Welcome to these three new research staff.

Adam Benzekri is an associate in research at DUSON, project director and psychologist at the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health (CLAFH). At CLAFH, he is involved in every step of the research process including study design, the development of grant proposals, implementation of funded projects in resource limited areas, data management, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, and dissemination of research findings. Benzekri’s research interests lie in the intersection between public health, psychology and neuroscience. Specifically, his research seeks to develop, implement, and evaluate innovative health care delivery models that formally integrate theories of decision-making, parental influence, and integrated care delivery to address disparities (e.g., behavioral health, sexual and reproductive health) during adolescence and young adulthood. His work has been published in leading scientific journals including "The Lancet Infectious Diseases," "The Lancet HIV," "The American Journal of Public Health," "Clinical Infectious Diseases," "JAMA Pediatrics," and "Pediatrics."

Marco Thimm-Kaiser is an associate in research at DUSON and epidemiologist at CLAFH. At CLAFH, he coordinates study design, development of grant proposals, and study implementation, data analysis, and dissemination of research findings. His research interests are anchored in social science and quantitative epidemiology. His research explores traditional and decentralized health care systems as potential mediators in the relationship between social determinants of health and longstanding health inequities. Specifically, he examines how social determinants of health predict unequal reach and effectiveness of novel prevention and treatment interventions as well as corresponding changes in health disparities. His work has been published in leading scientific journals including "The Lancet Infectious Diseases," "The Lancet HIV," "The American Journal of Public Health," "Clinical Infectious Diseases," and "JAMA Pediatrics," and he has been a contributor to "The Hill" and "The Conversation." 

Javier Martinez is a research assistant at CLAFH. He is involved in community outreach and intervention delivery at CLAFH. He also draws on his background in linguistics for translation and to ensure linguistic appropriateness of CLAFH's research and project materials.