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Colleen
F.
Hanrahan
,
PhD

Associate Research Professor
Colleen Hanrahan

Departmental Affiliations

Primary
Division
Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Contact Info

615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E6031
Baltimore
Maryland
21205
US        

Research Interests

tuberculosis;hiv;diagnostic testing;implementation science;active case finding;preventive therapy;stated preference methods
Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
2011
MS
Clemson University
1998
Overview
The main focus of my research is on understanding the impact of interventions to control tuberculosis, particularly within the context of the HIV pandemic. TB is largely a story of implementation failures. We have good tools for prevention, treatment and diagnosis, but their implementation is sub-optimal in ways that result in a reduction or absence of impact on individual and population-level health. As new tools become available during the current exciting era of TB research, my goal is to understand, refine and improve the implementation of these tools (and existing ones) in order to significantly bend the curve of the epidemic.

In particular, I am interested in using operational research to examine the impact and appropriate implementation of both new and existing diagnostic tests, active or intensified case finding strategies, new and existing preventive therapy regimens, and health systems-level interventions to retain patients in the cascade of TB care.  I am also interested in the impact of local, national and international TB control policies on TB epidemiology.  I employ a mix of standard epidemiologic methods as well as implementation science, stated preference methods (e.g discrete choice experiments) and economic evaluation in my work.

A secondary research interest area is evaluating the effect of differentiated care strategies on retention in care for people living with HIV in high burden settings. These strategies offer care that is tailored towards the needs of specific populations in order to achieve long term virologic suppression and favorable clinical outcomes. Interventions include medication adherence clubs, fast tracks and community ART pickup points.

Most of my research is in South Africa, where I have worked for over a decade.
Select Publications
5 of my most recent first author/senior author papers:
  • Hanrahan CF, Nonyane BAS, Lebina L, Mmolawa L, Siwelana T, West NS, Albaugh N, Martinson N, Dowdy DW. Household versus incentive-based contact investigation for tuberculosis in rural South Africa: a cluster-randomized trial. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 Dec 2;. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac920.
  • Petersen MR, Nonyane BAS, Lebina L, Mmolawa L, Siwelana T, Martinson N, Dowdy DW, Hanrahan CF. Geographic mobility and time to seeking care among people with TB in Limpopo, South Africa. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2021 Sep 1;25(9):708-715. doi: 10.5588/ijtld.21.0038.
  • Albaugh NW, Nonyane BAS, Mmolawa L, Siwelana T, Lebina L, Dowdy DW, Martinson N, Hanrahan CF. Brief Report: Proportion and Predictors of Adult TB Contacts Accepting HIV Testing During an Active TB Case Finding Intervention in South Africa. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2020 Dec 15;85(5):525-529.
  • Jarrett BA, Woznica DM, Tilchin C, Mpungose N, Motlhaoleng K, Golub JE, Martinson NA, Hanrahan CF. Promoting Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy for People Living with HIV in South Africa: Interventions Hindered by Complicated Clinical Guidelines and Imbalanced Patient-Provider Dynamics. AIDS Behav. 2020 Apr;24(4):1106-1117.
  • Mudavanhu M, West NS, Schwartz SR, Mutunga L, Keyser V, Bassett J, Van Rie A, Hanrahan CF. Perceptions of Community and Clinic-Based Adherence Clubs for Patients Stable on Antiretroviral Treatment: A Mixed Methods Study. AIDS Behav. 2020 Apr;24(4):1197-1206.