AAAS AMA: Hi, we’re Christine Johnston and Ina Park, two researchers who study Sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Ask us anything!

Abstract

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are really common – there are about 20 million new cases every year in the United States and about 110 million total infections according to the Centers for Disease Control (https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats/sti-estimates-fact-sheet-feb-2013.pdf). Yet people are often afraid to ask questions about these infectious diseases because of stigma around sex and STIs. We study STIs for a living and we’re not squeamish. We will be back at 1 pm ET to answer your questions, Ask us anything! Christine Johnston, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Washington. I’m a physician-scientist at the University of Washington. I’m board-certificated in internal medicine and infectious diseases and provides primary care to patients with HIV infection. My clinical research focuses on the natural history and pathobiology of genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection and I’m interested in novel therapies to prevent and manage HSV infection, such as antiviral agents and vaccines. In addition, I am the Medical Director of the University of Washington Sexually Transmitted Diseases Prevention Training Center, which educates health care providers about prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections (STI). I earned her MD from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 2001. Ina Park, Medical Consultant, Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine; Medical Director, California Prevention Training Center. I’m a medical epidemiologist with a passion for empowering and informing others about sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention. My research interests include evaluation of serologic assays for diagnosis of syphilis and assessing the population-level impact of human papillomavirus vaccination. In 2012 I was recognized with the Young Investigator of the Year Award by the American STD Association, and recently served as a contributing author for the 2015 CDC STD Treatment Guidelines. I am currently writing a narrative non-fiction book for the lay public on STD and HIV prevention entitled “CLAP: The Science of Sex and its Least Intended Consequences”. I earned my MD in 2001 from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine and completed my residency in Family Medicine at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles.