Capacity development in HIV and MEntal health Research in Asia (CHIMERA)

Dr. Bora Ngauv (Class 1)

Dr. Bora Ngauv is currently the Deputy Director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STD (NCHADS) of the Ministry of Health of Cambodia, where he has worked since 2004. He graduated in 1988 with a medical degree from the University of Health Science, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He later received a Master of Public Health degree, focusing on Disease Control (Option Reproductive Health) in 2010 from the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium. He received a certificate from the Global Intensive Professional Program in HIV-Public Health Stream from the University of Sydney in 2014.

Dr. Somanythd Chhay Meng  (Class 1)

Dr. Somanythd Chhay Meng received his medical degree from the University of Health Sciences, Cambodia. He obtained his Master of Public Health degree from the National Institute of Public Health, Cambodia. He is a Vice Chief of the Research Unit of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STIs (NCHADS). Dr. Manythd is an expert in adult and pediatric HIV care and management, and has spent 14 years in the National Clinic of NCHADS and the National Pediatric Hospital. He has been an investigator in clinical trials research, including with the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center. He is a member of the Technical Working Group at NCHADS and a core mentor in the training of trainers on opportunistic infections and antiretroviral therapy.

Dr. Ouk Vichea (Class 2)

Dr. Ouk Vichea is the Director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology, and STD (NCHADS) of the Ministry of Health, Cambodia. He is the Project Director of the HIV Program Component of the Global Fund and US-CDC Grant managed by NCHADS. He has worked in the field of HIV for more than 20 years, during which he has been actively engaged in developing HIV strategies and policies, monitoring and leading several HIV, EMTCT, and bio-behavioral studies. He graduated with a Master of Public Health degree from the University of New South Wales, Australia. He has been a lecturer for Public Health Management Courses focusing on Planning and Controlling, and an Assistant Professor for the Master of Public Health program at the University of Sciences.

His main interests are in exploring service delivery for HIV, mental health, STIs, and non-communicable diseases. This includes practical approaches to facilitate accessibility for people with HIV in ways that protect them from discrimination and stigmatization, and reduce financial barriers.

Meng Li Chong (Class 1)

Meng Li Chong is a counselling psychologist in the Infectious Disease Unit of the University of Malaya Medical Center (UMMC), Malaysia, with a strong interest in HIV and mental health counselling. She believes that her dual role as a counselor & a researcher will provide valuable insights in developing holistic service delivery models for her patients. It is a privilege for her to walk with her clients through their journeys and make a positive and, hopefully, lasting impact.

Dr. Pui Li Wong (Class 1)

Dr. Pui Li Wong is currently an Infectious Diseases physician at the University of Malaya Medical Centre in Malaysia. Her interests are in improving the care and experiences of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the clinical setting as they grow older and live longer. Her research areas include implementation research in screening and management of patients with HIV-associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND), and HIV and aging and stigma research to reduce the stigma experienced by PLHIV and key populations in the healthcare setting.

Dr. Kejal Hasmukharay (Class 2)

Dr. Kejal Hasmukharay is a geriatrician at the University Malaya Medical Center, Malaysia. Her special interests include understanding immunosenescence, cognitive frailty, and cognitive rehabilitation. She is committed to promoting preventive and early interventive strategies to enhance the quality of life of older persons. In addition, in line with the digital age, she seeks to integrate technology and gamification to optimize the care for the people living with HIV. Her current research is focused on exploring the facilitators and barriers to integration of a multi-disciplinary cognitive rehabilitation program to routine HIV clinic. Her future goal is to establish a first-ever REA²CH clinic (Rise to Empower and Act on Aging and Cognitive Health) to integrate a person-centered assessment and multi-domain cognitive rehabilitation into routine HIV care. Through continuous research, patient empowerment and community engagement, she strives to make a positive impact in the lives of aging people with HIV.

Dr. Anjanna Kukreja (Class 2)

Dr. Anjanna Kukreja is an Infectious Diseases Physician and Medical Lecturer at Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. She is trained in internal medicine, general infectious diseases, and antimicrobial stewardship, and is most passionate about HIV medicine, particularly as it relates to women with HIV. Her current research focus is on improving care delivery and promoting comprehensive healthcare for women with HIV. She is pioneering the WoW+ project, short for the “Wellness of Women living with HIV Project.” This initiative seeks to holistically address multiple aspects of a woman’s health, encompassing mental health, cervical cancer screening and its linkage to care, as well as metabolic health, including cardiovascular and bone health. Her overarching aim is to establish a Women’s Wellness Clinic to provide specialized care and support to this demographic. Beyond her clinical work and research, she remains actively involved with medical education, community-based HIV and Infectious Disease awareness outreach programs, and initiatives targeting underserved communities.

Dr. Anna Maureen B. Dungca-Lorilla (Class 1)

Dr. Anna Maureen Dungca-Lorilla completed her Doctor of Medicine at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. She has been practicing as a primary HIV care physician providing PrEP, HIV treatment and monitoring, treatment of opportunistic infections, and HIV counseling at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Philippines. Aside from her work as a physician, she is also involved in HIV studies related to mental health, HIV disclosure, and TB prevention. Her main research interest is how to integrate mental health services in primary HIV clinics.

Dr. Timothy John R. Dizon (Class 1)

Dr. Tim is a clinical research professional and physician with over seven years of experience in diverse research areas, from molecular to systems and implementation studies. He is a leader, educator, and problem solver, skilled in project management, research protocol development, and electronic data capture tools. He holds dual degrees in Medicine and Business Administration from the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health. His professional roles include Chief Science Research Specialist at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine’s Advanced Molecular Technologies Laboratory, Guest Lecturer at Ateneo de Manila University School of Government, and various key research positions.

Aripa G. Alonto (Class 2)

Aripa G. Alonto is a Social Worker in the Medical Social Work Department at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Manila, Philippines. She is a graduate of the Mindanao State University – Marawi City. She previously worked as a Child Welfare and Community Worker in public and private agencies. She strongly believes that education is one of the most important ways to advocate for change. She seeks to advance understanding of research, policy development, family therapy, human behavior, and advocacy programs and services, and their impact on HIV and mental health.

Karmia Pakingan (Class 2)

Karmia Pakingan is an assistant professorial lecturer at the Department of Psychology of De La Salle University, Philippines, and is a practicing clinical psychologist. She has experience in mental health management of children, adolescents, and young adults experiencing mood problems, anxiety, and behavioral issues. She obtained her Master of Science in Psychology at De La Salle University and has completed all requirements for Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the same university. Her dissertation was about the experiences of people living with HIV who have achieved an undetectable viral load, including perceived facilitators and barriers to viral suppression. Her CHIMERA project is on the feasibility and acceptability of using an interpersonal counseling application in HIV settings in the Philippines. She is interested in helping improve access to mental health services among people living with HIV through scalable and sustainable means.

Rena Janamnuaysook (Class 1)

Rena Janamnuaysook is Program Manager at the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation (IHRI), Bangkok, Thailand, where she established the Tangerine Clinic as the first transgender-led health clinic in the region. She manages and provides technical guidance for the development and implementation of HIV research and programs for key populations in Thailand and in Asia. She has a keen interest in integration of people-centered care, including mental health, into the key population-led health service (KPLHS) model which plays the significant role in the national HIV response in Thailand.

Dr. Wipaporn Natalie Songtaweesin (Class 1)

Dr. Natalie Songtaweesin is a pediatrician and clinical researcher at the Center of Excellence in Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Vaccines at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Her main research interest is in HIV prevention in adolescent males who have sex with males, and transgender women in Thailand. She also cares for newly diagnosed adolescents and adolescents with perinatally acquired HIV. Due to the large interplay between mental health and HIV prevention in adolescents, she has developed an interest in conducting studies that address this aspect of providing care and improving overall service delivery to this key population in Thailand.

Dr. Linda Aurpibul (Class 2)

Dr. Linda Aurpibul is a pediatrician and clinical researcher. She is the head of the Research center for Infectious Diseases and Substance Use at the Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Thailand. Her research activities involve clinical trials on prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, and HIV treatment in children and adolescents under the IMPAACT network and other funding agencies. She also is interested in the interplay between psychosocial factors, resilience, mental health, and quality of life outcomes among people living with HIV in communities across the lifespan. She started working on qualitative research while entering the CHIMERA program. Her topics of interest include social disclosure of HIV status, factors influencing HIV treatment outcomes in young people living with HIV, and aging with HIV. Her implementation study research was the peer-led neurocognitive and mental health screening in older adults living with HIV.

Dr. Akarin Hiransuthikul (Class 2)

Dr. Akarin Hiransuthikul is a neurologist and epidemiologist at the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. His research primarily focuses on non-communicable comorbidities of people living with HIV, transgender health—particularly studies on potential drug-drug interactions between hormone therapy and PrEP—sexualized drug use, and clinical neurology, with a focus on headaches and cognitive impairment. His CHIMERA project explores the acceptability and feasibility of implementing a cognitive screening tool among aging transgender women living with or at risk for HIV in a transgender health clinic in Thailand.

Dr. Pongkwan Yimsaard (Class 2)

Dr. Pongkwan Yimsaard is a psychiatrist at the Department of Psychiatry, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. She is interested in mental health and substance use disorder research. Since there are significant relationships between substance use disorders and HIV, she has developed an interest in conducting research that addresses substance use problems in high-risk key populations. Her recent research assessed the acceptability of implementing a Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for alcohol use among transgender women in Bangkok, Thailand. Additionally, with IeDEA Asia-Pacific support, Dr. Yimsaard is implementing a study evaluating the impact of cannabis decriminalization on cannabis use and HIV risk among Thai young adults. She is also involved in a study evaluating harm reduction interventions for chemsex among the transgender population.

Dr. Reena Rajasuriar

Dr. Reena Rajasuriar is an Associate Professor at the Department of Medicine, University of Malaya, and an Honorary Fellow at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Melbourne University, Australia. She is also a principal investigator at the Center of Excellence for Research in HIV/AIDS (CERiA) at the University of Malaya. Dr. Rajasuriar coordinates the translational research program in HIV/aging immunology at CERiA and heads the Immunotherapeutics Laboratory at the University of Malaya. Her current research focuses on the clinical aspects and immunopathogenesis of accelerated aging and health outcomes in people living with HIV. Her interests also include understanding how integrated HIV care can best be implemented in resource-limited settings to address issues of aging with HIV.

Dr. Rossana A. Ditangco

Dr. Rossana A. Ditangco is the HIV Research Program Lead and the Chief of the Clinical Research Division of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Department of Health, the Philippines. She is currently the principal investigator for the Philippines site of the TREAT Asia network and IeDEA Asia-Pacific. She also was the principal investigator of the first HIV incidence study among MSM and the Project PrePPY pilot study on PrEP among MSM in the Philippines. She develops and implements demonstration projects on models of care for HIV and viral hepatitis prevention, diagnosis and treatment for the National AIDS and STI Prevention and Control Program.

Dr. Maria Isabel Echanis Melgar

Dr. Maria Isabel Melgar is a retired faculty member in Psychology at the Ateneo de Manila University and a consulting clinical psychologist at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and at the Ateneo Bulatao Center for Psychological Services. She also served as a research preceptor at the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health. In 2018, she co-wrote a book, Beyond DSM 5: A Casebook in Abnormal Psychology and Mental Health, which was nominated for the National Book Award. Dr. Melgar is a project mental health consultant at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in the Philippines. She was the President of the AIDS Society of the Philippines in 2021. She has written and published in international journals on HIV mental health issues, drug addiction, psychological assessment, and counseling. Dr. Melgar continues to have an active practice in psychotherapy and conducting applied health psychology studies, as well as supervising graduate student interns.

Dr. Nittaya Phanuphak

Dr. Nittaya Phanuphak is the Executive Director of the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation (IHRI) in Bangkok, Thailand. She has a deep interest in Key Population-Led Health Services (KPLHS). KPLHS approaches empower lay providers who are members of KP communities to perform HIV/STI testing and dispense PrEP/PEP, antiretroviral treatment and STI treatment to their peers. She currently works towards the establishment of national accreditation and domestic financing systems for lay providers to ensure KPLHS sustainability. She also oversees the KP-led PrEP program, HPTN 083, and HIV self-testing and PrEP projects for adolescent and youth men who have sex with men and transgender women.