Distinguished Lecturer Discusses Social Network Approach Used in HIV, Drug Abuse Research

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 5, 2015) — A national expert who studies social factors contributing to drug abuse and HIV transmission in communities will deliver the next University of Kentucky College of Public Health’s Distinguished Lecture on Oct. 8.

Samuel Friedman, an epidemiologist from the National Development and Research Institutes, will deliver, “Socially Integrated Multidisciplinary Epidemiology, Prevention and Care in Public Health,” at 11 a.m. in MN 463 of the UK Chandler Hospital. Friedman studies social factors and social networks of populations at high risk of HIV, STIs and other blood-borne illnesses. His current research seeks to understand how socioeconomic and policy conditions are related to injection drug use, HIV epidemics and AIDS incidence in certain populations. 

During the lecture, Friedman will explain his work employing social network analysis to understand how HIV and other infectious diseases spread throughout communities. Emphasizing “treatment as prevention,” he will also suggest ways public health workers can organize interventions to inhibit the spread of disease and prevent the continued transmission.

Part of the UK College of Public Health Distinguished Lecture Series, this lecture is jointly sponsored by the College of Public Health, the Department of Behavioral Science in the College of Medicine, the Health, Society, and Populations program in the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Sociology.

RSVP is required by clicking here.

MEDIA CONTACT: Elizabeth Adams, elizabethadams@uky.edu