AAAS AMA: Hi, we’re Christine Johnston and Ina Park, two researchers who
study Sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Ask us anything!
Abstract
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are really common – there are
about 20 million new cases every year in the United States and about 110
million total infections according to the Centers for Disease Control
(https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats/sti-estimates-fact-sheet-feb-2013.pdf).
Yet people are often afraid to ask questions about these infectious
diseases because of stigma around sex and STIs. We study STIs for a
living and we’re not squeamish. We will be back at 1 pm ET to answer
your questions, Ask us anything! Christine Johnston, Assistant Professor
of Medicine, University of Washington. I’m a physician-scientist at the
University of Washington. I’m board-certificated in internal medicine
and infectious diseases and provides primary care to patients with HIV
infection. My clinical research focuses on the natural history and
pathobiology of genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection and I’m
interested in novel therapies to prevent and manage HSV infection, such
as antiviral agents and vaccines. In addition, I am the Medical Director
of the University of Washington Sexually Transmitted Diseases Prevention
Training Center, which educates health care providers about prevention
and management of sexually transmitted infections (STI). I earned her MD
from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 2001. Ina Park,
Medical Consultant, Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention; Associate Professor, Department of Family and
Community Medicine, University of California San Francisco School of
Medicine; Medical Director, California Prevention Training Center. I’m a
medical epidemiologist with a passion for empowering and informing
others about sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention. My research
interests include evaluation of serologic assays for diagnosis of
syphilis and assessing the population-level impact of human
papillomavirus vaccination. In 2012 I was recognized with the Young
Investigator of the Year Award by the American STD Association, and
recently served as a contributing author for the 2015 CDC STD Treatment
Guidelines. I am currently writing a narrative non-fiction book for the
lay public on STD and HIV prevention entitled “CLAP: The Science of Sex
and its Least Intended Consequences”. I earned my MD in 2001 from the
University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine and completed
my residency in Family Medicine at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center
in Los Angeles.