malawi. In addition to teaching, she also has had considerable experience in developing HIV curriculum for nursing students as well as testing and implementing HIV prevention projects with rural and urban health workers. She willl return to KCN upon completion of her studies.

Yi Li, MS (China), completed her Masters of Science degree as an AITRP trainee in bio-statistics in public health in spring 2010 and has entered the PhD program in epidemiology. During her MS program, under the supervision of Drs. Hershow (UIC) and Irwanto (Indonesia), she conducted an analysis of depression among IDUS receiving ARV treatment at clinics in Java and Bali. Her research interests for her dissertation focus on HIV among China’s floating migrant population. She will complete her final year of course work in spring 2011 and then sit for her qualifying exams for doctoral candidacy in early fall 2011.

Evi Sukmaningrum, SPsi, MSi (Indonesia), entered the PhD program in the School of Public Health public in fall 2010. Her research interests include examining how women and children mitigate the impact of HIV infection, abuse and trauma. Upon completing her doctorate, Ms. Sukmaningrum will return to the Faculty of Psychology at AJCU.

Sri Yona, MS (Indonesia), entered the Ph.D. program in the College of Nursing at UIC in fall 2009. Her prior HIV/AIDS research focused on a wide range of topics including HIV/AIDS prevention for adolescents, the psyco-social aspects of people living with HIV/AIDS, and home and nursing care of people living with the virus. Ms. Yona intends to focus her future research on developing and testing HIV/AIDS prevention programs for adolescents. When she completes her doctoral studies, she will return to the nursing faculty at the University of Indonesia.

Samsriyaningsih (Sam) Handayani,MD. (Indonesia), entered the PhD. program as an USAID-sponsored fellow in Fall 2009. Dr. Handayani comes to UIC with a wealth of health care experience. After obtaining her medical degree in 1990, she practiced and managed a primary health care center in rural East Java, Indonesia. Afterwards, she joined Airlangga University as a Lecturer in the Department of Public Health and Preventative Medicine and Faculty of Medicine and later joined the Research and Staff Development Unit. While working at Airlangga University, Dr. Handayani made time in her busy schedule to pursue and obtain her Master of Public Health and Master of Education. She has written and published on a wide array of topics from Millennium Development Goals to community based health insurance. Dr. Handayani is interested in furthering AIDS prevention policies.

Muhammad (Hatta) Hatta, MD (Indonesia), is undertaking an MPH program through funding from USAIDS. His experience prior to coming to UIC ranges from working with the Merchant Marine Cadets as a Medical Instructor to serving as a Master Trainer on HIV/AIDS for WHO and also working for USAID as a Technical Officer. Dr. Hatta also has served as a consultant for the Indonesian National TB Program and has contributed to the country’s HIV and TB management guidelines and strategic plan. Prior to becoming involved in HIV and TB, Dr. Hatta practiced medicine as a General Practitioner. While at UIC, Dr. Hatta hopes to increase his knowledge and skills in public health and policy so that he can return to Indonesia as a Governmental TB/HIV Officer and work on policies to better address HIV and TB prevention, treatment and care at the provincial level.

Alejandra Araya, MS (Chili), is a doctoral candidate in the School of Nursing at UIC. Her doctoral research examines the contribution of self-care and HIV-related symptom management on the quality of life among people living with HIV in Chile. For her dissertation, Ms.Araya used a structured questionaire to interview 209 HIV-positive patients attending the PUC San Carlos Clinic in Santiago. Ms. Araya will defend her dissertation in November 2010 and then return to her faculty position at PUC.

Clara Chipeta PhD, MSc (Malawi), earned her Masters of Science in 2004 as an AITRP trainee in the UIC College of Nursing. Her masters thesis examined, “Barriers and Facilitators to Condom use: Evidence from Focus Groups in Malawi.” Upon completing her Masters, she then was admitted as an AITRP trainee into the doctoral program at CON. In 2008, Dr. Chipeta successfully defended her dissertation research that examined, “HIV Status Disclosure Issues for Pregnant Women in Malawi.” It is with great sadness that we report her death in March 2008.

Rosina Cianelli, PhD (Chili), Rosina Cianelli, PhD (Chili), received her doctorate in the UIC College of Nursing in 2003 as the UIC-AITRP’s first PhD graduate. While at UIC, Dr. Cianelli received the Virginia Ohlson Student Award from UIC/WHO in recognition of her academic excellence and dedication to leadership in advancing international nursing. Addressing the feminization of the AIDS epidemic in Chile, Dr. Cianelli’s doctoral research focused on, “HIV/AIDS Issues among Chilean women: Cultural Factors and Perception of Risk for HIV/AIDS Acquisition.” Findings from her dissertation became the basis for her first NIH award, “An HIV/AIDS Prevention Intervention for Chilean Women” (R01 TW006977) funded through the FIC GRIP program. In addition to conducting research in one of the Chilean government’s high priority AIDS areas, she also helped to found the Mano a Mano AIDS Research Program at PUC and served as its first director. Currently, she is Professor of Nursing at PUC and also Associate Professor, at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies where she spends part of her academic year. She is Principal Investigator for “HIV/AIDS Midwifery Twinning in Haiti,” funded by the Pan-American Health and Education Foundation (2009 -2011); Co- Investigator, SEPA II: HIV Prevention Intervention Reducing Health Disparities among Hispanic Women, NIH (2007 -2010); and Co-Investigator, Center for Health Disparities for Hispanic Population, NIH, Grant (P60MD002266; 2007- 2012).

Lilian Ferrer, PhD (Chili), received her MS in Nursing as an AITRP trainee followed by her Ph.D. in Public Health in 2004. Her dissertation, “Non-Governmental Organizations: Community Organizing Around HIV/AIDS in Chile,” examined the strategies through which two NGOs in Chile successfully mobilized resources, conducted risk-reduction campaigns, and provided AIDS services for MSM. The study’s findings contribute to our understanding of grass-roots community mobilization and also are useful for other Chilean organizations in offering AIDS services. Her NIH GRIP application was funded for the study, "Bringing Men into HIV Prevention in Chile," (R01 TW007674). Dr. Ferrer currently is Professor of Nursing at PUC and Director of the Mano a Mano Research Program.

Abigail Kazembe, PhD, MSc (Malawi), received her PhD as a doctoral trainee in public health in 2006. Her research examined “Female Adolescent-Sexual Decision-Making in Selected Secondary Schools of the Lilongwe District in Malawi.” Her findings showed a much higher prevalence of sexual behavior and unsafe sex among young women enrolled in secondary schools than previously expected. Her dissertation research became the basis for the NIH GRIP award that she received for the study, “Hope for the Future: A School-Based HIV Prevention Program for Youth in Malawi,” (R01 TW008109).

Keke Lin, MS (China), completed an MS in Nursing in 2006. Her research, conducted in Beijing, focused on, “Home and Community-based Care for People Living with HIV.” She has returned to the faculty of the School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center where she has continued to conduct research on HIV.

Wei Liu, MD (China), is a PhD candidate in the School of Public Health. His research examines the interrelationship between methadone services and HIV risk. His data were collected in Ruili city along the Yunnan-Myanmar border. Because injection drug-abuse fuels much of the AIDS epidemic in China, results from his study are expected to help meet the country’s need for research that can guide drug intervention and reduce HIV transmission. Dr. Liu will return to the faculty of Kunming Medical University upon defending his dissertation in late fall 2010.

Ellen Mbweza (Malawi), PhD.  After completing a Master's degree in Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, Ellen joined the faculty at the Kamuzu College of Nursing (KCN) at the University of Malawi and later became the Coordinator of the Department of Maternal and Child Health Nursing. The topic of her dissertation is The Relationship power among married couples in Malawi: Implications for HIV prevention. Now that Ms. Mbweza has completed her PhD and returned to her faculty position at KCN, she intends to head the ethical and IRB program at the College.

Rebecca Ngalande, MS (Malawi), received her MS degree in 2004 from the School of Public Health. Her thesis research examined, “Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs of Men and Women Towards Male Circumcision as an Intervention to Improve Genital Hygiene and Prevent HIV in Four Districts of Malawi.” Ms. Ngalande is now Head of the Maternal and Child Health Department at Kamuzu College of Nursing at the University of Malawi.

Ignatius (Gambit) Praptoraharjo, MA (Indonesia), is a PhD candidate in the School of Public Health. His dissertation research focuses on the influence of sexual relationships on protective anal sex among waria (transgendered individuals) and their sexual partners in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Mr. Praptoraharjo twice (2009 and 2010) won the Student Research Poster Award for outstanding international research at the School of Public Health’s Annual Student Research Forum. Mr. Praptoraharjo will defend his dissertation in November 2010.

Safika Safika PhD, MPH (Indonesia) , received her doctorate in (2008) as an AITRP trainee in public health. Her dissertation used a three-level Hierarchical Generalized Linear Model (HGLM) using HLM 6 to examine the influence of sex work venue on condom use among female sex workers in Lombok, Indonesia. While a student, Dr. Safika’s analysis of her study’s findings won the 2008 Student Research Poster Award for outstanding international research at the School of Public Health’s Annual Student Research Forum. The results of her dissertation were presented to the Indonesian National AIDS Commission on January 27, 2009. Dr. Safika currently is Team Leader with the Eijkman-Oxford Clinical Research Unit in Jakarta, Indonesia.

I Made Setiawan, PhD (Indonesia), received his doctorate in the School of Public Health in 2006. His dissertation focused on, “Social Risk Networks and HIV/AIDS among Fishing Boat Crews in Benoa Port, Bali.” A one-time small-boat fisherman himself, he is commonly believed by the academic community in Indonesia to be the country’s first Balinese Ph.D. His findings on HIV risk among this population have important implications for designing prevention studies for fishing fleets in the Indonesian island chain. Dr. Setiawan is currently a Lecturer at Udayana University in Denpasar, Indonesia..

Agung Waluyo, MS (Indonesia), is an AITRP doctoral candidate in the school of Nursing UIC. His dissertation research focuses on Indonesian nurses’ knowledge, religious beliefs, and attitudes towards HIV in Islamic/Protestant/Catholic and public hospitals in Jakarta. His data are fully collected, coded, and he is in the process of writing-up his results to be defended in spring 2011. Mr. Waluyo will rerturn to the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Indonesia upon completion of his doctorate.