Major Research Interests
• Behaviors associated with the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, especially at the partnership level.
• Behaviors associated with the spread of HIV epidemics internationally (especially SE Asia). Methodologies to study sexual behavior including behavioral surveillance surveys.
Current Research Interests
• Identifying partnership types and risks among those with acute and primary HIV infection.
• Trends in sexual behavior in Cambodia.
• Partnership level risks for sexually transmitted diseases among young heterosexuals and men who have sex with men.
Pamina M. Gorbach M.H.S, Dr.P.H. is a behavioral epidemiologist whose research focuses on the risk behaviors that expose individuals to sexually transmitted infections including HIV, understanding the types and dynamics of sexual partnerships, and the social context of sexual health. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, UCLA and trained at Johns Hopkins, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the University of Washington. Dr. Gorbach’s methodological expertise is in the application of both survey research and qualitative methods for the study of sexual behavior. Currently she is conducting studies on Southern Californians recently infected with HIV in collaboration with the UCSD HIV Treatment Center, on Men Who Have Sex Men with HIV and STDs in Los Angeles, a cohort study among young women at high risk for HIV and STDs in Cambodia, a study of HIV diffusion among sexual and drug using networks of MSM and MSM/W in Los Angeles, and a formative research study on women’s experiences with testing and counseling for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection also in Los Angeles. Dr. Gorbach has experience collaborating with clinical epidemiology studies on sexually transmitted diseases and reported symptoms as well as on studies of sexual transmission of HIV between men who have sex with men. Her international experience includes eight years of continual technical assistance to the National Center for HIV, AIDS, Dermatology and STDs in Cambodia, and research in Vietnam, Mali, Ghana, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Peru.