EHE SWG Planning Awardee PrEP Panel
Monday, February 22, 2021
12–1 p.m.
RSVP on Zoom required.

Two EHE SWG planning awardee teams  will present findings from their PrEP-focused projects in a panel discussion. Elijah McKinnon, a prominent PrEP advocate, will join them to discuss implications of these projects and next steps.

Lauren B. Beach, JD/PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Medical Social Sciences
Northwestern University

Laura Rusie, ScM
Director of Data, Evaluation, and Epidemiology
Howard Brown Health

Russell Brewer, DrPH, MPH
Research Associate Professor
University of Chicago Medicine

Maria Pyra, PhD, MPH
Research Assistant Professor
University of Chicago
Senior Epidemiologist
Howard Brown Health Center

Elijah McKinnon
Creative Director,
People Who Care Inc.

Dr. Lauren B. Beach is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Social Sciences and the Associate Director of the Evaluation, Data Integration, and Technical Assistance (EDIT) program within the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Research and Wellbeing (ISGMH). Scientifically, Dr. Beach investigates the epidemiology of chronic physical health conditions over the life course among diverse sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations and people living with HIV (PLWH). She also studies how multilevel health and identity related stigmas affect healthcare quality, chronic condition management, and health outcomes of marginalized populations. Dr. Beach holds a K12 award from the Third Coast Center for AIDS Research to investigate social and biological mechanisms contributing to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction among PLWH.

Laura Rusie, ScM (she/her) is the Director of Data, Evaluation, and Epidemiology at Howard Brown Health (HBH) in Chicago, one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ healthcare organizations. She has a Master of Science degree in Infectious Disease Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with an emphasis on HIV and hepatitis infections. In her current role at HBH, Laura oversees the usage of much of the agency’s operational and research data, and she is passionate about using data to improve patient-centered care.

Dr. Russell Brewer currently serves as Research Associate Professor at the University of Chicago Medicine and Director of Health Equity Research at the Chicago Center for HIV Elimination. From 2011-2017 he was the Director of the HIV/STI Portfolio at the Louisiana Public Health Institute in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has more than 19 years of experience in program development, implementation, evaluation, and public health research in a variety of settings (e.g., non-profit, governmental public health, and philanthropy) and levels (e.g., local, state, and national).

Dr. Maria Pyra is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago and Senior Epidemiologist at the Howard Brown Health Center. She received her MPH in epidemiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her PhD at the University of Washington. She also serves as co-chair for the Getting to Zero Illinois PrEP working group. Her work focuses on sexual and reproductive health, particularly among ciswomen. Currently, her research is on improving PrEP uptake and use.

Elijah McKinnon is an award-winning strategist, entrepreneur and visionary.  They received a Bachelors of Science from the Art Institute of San Francisco in Marketing and Management with a focus in Campaign Development and New Media studies. In addition to serving as the Founder and Director of People Who Care, Inc. — an independent consultancy that works exclusively with nonprofits and grassroots initiatives such as AIDS Foundation Chicago, Northwestern University, The Andy Warhol Foundation, Grindr for Equality, Center for Disease Control and many more — they are also deeply involved in queer, creative and philanthropic communities around the globe.