Speakers

Keynote: Metabolic Issues of HIV

Pablo Tebas, MD directs the adult AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (ACTU) of the University of Pennsylvania. His main research interests are the treatment of HIV infection and the study of the metabolic complications associated with HIV infection and its treatment. Current studies are directed at understanding better the mechanisms of these complications and preventing their development. Current outpatient and inpatient clinical activities center in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where Dr. Tebas follows general ID and HIV-infected patients.

Stephan Adelson
Executive Director of the nonprofit Internet Intervention Incorporated, President of Adelson Consulting Services Incorporated, and the previous General Manger of Manhunt.net. Mr. Adelson currently works under an agreement with the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) and the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), providing support and technical assistance to departments of health and funded agencies in regard to the use of technology in HIV/STD prevention programs. He has worked in committees with the NCSD to develop national guidelines, protocols, and training materials related to technology-based efforts.

Jeffrey A. Beal, MD, AAHIVS
Clinical Director, Florida/Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center; Medical Director, Bureau of HIV/AIDS of the Florida Department of Health; Associate Professor, University of South Florida; and Senior Physician, Ryan White Part C, Lee County Health Department. Dr. Beal is also presently supervising and providing HIV patient care at the Charlotte County Department of Health. He is an active participant in medical chart reviews around the region and is co-editor of the HIV CareLink newsletter and several pocketcards (ARV Therapy in Adults & Adolescents, the Post-Exposure Prophylaxis, Opportunistic Infections, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in HIV) published by the Florida/Caribbean AETC. Dr. Beal has provided medical evaluation, care and treatment to HIV patients since 1982.

Belinda Beauchamp, MD
Professor in Pediatrics at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine and certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. Dr. Beauchamps’s experience with HIV infection in children started with her work as co-investigator of the Women-Infant Transmission Study, one of the first clinical trials dealing with the natural history of women with HIV infection and their offspring. Dr. Beauchamp also worked as co-investigator with the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trial Unit (PACTU) and, at present, is part of the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT) and the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network (ATN) for HIV/AIDS Interventions. She serves as the Florida/Caribbean AETC Medical Director for Puerto Rico.

Nobel A. Bellosillo, MD
Medical Director US/Canada of Virco. Prior to joining Virco, he served as ID Staff Physician at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Roberto A. Calderón-Santiago, MD
Internal Medicine Specialist and certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Academy of HIV Medicine. He has been working with CONCRA, Community Network for Clinical Research on AIDS in San Juan, Puerto Rico, since 2003, and with the homeless community in San Juan.

Antonio J. Carrion, PharmD
Pharmacy Resident providing pharmaceutical care and medication management services for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program in Leon County, FL. As the ADAP Resident Pharmacist, he provides extensive patient education and is active in working with medical providers to insure appropriate pharmacotherapy for ADAP enrollees. He also serves as a Clinical Preceptor for sixth-year pharmacy students at Florida A&M University, providing lectures on various topics in two therapeutics classes for undergraduates.

Beata Casanas, DO, FACP
Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine at the University of South Florida College of Medicine and the Executive Medical Director of the Hillsborough County Health Department, where she is responsible for developing clinical protocols, policies/procedures and supervision of the tuberculosis, HIV and STD clinics. She serves as attending physician for fellows, residents and medical students and is actively engaged in clinical teaching of Infectious Diseases at various levels within the University of South Florida academic programs at Tampa General Hospital. She presently serves on the Faculty Senate and the Governmental Relations Committee at the University of South Florida. She also holds editorial positions and reviewer responsibilities with AIDS Care, Online eMedicine Clinical Knowledge Base and Infections in Medicine and assists the American Board of Internal Medicine as a Relevance Reviewer in Infectious Diseases.

Tiffany Chenneville, PhD
Primary appointment in College of Arts & Sciences, Joint appointment, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, Joint Appointment, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, USF Pediatric and Adolescent Infectious Disease Program. She is a licensed psychologist in the state of Florida and a nationally certified school psychologist. She provides mental health services to children and adolescents infected with HIV and their families. As a faculty member, she conducts research on various ethical, legal, and policy issues related to pediatric and adolescent HIV/AIDS.

Tom Donohoe, MBA
Director and Principal Investigator of the UCLA Pacific AETC and Associate Director of the UCLA Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. He is an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Mr. Donohoe has conducted HIV provider trainings in more than 20 states in the Republic of Mexico and in 2006 was awarded the AETC Leadership Award in Washington DC for his work on the US/Mexico Border AETC Steering Team (UMBAST).

Patricia Emmanuel, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and head of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease at the University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa. She is the Medical Director for the University of South Florida HIV Program for Children and Adolescents.

Luis A. Espinoza, MD, AAHIVS
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine with a fellowship in special Immunology HIV/AIDS. He is the Director of the HIV/AIDS House Physician Program at the University of Miami School of Medicine and the Director of Inpatient Adult HIV Services in the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami. Since 2006 he has been part of the faculty of the Florida/Caribbean AETC, and has been a speaker in several HIV/AIDS related topics in the United States, Latin America and Puerto Rico.

Lawrence B. Friedman, MD
Director of the Division of Adolescent Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine since 1997. He is Professor of Pediatrics, maintaining a faculty appointment since 1985. He is certified by both the American Board of Pediatrics and its Sub-Board of Adolescent Medicine, is a member of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, in which he serves on various HIV-related projects. He has been involved with the care of HIV-infected teenagers and young adults since 1986, one of the longest tenures of any adolescent provider in the nation.

Ana Garcia, PhD, LCSW
Adjunct Assistant Professor in Pediatric Immunology in the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. She is also a Field Instructor in the School of Social Work at Florida International University and at Barry University in Miami Shores, FL. She previously worked as a Pediatric Clinical Social Worker in Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami and as a Psychiatric Social Worker at Douglas Gardens Community Mental Health Center in Miami Beach. She earned her PhD in Social Work in 2009 at Barry University.

Micaela Gibbs, DDS
Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of the Division of Community-Based Programs at the University of Florida College of Dentistry, overseeing the College’s Statewide Network for Oral Health and all service learning and components of the DMD education program. She also maintains a clinical dental practice within the College’s faculty practice. In 2008, she was awarded a Robert Wood Foundation Pipeline Grant to expand dental student extramural rotations.

Maribel Gonzalez, MS, ARNP, FNP-C
Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner at the Hendry County Health Department, LaBelle, FL. Ms. Gonzalez has been providing primary and specialty care to HIV/AIDS patients in a rural setting for the past four years. During this time she has participated as co-investigator in the first clinical trials at the Hendry County Health Department and leads the Quality Improvement program for the Ryan White Part C clinic. She is a 2003 graduate of Florida Atlantic University.

Ramón F. González, DDS, MPH
Professor and Assistant Dean for Graduate Dental Education at the University of Puerto Rico, School of Dental Medicine. He is also Dental Director for the Community Network for Clinical Research on AIDS (CONCRA), a community-based organization serving people with HIV/AIDS, and is a member of the American Academy of Dentistry and the American Academy of HIV Medicine.

Lois Hall, ARNP, MSN
Florida/Caribbean AETC Clinical Consultant Trainer and Nurse Practitioner at St. Joseph’s Hospital Tampa Care Clinic, Tampa.

Jennifer Janelle, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Pediatric Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Florida, College of Medicine. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases and has been providing HIV care for more than 10 years. She provides care for HIV-infected patients in Columbia, Sumter and Putnam counties. Dr. Janelle is a faculty member of the Florida/Caribbean AETC and has given lectures on the clinical management of HIV in adults and participates in medical chart reviews throughout the region.

Dushyantha Jayaweera, MD, FACP
Professor of Clinical Medicine, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine.

Don Kurtyka, ARNP, PhD
Director, HIV Services, Tampa General Hospital; Clinical Assistant Professor, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine; and Nurse Practitioner, Specialty Care Center, Hillsborough County Health Department, Tampa.

Iván Meléndez-Rivera, MD, FAAFP, AAHIVS
Professor, Family Practice Department, Ponce School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, and Saint Luke’s Hospital Internal Medicine Residency Program. He is also Principal Investigator of Ararat Research Center and Medical Director of Centro Ararat, Inc. a non-profit multidisciplinary HIV organization in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He is Chairman of the Puerto Rico ADAP Advisory Board; Clinical Consultant for Ryan White Planning Council, Puerto Rico Juvenile Institutions and Resistance Testing Panel Consultant for the Florida/Caribbean AETC; Vice President of the Puerto Rico HIV Treaters Association. He has been a member of the Faculty of the Florida/Caribbean AETC since 2002. Dr. Meléndez-Rivera started his work in the HIV field in 1990, offering direct care to HIV patients in different areas, such as service planning, proposal writing/evaluation, and project development. He also serves an educator to patients and health-related personnel, and an advocate for the HIV cause in different regional and national committees.

Ayesha Mirza, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Florida, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases & Immunology. She has been the Associate Pediatric Residency Program Director since July 2009, the Medical Director of the University of Florida Center for HIV/AIDS Research, Education & Service (UFCARES) since January 2008 and a F/C AETC faculty member since 2005. She is board-certified in general pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases and holds a certificate of knowledge in clinical tropical diseases and traveler’s medicine from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Dr. Mirza is a member of the PREP ID editorial board of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is responsible for producing educational materials for pediatric infectious disease specialists, fellows-in-training as well as general pediatricians for maintenance of certification.

Jose Montero, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at the University of South Florida College of Medicine. He is a former member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) and treats HIV-infected patients at Tampa General Hospital and the Hillsborough County Health Department.

Robert A. Norman, MD
Faculty member for five medical schools and honored with numerous service and teaching awards, including Physician of the Year (2005), and Distinguished Service Award (2007) in Hillsborough County, FL, and Tampa Bay Medical Hero Award (2008). He is a board-certified dermatologist who has been in practice for more than 25 years and has written 28 books.

Joanne J. Orrick, PharmD, AAHIVE
Clinical Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville. She has more than 10 years of clinical experience in HIV and Infectious Diseases pharmacotherapy. She is the Training Coordinator for the Florida/Caribbean AETC subsite at the University of Florida in Gainesville. She is also an active participant in medical chart reviews around the region and conducts chart reviews specifically evaluating antiretroviral therapy and drug-drug interactions. She is co-editor of the HIV CareLink newsletter and several pocket treatment cards (ARV Therapy in Adults & Adolescents, Post-Exposure Prophylaxis, Opportunistic Infections, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in HIV) published by the Florida/Caribbean AETC.

Jennifer Pace, BA
Statewide Training Coordinator at the Florida Department of Health, Bureau of HIV/AIDS, Prevention Section. She coordinates and conducts capacity-building training and technical assistance for HIV prevention services providers statewide. She also is an liaison and provides guidance and assistance to the HIV/AIDS Program Coordinator, local Department of Health HIV prevention staff, contract managers, and community-based organizations/AIDS-services organizations regarding HIV prevention issues. She also acts as lead contract manager for the Blackmon-Roberts capacity building assistance contract, assumes the lead on all domestic violence and human trafficking issues for the prevention section, and facilitates intervention trainings statewide. She worked for more than seven years at the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence where she provided training and technical assistance to domestic violence program staff statewide.

Savita Pahwa, MD
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Pediatrics, and Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She is Director of the UM Developmental Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). She has been involved in HIV/AIDS treatment and research from the beginning of the epidemic and was one of the first to describe the spectrum of clinical and immunological defects in pediatric patients with HIV disease in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA). She also directs one of four US immunology specialty laboratories of the IMPAACT (International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials) group sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, and is an investigator in the clinical IMPAACT unit and the AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) unit at UM. Dr. Pahwa has served as Chief of Allergy/Immunology and Director of the Pediatric HIV Program at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY, with appointments as Professor of Pediatrics at Cornell University Medical College, and Professor of Pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine.

Bonnie Boyette Peterson, ARNP
Nurse practitioner for the Sarasota County Health Department. Ms. Peterson also works as an instructor for the Manatee Technical Center and as a provider to HIV patients for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department.

Jenni Birkett Pfeiffer, MSW, LCSW
Social worker for 15 years and for the past 10 years, has specialized in in-patient general pediatric health, pediatric endocrinology, maternal/child care, and pediatric special immunology at Jackson Memorial Hospital. She currently works with the University of Miami, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology in Miami as the Transition social worker. Jenni provides mental health and psychosocial interventions to those young adults who are in the process of transitioning from the pediatric special immunology clinic to adult health services. As part of the transition process, she designs and implements quarterly Life Skills workshops that provide youth with the tools and education that will help them transition into adult services and the adult world in general.

Elizabeth Piantadosi, RN, BSM
Quality Program Manager, University of Florida, Jacksonville/Department of Pediatric Infectious Disease, Jacksonville.

Juan Carlos Ramos, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, at the University of Miami/Sylvester Cancer Center/Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. He was also a Research Fellow in the Laboratory of William J. Harrington, Jr., MD at Sylvester Cancer Center/Jackson Memorial Hospital. His clinical effort centers on the care and study of patients with AIDS and viral-related malignancies, and his research focuses on the study of viral-related lymphomas and finding targeted new therapies for these diseases.

Sherry Riley, BA
Program Administrator of the Operations and Management section of the Florida Department of Health Bureau of HIV/AIDS, overseeing the management of the bureau’s federal and general revenue funding, contracting process and the coordination of quality improvement activities. She began her career in HIV/AIDS in 1989 as an HIV counseling, testing and partner elicitation trainer for health care professionals. During her tenure with the Bureau of HIV/AIDS, she has worked with health care providers, AIDS service organizations, community-based organizations, and state representatives on legislation and administrative rules that address confidentiality, testing, reporting and disclosure. During the legislative session, she analyzes proposed legislation to determine the potential impact on public health, and she has participated on numerous workgroups and task forces, including the Governor’s Interdepartmental Workgroup on AIDS and the Florida Coordinating Council for the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Delia María Rivera-Hernandez, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and board certified in Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

Allan E. Rodriguez, MD
Associate Director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He earned his medical degree from the Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico, completed a three-year internal medicine residency at Wilson Memorial Hospital in Johnson City, NY, and completed a two-year infectious diseases sub-specialty at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Carina A. Rodriguez, MD, FAAP
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics at the University of South Florida and Director of the Pediatric Tuberculosis Clinic at the Hillsborough County Department of Health. Her research interests include pediatric HIV, immune responses to vaccinations, and pneumococcal pathogenesis. She participates in NIH and industry-sponsored HIV clinical trials including the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Group and Adolescent Trials Network. She is board-certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

Zoe Rodriguez, MD
Principle Investigator at the University of Puerto Rico for the National Institute of Health HIV/AIDS Cohort Study. Dr. Rodriguez is board certified in pediatric infectious diseases and is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. She also serves as an Infectious Diseases Specialist for the Comprehensive Program for Families and Children with HIV, Puerto Rico Department of Health.

Barbara J. Ross, RN, NCSN
Care Coordinator for Children’s Medical Services in the Medical Foster Care Division. She has been a registered nurse for 35 years since graduating from Pace University in New York with an AAS in Nursing. She has worked in pediatrics in both a hospital setting and as a school nurse. She worked in various clinical settings, such as home health, blood banking, labor and delivery, Level II newborn nursery, post partum, and in a Disease Management Program with Aetna Health. She has also been an American Heart Association basic life support instructor for 12 years.

Carlos Santana, MD
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the University of South Florida; Chief of Outpatient Services at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at USF; Director of the Psychiatry Research Division Faculty trainer for the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) in the Buprenorphine Certification Course.

Gwendolyn B. Scott, MD
Director and Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami.

George K. Siberry, MD, MPH
Medical Officer at the Pediatric Adolescent Maternal AIDS (PAMA) Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD. He is also the primary physician for children and youth with HIV infection at his weekly clinic in the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Department of Pediatrics. He earned his medical degree from the JHU School of Medicine and his MPH in International Health from the JHU Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Siberry completed his residency training in pediatrics and fellowship in pediatric infectious disease at the JHU School of Medicine before joining the faculty in 2003 as Director of the Harriet Lane Clinic and then the NIH in 2008.

Diane Straub, MD, MPH
Director, Adolescent Medicine and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of South Florida, College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Tampa.

Michael Thompson, PharmD, BCNSP
Assistant Dean for Clinical Affairs and Professor of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), Tallahassee. He has worked contractually with the Florida AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) through the Florida Department of Health, Bureau of HIV/AIDS to provide clinical services for that department through various county health department clinics. He has developed a Medication Therapeutic Management Service for ADAP patients in Leon County, FL.

John F. Toney, MD
Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine at the University of South Florida, College of Medicine, Tampa. He is the Director of the Southeast Region STD/HIV Prevention Training Center, one of the CDC National Network of STD/HIV Prevention Training Centers, and the Medical Director of the Florida Infectious Diseases Institute, USF College of Medicine. Dr. Toney is Director of Healthcare Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases Clinical Research at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Administration Hospital in Tampa, and a past President of the Florida Infectious Diseases Society.

Todd S. Wills, MD
Associate Professor, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine, Tampa. He is Assistant Director, Florida STD/HIV Prevention Training Center: CDC National Network of STD/HIV Prevention Centers.

Valerie Wojna, MD
Professor of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus. She has been involved in patient care, teaching, and clinical research. In 2001, she began her career in research to study HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) in women to determine the role of sex hormones and oxidative stress on HAND. Since 2006, she has been the Principal Investigator of the Hispanic/Latino Longitudinal NeuroAIDS cohort for the evaluation of HAND as part of the NeuroAIDS Specialized Neuroscience Research Program (SNRP). Dr. Wojna’s work is highlighted by the implementation of a Spanish neuropsychological battery for the diagnosis and characterization of HAND in Hispanic women, the validation of the HIV dementia scale in women, and the determination CSF oxidative stress markers in the HIV-seropositive women cohort.

JaDawn Wright, BA
Community Outreach Coordinator for Youth Education Services (YES), a HRSA-funded program of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease at the University of South Florida. She provides sexual health education and HIV testing for youth in community organizations, schools and the Juvenile Justice System in Pinellas County, FL. She also serves on the Ryan White Care Council and the Midtown Health Council. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University and is completing her master’s degree program in International Relations at the School for International Training. She previously worked as a volunteer in the Peace Corps with National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (South Africa).

Carmen D. Zorrilla, MD
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. She is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American Academy of HIV Medicine. She established the first longitudinal clinic for Women Living with HIV in Puerto Rico in 1987. She was the Co-Principal Investigator for the Puerto Rico site of the Women and Infants Transmission Study (WITS) and the Principal Investigator for the Longitudinal Women’s HIV Clinic, and for other clinical studies. Dr. Zorrilla has been a consultant for diverse national and international organizations, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Institute for Health Care Improvement (IHI)