Sunil Solomon, MBBS, PhD, MPH

Baltimore, Maryland
Role: 
Director
Professor
Sunil Solomon

Sunil Suhas Solomon, MBBS PhD MPH, is a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA. He completed his medical training at the Sri Ramachandra Medical University in Chennai, India and received a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a doctorate in Epidemiology (PhD) from the Johns Hopkins University, USA. Dr. Solomon has been elected into the Phi Beta Kappa honors society for academic excellence and the Delta Omega Public Health honors society. His research is primarily focused on the epidemiology, clinical management and access to services for HIV and viral hepatitis among vulnerable populations such as people who inject drugs (PWID) and men who have sex with men (MSM), primarily from low and middle-income country settings. He has over 150 peer-reviewed publications in several highly ranked journal. He serves as the Deputy Editor of the Journal of the International AIDS Society as member of the technical resource group of the National AIDS Control Organisation, India for people who inject drugs and antiretroviral therapy that advises the National AIDS Program in India. He also serves on the Scientific Agenda Steering Committee (SASC) of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) and Substance Use Scientific Committee (SUSC) of the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN), two of the largest NIH-funded global networks that conduct research in the fields of HIV, viral hepatitis, TB and COVID.

In 2015, he was one of the first recipients of the Avenir award, a Director’s award from the National Institutes of Health, USA aimed at identifying individuals who propose high impact research and who show promise of being tomorrow's leaders in the field of drug abuse and HIV. In 2016, he received another award from the National Institutes of Health aimed at “Advancing Exceptional Research on HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse”. He also served as the Protocol Chair of ACTG A5360 (MINMON) a ground-breaking global trial on the simplification of HCV treatment delivery and currently serves as the Protocol Chair of HPTN 103 (PURPOSE-4) the first trial of long-acting antiretrovirals for PrEP among people who inject drugs. He was also recently awarded a US $35 million award from PEPFAR/USAID to provide technical assistance to the National AIDS Program in India, and to implement and evaluate innovative models of service delivery to improve the HIV care cascade in India with a focus on vulnerable populations.

 

ACCELERATE

Post Date: 
2022-09-08
   |   
Countries: 
India
Under the directives of PEPFAR, with support from USAID, and in collaboration with NACO, the ACCELERATE program provides HIV/AIDS services for high-risk populations including key populations affected by HIV throughout India and technical assistance (TA) to the national, state, and district HIV/AIDS...

Mitr Clinic - Pride and Beyond

Post Date: 
2022-09-08
USAID and PEPFAR supported Program ACCELERATE, implemented by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHU SOM) in partnership with YRG Care, The Fenway Institute and the Blue Lotus Advisory under the leadership of National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and State AIDS Control Societies (SACS...

Kidaba Thawai (Fearless Souls) Documentary

Post Date: 
2022-09-08
   |   
Countries: 
India
The documentary Kidaba Thawai is based on ACCELERATE's intervention - an Adolescent Friendly Health Center (AFHC) in Imphal, Manipur. The documentary discusses AFHC's comprehensive health care delivery model (HIV and non-HIV services) which contributes to the holistic development of adolescents. A...

Integration of a geospatially targeted community-based testing approach with respondent-driven sampling to identify people who inject drugs living with HIV and HCV in Patti and Gorakhpur, India

Post Date: 
2023-04-14
   |   
Countries: 
India
Publication: 
Drug Alcohol Dependency
Background: Respondent-driven sampling (RDS), a network recruitment approach, is effective at reaching people who inject drugs (PWID), but other strategies may be needed to reach PWID at risk or living with HIV and/or Hepatitis C (HCV). We examined the impact of integrating geospatially targeted...

Drug use stigma, antiretroviral therapy use, and HIV viral suppression in a community-based sample of people with HIV who inject drugs

Post Date: 
2022-10-06
   |   
Countries: 
India
Publication: 
AIDS
Drug use stigma may be a barrier to HIV viral suppression among people with HIV who inject drugs, thereby hindering efforts to achieve HIV control.

Changes in HIV care continuum indicators among community-based samples of HIV-infected people who inject drugs and men who have sex with men across 21 cities in India

Post Date: 
2022-10-06
   |   
Countries: 
India
Publication: 
AIDS Care
The findings by Drs. Shruti Mehta, Gregory Lucas and colleagues show population-specific interventions and routine surveillance are need to facilitate HIV elimination.

Taking HIV Care Online

Post Date: 
2023-09-06
Source: 
Span Magazine
A sexual health manager at Safe Zindagi explains the HIV self-testing process to a client. (Photograph courtesy Safe Zindagi)
Safe Zindagi , an online portal funded by USAID and PEPFAR, provides HIV care and services to hard-to-reach populations in India.

Navigating Adolescence With HIV

Post Date: 
2023-09-06
Source: 
Span Magazine
USAID-supported Adolescent-Friendly Health Centers create a supportive youth-led community that can help HIV positive children navigate challenges. (Photograph courtesy ACCELERATE)
USAID, with support of PEPFAR , set up Adolescent-Friendly Health Centers through its flagship program, ACCELERATE, led by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to support 10-17-year-old HIV positive adolescents with comprehensive health care and services.