The Technology Core provides services for technology related fields, including mobile technologies, web-based platforms, laboratory platforms, online/social media recruitment and technology-related ethics issues. The Technology Core is a service center to which individual investigators or site PIs can request specialized assistance or request to use shared resources. Dr. Lisa Hightow-Weidman and Dr. Patrick Sullivan jointly manage this Core.
Lisa Hightow-Weidman, MD, MPH
Overall iTech Principal Investigator
Lisa B. Hightow-Weidman, MD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Dr. Hightow-Weidman completed her medical school training at the University of Virginia and became board certified in Internal Medicine in 2001 after completing three years residency training at Stanford University. She completed three years of fellowship training in Infectious Diseases at UNC-Chapel Hill. In 2004, she earned a Masters in Public Health in Epidemiology from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health. She has been directly involved with the management of HIV-infected and at-risk adolescents and adults at UNC-Chapel Hill since 2001.
Dr. Hightow-Weidman is an expert on mhealth, social media and utilization and evaluation of technology-based interventions to address the HIV Care Continuum for youth and young adults, particularly among young men who have sex with men (YMSM). She has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles on these topics. Her research interests include HIV prevention for YMSM using both the Internet and other mobile technologies, interventions that use game-based elements and social networking to change behavior. She has developed technology-based interventions to address uptake and adherence to biomedical HIV prevention technologies, as well as intervening to increase HIV diagnosis, linkage and retention in care for YMSM.
Patrick Sullivan, DVM, PhD
Professor of Epidemiology/Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Sullivan has 22 years of experience in HIV epidemiology and prevention in men who have sex with men, in the United States and in international settings. He worked in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for 12 years, including service as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer, a Branch Chief, and Acting Deputy Division Director in the Division of HIV AIDS Prevention.
He also has experience in design and oversight of biomedical prevention trials, having served as the Associate Director of Scientific Support for the NIH-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Network. He is currently the PI of several NIH-supported research grants to develop improved methods for online HIV prevention studies. Dr. Sullivan holds a PhD in Comparative and Experimental Medicine and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from the University of Tennessee.
Maria Zlotorzynska, PhD, MPH
Tech Core Lead
Maria graduated from the Rollins School of Public Health with an MPH in Epidemiology in 2014, and joined the Emory PRISM health team in 2015. Prior to entering the field of public health, she completed a PhD in Chemistry at the University of British Columbia, with a focus on the development of chemical methods applicable to pharmacologically active compounds. Her transition from lab-based science was drive by an interest in a collaborative approach to health that tackles complex issues within broader social contexts. Her work with the PRISM team has specialized in online recruitment and implementation of biospecimen collection and testing for online studies.
Jesse Golinkoff, MPH
Research Project Manager/Tech Core Member
Jesse Golinkoff is a Research Project Manager at the Program for Sexuality, Technology, and Action Research at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing. Before entering the Public Health field, Jesse worked in web design and development for over eight years, focusing on website usability, user testing, website analytics, and information architecture. Jesse also has experience with Agile Development methodologies.
Jesse received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Multimedia from The University of the Arts in 2007 and a Master of Public Health at the University of Pennsylvania in 2016.
Jenna Norelli
Tech Core Study Coordinator
Afua Osei, MSW, LCSW
Recruitment and Retention Specialist
Afua joins iTech as the Recruitment and Retention Specialist, working to support the SRVs to meet recruitment goals on their iTech studies. Afua has over seven years of experience working on a variety of social change initiatives aimed to improve public health outcomes. She has a Masters of Social Work degree from the University of Pennsylvania and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Afua is passionate about helping people break down the barriers that prevent them from living their best lives. She has experience building programming, providing counseling, and educational services in regards to HIV prevention. In 2013 while working for Philadelphia FIGHT, an HIV/AIDS services organization, Afua collaborated with a colleague to create an international program between FIGHT and the Ghana AIDS Commission called FIGHT for Ghana. This program worked to build awareness, reduce stigma, and raise funds to support the initiatives of the Ghana AIDS Commission.
In her free time she enjoys watching indie flicks, going to art shows, and all things related to African food, dance, and culture.
