Crowning Health: Empowering HIV Prevention and Care

Faculty

Dovie Lenore Watson, MD, MSCE, AAHIVS

Assistant Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases)
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Affiliated Faculty

Is an infectious diseases physician-scientist whose clinical HIV research program focuses on accelerating equitable HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) service delivery and eliminating stigma and discrimination in sexual health, with particular attention to Black LGBTQ+ adults in the United States. She has particular expertise in clinical ID epidemiology, health equity, HIV prevention research, LGBTQ+ Health, and community-engaged research. Dr. Watson’s work has led to several publications delineating provider-level, structural, and systemic barriers and facilitators to equitable PrEP equity for patients with multiple marginalized identities. She is the recipient of institutional and federal grants from the National Institutes of Health, including a Career Development Award (K23) from the National Institute of Mental Health, which an equity-focused implementation science grant to design and pilot a novel multifaceted implementation strategy to address provider behaviors and organization-level practices that affect PrEP equity for Black patients in Philadelphia. Dr. Watson’s long-term goal is to eliminate behavioral and structural barriers to PrEP implementation within clinical and community settings in order to achieve PrEP equity among Black and LGBTQ+ populations.

Dr. Watson received her B.A. degree from Cornell University and her medical degree from the Northwestern University. She completed her internship and residency at the University of Chicago, during which time she also completed a Medical Ethics fellowship at the University of Chicago MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. She subsequently completed her Infectious Diseases fellowship and obtained her Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Aima A. Ahonkhai, MD, MPH​

Associate Director, Bio-behavioral and Community Science Core
Director, Community Engaged Research Program
HU CFAR Executive Committee Member Harvard University Center for AIDS Research

Dr. Aima Ahonkhai is an Infectious Diseases physician and health equity expert, with extensive expertise in HIV medicine, public health, epidemiology, and implementation research. She earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University, completed medical school and residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and obtained a Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She then returned to Harvard, training in Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals. Currently, Dr. Ahonkhai serves as an Associate Physician in Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she plays a key role in leading health equity research activities within the Division of Infectious Diseases. She is also the Associate Director of the Bio-behavioral and Community Science Core and Director of the Community Engaged Research Program at the Harvard University Center for AIDS Research. Committed to improving care for marginalized individuals with infectious diseases, especially HIV, she leads research studies, like both in the U.S. and internationally focused on reducing health inequities in these populations.