Capacity development in HIV and MEntal health Research in Asia (CHIMERA)
CHIMERA is a five-year (2019—2024) HIV, mental health, and implementation science research training program funded by the Fogarty International Center and the National Institute of Mental Health of the US NIH. CHIMERA aims to address the critical need to build capacity among Asia-Pacific clinicians and researchers to study the intersection between HIV and mental health.
Program Fellows
CAMBODIA
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.
Dr. Somanythd Chhay Meng (Class 1)
Dr. Somanythd Chhay Meng is a Vice Chief of the Research Unit of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STIs (NCHADS).
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.
MALAYSIA
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.
Dr. Pui Li Wong (Class 1)
Dr. Pui Li Wong is an Infectious Diseases physician at the University of Malaya Medical Centre in Malaysia.
Dr. Kejal Hasmukharay (Class 2)
Dr. Kejal Hasmukharay is a geriatrician at the University Malaya Medical Center, Malaysia.
Dr. Anjanna Kukreja (Class 2)
Dr. Anjanna Kukreja is an Infectious Diseases Physician and Medical Lecturer at Universiti Malaya, Malaysia.
PHILIPPINES
Dr. Anna Maureen B. Dungca-Lorilla (Class 1)
Dr. Anna Maureen Dungca-Lorilla is a primary HIV care physician at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Philippines.
Dr. Timothy John R. Dizon (Class 1)
Dr. Tim Dizon is Chief Science Research Specialist at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine’s Advanced Molecular Technologies Laboratory.
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.
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.
THAILAND
Rena Janamnuaysook (Class 1)
Rena Janamnuaysook is Program Manager at the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation (IHRI), Bangkok, 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.
Dr. Linda Aurpibul (Class 2)
Dr. Linda Aurpibul is a pediatrician and clinical researcher at the Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Thailand.
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.
Dr. Pongkwan Yimsaard (Class 2)
Dr. Pongkwan Yimsaard is a psychiatrist at the Department of Psychiatry, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.
Program Mentors
MALAYSIA
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.
PHILIPPINES
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.
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.
THAILAND
Dr. Nittaya Phanuphak
Dr. Nittaya Phanuphak is the Executive Director of the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation (IHRI) in Bangkok, Thailand.