Jason Zucker
Columbia University, NY·Medicine & Clinical Research
Bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are rising worldwide. They fall hardest on young people, gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (MSM), and people living with HIV or using HIV prevention medications.
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
Public Health & Epidemiology
Microbiology & Immunology
- Topics
sexually transmitted infections
doxycycline
Doxy-PEP
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2030
What they work on
- Identify factors that predict engagement in Doxy-PEP care and effective use, following 300 users and 200 eligible non-users over time with measures based on the information–motivation–behavioral skills model.
- Evaluate whether Doxy-PEP use increases antimicrobial resistance, testing cohort samples with bacterial culture, resistance testing and metagenomic sequencing for resistance genes.
- Assess whether pathogenic bacteria pass between sexual partners by collecting samples from up to 100 partners of cohort members and comparing bacterial genomes.
More about the research
Taking the antibiotic doxycycline shortly after sex, called doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (Doxy-PEP), has been shown to reduce bacterial STIs. Open questions remain about who stays engaged with it, who uses it effectively, and whether its use promotes antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Why it matters
Doxy-PEP could help curb rising bacterial STIs among the groups most affected, including MSM and people living with or at risk of HIV, but antibiotic resistance is a real concern. Data on engagement, resistance and partner transmission could help clinics and public health programs design Doxy-PEP strategies that cut STI rates while minimizing antimicrobial resistance.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Lisa Eaton
University of Connecticut, CT·Public Health & Epidemiology
Enroll 500 HIV-negative Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) who test positive for substance use, and give evidence-based counseling to help them access PrEP, a daily HIV-prevention medicine.
Kiyomi Tsuyuki
University of California-San Diego, CA·Public Health & Epidemiology
Evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of CHAMPION, which combines the PrEPAPP app with CBT4CBT computer-based cognitive behavioral therapy, among 100 HIV-negative meth-using MSM, measured by retention and engagement against a waitlist control.
Ronnie Gravett
University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL·Public Health & Epidemiology·Early-career
Explore preferences for PrEP messaging content among men who have sex with men in the Deep South through qualitative interviews informed by Andersen's Behavioral Model of healthcare utilization.
The school
Columbia University: 89 labs on PI Pages, $1.4B a year on research, 625 research doctorates a year.
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