I am the Director of HPAC, a Professor in the Department of Psychology, and the Director of CHARM – The UM Center for HIV and Research in Mental Health. I am a clinical health psychologist and my expertise is in health-related behavior change with a particular focus on psychosocial (mental health and substance use) comorbidities related to HIV prevention and treatment in both domestic and international settings. A substantial portion of my research portfolio related to HIV prevention is with sexual and gender minority individuals, while my portfolio of projects related to HIV-treatment and with HIV-infected individuals is across different populations. I joined the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami in the Fall of 2015 after 18 years working in the Harvard Medical School system at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where I had various roles including being the founding Director of the Behavioral Medicine Service and track Director of the Behavioral Medicine Internship track. During this time I was also an Affiliated Investigator at Fenway Health where I led studies related to work with sexual and gender minorities, with an emphasis also on HIV prevention and treatment. I have been PI or protocol chair of 17 federally funded studies (via NIMH, NIDA, and NIAID), and, in addition to studies where I am PI, I have regularly served as co-PI, co-investigator, or mentor on studies related to HIV prevention and treatment. I have also conducted research on using cognitive-behavioral therapy to treat ADHD in adulthood and adolescence.
Pronouns: he/him/his
Dr. Safren is an author of the following books: