Nina Harawa

Nina Harawa is a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at both the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Fielding School of Public Health and UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, with a secondary professorship at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, where she serves as Associate Director of Research for the Drew CARES Center. Her work focuses on holistic interventions for HIV/STI prevention, substance use disorders, and health equity through policy analysis, particularly for sexual/gender minorities and justice-involved populations.

Research Interests span HIV epidemiology, prevention, retention in care, sexually transmitted diseases, social determinants of health, incarceration impacts, and health policy reform. As Director of the NIMH-funded Policy Impact Core at UCLA CHIPTS, she leads agent-based modeling of HIV policy effects. She co-leads NIH multi-site studies on post-incarceration HIV care and PrEP access, while founding REACH UCLA Health to address racial disparities in healthcare access.

Education includes a PhD and MPH in Epidemiology from UCLA. She has pioneered community partnerships for HIV research among Black/Latina women, transgender communities, and incarcerated populations, with over 20 years of grant-funded work. Her 2017 JAMA Intern Med trial on peer navigation for viral suppression in post-jail populations remains a landmark study.