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Assistant Professor, Allergy and Infectious Dis. 325 Ninth Avenue |
Dr. Chung has conducted several randomized clinical trials in Kenya including examining the effects of antiretroviral drugs on breast milk shedding of HIV-1 and the consequences of behavioral interventions on adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). His research has generally focused on perinatal transmission of HIV-1 and delivery of HIV health services in resource-limited settings. Other research studies he is leading or coordinating include the efficacy of cervical cancer screening and treatment among HIV-positive women, the evolution of antiretroviral drug resistance among women exposed to perinatal nevirapine, and the effect of lamivudine monotherapy on chronic hepatitis B among HIV co-infected individuals.
In 2003, Dr. Chung established the Tumaini Project to treat indigent HIV-infected patients with free antiretroviral medications. With sponsorship from the Slum Doctor Programme in Bellingham, WA, he was able to treat over a dozen patients. Seeking a clinical setting to treat these patients, Dr. Chung helped the Coptic Hospital in Kenya establish the Hope Clinic, a free HIV care and treatment clinic. In 2004, this relationship led to a collaboration between the University of Washington and the Coptic Mission to provide free HIV care and treatment to Kenyans with support from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). By 2009, over 10,000 HIV-infected Kenyans have received medical treatment at the Coptic Hope Center for Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Chung continues to treat patients in Nairobi.
Dr. Chung believes that educating Kenyans to provide care and treatment is necessary to meet the long-term health demands of the country. Towards this end, he conducts case conferences and journal club meetings at the Coptic Hope Center and Kenyatta National Hospital and mentors clinical officers and Internal Medicine residents and medical students at the University of Nairobi. He leads the UW in partnership with the University of Nairobi to teach HIV program management, health economics, and health informatics in an HIV management fellowship based in Kenya. Through this PEPFAR-funded fellowship program, Dr. Chung provides UW courses and lectures to Kenyans through live internet-based learning. Dr. Chung has helped pioneer this use of the internet to deliver UW academic courses to an international audience, building upon the principle that better medical education leads to better patient care.
Epidemiology Biography Page
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MD Medicine (MD), University of Chicago, 1998
MPH International Health, Harvard University, 1998
BA Biology, English, Oberlin College, 1990