Meet the Team
Carmen contreras
Carmen Contreras is a psychologist and the Mental Health Program Director at Socios En Salud, based in Lima, Peru, and holds an appointment as Courtesy Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida, School of Social Work. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Health Sciences at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM) in Peru, supported by a doctoral scholarship from ProCiencia, a Peruvian government program that promotes scientific research and innovation.
Ms. Contreras has extensive experience in the development and implementation of low-intensity, community-based mental health interventions in Peru and was a Harvard Lead Fellow. She served as Co-Investigator with Dr. Galea on the CIPHER project and is an Academic Editor for Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health.
As part of her doctoral training and research, Ms. Contreras has expanded her work to the development and evaluation of community-based interventions for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families. Her current research focuses on strengthening access to mental health and specialized services for children with ASD, particularly through community-based approaches and the involvement of community health workers. Building on her research findings, she is currently implementing and evaluating interventions aimed at improving engagement with and continuity of care among children with ASD in community mental health services in Peru.
Dr. Kristin Kosyluk
Dr. Kristin Kosyluk is an associate professor in the Department of Behavioral Health Science & Practice, a faculty affiliate of the Louis de la Parte Mental Health Institute, and Director of the STigma Action Research (STAR) Lab. Dr. Kosyluk received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Illinois Institute of Technology’s Rehabilitation Counseling Education program in 2014. Dr. Kosyluk’s research agenda focuses on understanding and addressing stigma among various populations, including people living with mental illness and addiction, and people living with HIV, using community-based participatory research methods.
Dr. brandon kohrt
Brandon Kohrt, MD, PhD, an anthropologist and psychiatrist, holds the Charles and Sonia Akman Professorship in Global Psychiatry at George Washington University, where he is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Global Health and Director of the Division of Global Mental Health. Dr. Kohrt has worked with children and families affected by war and political violence, disasters, and other forms of adversity in Nepal, Haiti, Liberia, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Africa, Brazil, and Mongolia. Dr Kohrt has received funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Fulbright Program, the United Kingdom Medical Research Council, the World Health Organization, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Kohrt serves as the Scientific Co-Chair of the Health Research in Humanitarian Crises initiative at the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health. He is also the scientific advisor for the World Health Organization’s EQUIP program which is establishing global competency standards for non-specialists delivering psychological interventions.
Melissa Thompson
Melissa Thompson, MSW, LCSW is a Clinical Instructor at the University of South Florida School of Social Work. She serves as ACCESS Lab Director of Clinical Programs. Ms. Thompson received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science as well as her Master of Social Work degree from the University of South Florida. Prior to entering the field of Social Work, she spent four years working in state government and nonprofit agencies. Ms. Thompson’s primary clinical interest is in treating children and adults who have experienced trauma. Ms. Thompson has worked as a therapist over the last 15 years in community mental health settings and private practice. She is trained in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and certified in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Florida as well as a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.
Dr. Chris Simmons
Dr. Chris Simmons is the Director of the School of Social Work and an Associate Professor of Instruction. He received his BS in Psychology from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette, (’94), received his MSW from Louisiana State University, (’97), and received his Ph.D. in Counselor Education from the University of South Florida, (’08). Dr. Simmons is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Qualified Clinical Supervisor. His teaching is primarily centered on generalist and clinical practice, human behavior, and multicultural social work practice, making good use of his experience as a clinical social worker and clinical supervisor. In his courses, he strives to incorporate what he has learned from his research on cognitive development and student learning. Specifically, his goals are to help students develop practice skills, as well as cognitive abilities to tolerate ambiguity, to deal with incomplete and sometimes conflicting information, and to develop problem solving abilities. To accomplish this goal, he uses experiential learning, service learning, and interprofessional education to help students develop these cognitive skills, which provide a good framework for effective social work practice.
Dr. Brandon Brown
Dr. Brandon Brown is a Professor in the Department of Social Medicine, Population and Public Health at the University of California, Riverside. After attaining his MPH and PhD, Dr. Brown received additional training as a HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) Scholar, a Resource Center for Minority Aging Research Scholar, trainee at the Fordham HIV Research Ethics Training Institute (RETI), and visiting scholar at the Hastings Center for Bioethics. Dr. Brown is the Chair of the Board of Directors of TruEvolution, a non-profit organization advocating for health equity and racial justice for LGBTQ+ people; faculty member at RETI; and member of the HPTN ethics working group. His recent grants focus on developing a virtual village to halt isolation of people aging with HIV, and investigating ethical payment practices in clinical research. He is an Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine at the National Academy of Medicine. Please visit the UCR HIV research team.
dr charurut somboonwit
Charurut Somboonwit, MD, FACP, FIDSA is a Professor of Medicine at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine (USF-MCOM) and Director of the USF Health HIV Clinical Research Unit. She serves as Associate Division Director, Division of Infectious Disease & International Medicine.
dr segundo leÓn
Dr. Segundo R. León is an Associate Professor of Medical Technology (UPSJB) and a Licensed Medical Technologist in Peru. He obtained his BS in Medical Technology (Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos), MPH (International Tropical and Infectious Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia), and PhD in HIV and STI Epidemiology (University of Portsmouth). He also completed his fellowship studies in Global Health Diagnostics (University of Washington). His research focuses on the link between diagnostics and epidemiology of infectious diseases.