Adiba Hassan is a third-year Ph.D. student in Epidemiology at the Fielding School of Public Health and a 2020 Tillman Scholar. Over the past decade, she has been engaged in monitoring and evaluating HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Adiba’s research in HIV/AIDS has been on molecular epidemiology, using surveillance data to characterize the dynamics of the genetic transmission network to assist public health officials in prioritizing limited resources to individuals who may benefit from assistance in navigating the HIV care continuum.
Born in Bangladesh and growing up in developing countries in Southeast Asia, Adiba witnessed the effects of poverty and socio-cultural segregation on a global scale. Those experiences fueled her to pursue a career in global health, using epidemiology as a tool to guide effective and sustainable health programs. Adiba is also interested in the intersection of infectious disease and climate change; by participating in CDLS, she hopes to further her knowledge by learning from colleagues and climate scientists on opportunities where epidemiology can help mitigate the effects of climate change. Adiba believes it’s important to have diversity and inclusion in STEM because without it, it would be difficult for science to have any significant reach or contribution.
Currently, Adiba is training to further analytical skills for causal inference research on HIV/AIDS and dementia. She is also a co-facilitator of the VRC/CDLS Veterans in Stem program, assisting with program implementation, manuscript preparation, and monitoring and evaluation. During her time off, she enjoys dancing salsa and bachata with her husband, performing with her dance team, and competing in beach volleyball tournaments. In the future, Adiba aspires to implement sustainable change from within to improve life outcomes in communities affected by the disproportionate effects of poverty and climate change.
