ReachMD

Susan Cu-Uvin, MD, is an expert in the field of HIV and AIDS in women. Her primary research focus is to understand HIV shedding in the female genital tract. She is the director of the Immunology Center at The Miriam Hospital and co-director of the Women and AIDS core of the Lifespan/Tufts/Brown Center for AIDS Research located at The Miriam Hospital. In 2004, Cu-Uvin established the HIV Menopause Clinic at The Miriam Hospital to treat infected women who were living long enough to experience the natural side effects of menopause. Within the clinic, her colleagues and herself focus on bone density and metabolic changes in older women infected with HIV. Cu-Uvin's current research funded by the NIH involves studying genital shedding of HIV in women in India, Cambodia and the Philippines. Past research conducted by Cu-Uvin in the Philippines showed that HIV shedding occurred in 80 percent of HIV infected women who were not on antiviral treatment. Cu-Uvin also works with colleagues in India to assess the prevalence of HIV among pregnant women in southern India. In the past, Cu-Uvin has collaborated with several researchers on issues of mucosal immunity, vaginal microbicides, and sexually transmitted diseases. Cu-Uvin is active in training international physicians and researchers on HIV/AIDS through the AIDS International Research Training Grant at Brown University. She helped to establish a HIV Women's Clinic in Cambodia where she trains Cambodian healthcare workers on treatment options and how to apply for grants and conduct research studies relevant to women with HIV. Cu-Uvin is a cum laude graduate of the University of the Philippines where she also received her doctorate in medicine. She is an associate professor in obstetrics and gynecology and medicine at Brown Medical School and director of the research core of the Brown/Women and Infants Center of Excellence in Women's Health.