Perry Halkitis

Perry N. Halkitis, Ph.D., M.S., MPH is a Professor of Global Public Health, Applied Psychology, and Medicine at New York University. 

Dr. Halkitis is a highly funded scientist with expertise in biobeheavioral, psychological, and public health research. Dr. Halkitis also has presented extensively throughout the world to large academic and non-academic audiences, including on television and radio, and is available for interviews, lectures and speaking series on all subjects relating to the health issues affecting gay men of all ages including HIV/AIDS, substance use, and mental health. His latest book, The AIDS Generation: Stories of Survival and Resilience, published in Fall 2013, was nominated for Lambda Literary award and received The Distinguished Book Award the field of LGBT psychology from the American Psychological Association. www.perrynhalkitis.com @DrPNHalkitis

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For two decades, my work has centered on improving the human condition. By focusing my research on issues of health, human behavior, and development, with a specific application to the domains of HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, and psychiatric, and psychosocial burdens, I have been able to address some of most important social and public health issues of our time. These areas of inquiry, while primarily rooted in the disciplines of psychology and public health, also cross and incorporate the domains of education and medicine. As such, I have developed a program of study at my research center, the Center for Health, Identity, Behavior & Prevention Studies (CHIBPS) guided by five main goals:

1. To broaden our understanding of the synergistic epidemics of HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, and mental health disease by conducting research which creates and builds upon theories and recognizes and disentangles the complex interactions that occur between psychological, sociological, biomedical, and behavioral factors.
2. To develop and test programs and interventions based on these theories and our own data which can be applied in real-life settings in order to (i) treat and improve the lives of individuals living with HIV/AIDS and/or drug abuse in a manner which is "true" to realities of individuals, and (ii) prevent the further spread of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse.
3. To educate, inform, and involve members of the larger society regarding the issues of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse that function as a preventive mechanism, but also develop a tolerance and understanding of the people living with these conditions.
4. To broaden the field of human development by studying, expanding, and implementing biopsychosocial paradigms which examine the interconnectedness between health/physicality and the cognitive, social, and emotional domains.
5. To consider how the epidemics of HIV, drug abuse, and mental health burden are, in part, socially produced ills that must be addressed on both the structural and individual level.

Current active research studies include:

•  a longitudinal investigation delineating the risk and resiliencies of young gay and bisexual men as they emerge into adulthood (Project P18; Grant# 1R01DA025537; 2R01DA025537);
• a mixed study of examining how young gay men relate to heath care as they transition from adolescence to young adulthood and how this in influenced by their sexual orientation;
• a cross-sectional study of the neurocognitive and psychiatric states of HIV-positive men and women over age 50 undertaken with The Spencer Cox Health Center, My. Sinai Health System (Project Gold II)
• a study of HPV and HSV exposure in young seuxal minority men (R56AI122000) Earlier research funded by NIH include Project BUMPS, a study of club drugs in relation to risk taking among gay and bisexual men (Grant #R01DA13798), Project PILLS, a study of patterns and predictors of HIV medication adherence (Grant #R01DA12816), Project B2B, an exploratory study of intentional risk taking behaviors (Grant# R01DA13798-04S1), Project Access, an examination of the effectiveness of various strategies for engaging previously HIV-untested African American men into HIV testing (Grant #1UR6 PS000369).

At the onset of my career as a behavioral researcher, I was one of the lead investigators for the CDC-funded Seropositive Urban Men’s Study (Grant #U62/CCU213605) and Seropositive Urban Men’s Intervention Trial (Grant #UR3/CCU216471). In 1999, the American Psychological Foundation granted the Placek Award for my work on methamphetamine addiction. I have also served as a Co-investigator on a dozen other projects and am a research scientist and co-director of the TL1 pre-doctoral training program at the NYU Center for Translational Science Institute funded by the NIH (Grant # 1U54RR024386)

I have led two edited volumes: HIV + Sex: The Psychological and Interpersonal Dynamics of HIV-Seropositive Gay and Bisexual Men's Relationships (American Psychological Association (APA), 2005), and Barebacking: Psychosocial and Public Health Perspectives (Haworth Press, 2006).

My book, Methamphetamine Addiction: Biological Foundations, Psychological Factors, and Social Consequenceswas published by APA in 2009 and is a comprehensive look at all aspects of this drug addiction. Current Reviews for Academic Libraries indicated: "This book is a well-written, well researched, and comprehensive review of the current methamphetamine epidemic that is ravaging the U.S....a timely, useful reference for any health and human services professional or student seeking insight into methamphetamine use and its impact on the users, their associates, and communities." I am currently completing, The AIDS Generation (Oxford University Press, 2013), which documents the life experiences and resilience of gay men who are long-term survivors of AIDS.

My new book The AIDS Generation: Stories of Survival and Resilience was published by Oxford University Press in 2013. More information about this book project can be seen in this interview and this editorial in Huffington Post, as well as on Facebook.

Author of over 170 peer-reviewed manuscripts, I am a fellow of The New York Academy of Medicine, The Society of Behavioral Medicine, and the American Psychological Association (Divisions 38, 44, 50, and 51).

My faculty line is within the College of Global Public Health and I hold an associated appointment with the Department of Applied Psychology within the program of Counseling Psychology and the Department of Population Health at the Langone School of Medicine.

I am affiliated investigator of both a member of the New York University Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the Center for Drug use and HIV Research at the NYU College of Nursing.

In 2013, I assumed the role of Editor in Chief for the journal Behavioral Medicine and currently serve on Board of Directors of GMHC.