Maria J. Wawer

Maria J. Wawer, MD, MHSc is a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with primary division in Infectious Disease Epidemiology and joint appointment in Population, Family and Reproductive Health. She is affiliated with the Center for Global Health and has maintained a significant research presence through the Rakai Health Sciences Program in Uganda.

Dr. Wawer's research focuses on HIV prevention, HPV, male circumcision, sexually transmitted infections, and population-based cohort studies. Her work has particularly emphasized the epidemiology of HIV and related infections in Sub-Saharan Africa, with extensive field research conducted in Rakai District, Uganda since 1988. Her research examines behavioral risk factors, HIV/STI prevention trials, molecular epidemiology of HIV, effects of HIV subtypes, and HIV superinfection, as well as the social and demographic consequences of HIV.

Dr. Wawer co-founded the Rakai Health Sciences Program (RHSP) with Drs. David Serwadda and Nelson Sewankambo. The RHSP has conducted numerous significant studies including trials on STI control for HIV prevention, male circumcision for HIV prevention in men, and the role of mucosal immunity and the genital biome in resistance/susceptibility to HIV infection.

Her current research projects include the Male Circumcision Trial For HIV Prevention, BV Etiology studies, Community Opinion Leader Trial, ARV effects on HIV epidemiology, and investigations into viral and immunologic factors contributing to HIV transmission patterns in Rakai, Uganda.