Globally, there are over 18 million women living with HIV and nearly half of all new HIV infections are among women of reproductive age, making HIV a global women’s health priority. Dr. Bengtson’s research focuses in three critical areas: engagement in HIV care during the perinatal period, HIV and pregnancy outcomes, and comorbidities and co-infections during pregnancy. Her current research projects are:

An implementation science approach to monitoring engagement in HIV care (PI: Bengtson/R00MH112413)

In recent year, the global HIV community has scaled up access to antiretroviral therapy to all pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV. This monumental shift in access to treatment has led to large increases in women getting on antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy. However, keeping women on treatment is difficult - in part because women often switch clinics during the perinatal period due to changes in employment, relationship status, or other needs. This project leverages biometric fingerprint scanning across a network of HIV clinics to characterize engagement in HIV care and clinic switches during the perinatal period, and identify key determinants of clinic switching, with the goal of eventually developing more flexible models of HIV care that better meet the needs of HIV infected women. 

Adaptation of the Friendship Bench mental health intervention for HIV-infected perinatal women in Malawi (MPI: Bengtson/R34MH116806)

Pregnant women living with HIV have unacceptably high levels of perinatal depression. In resource limited settings, the lack of skilled mental health professionals and concerns about antidepressant use during pregnancy have led to a critical lack of treatment options for this population. The goal of this project it to pilot test an evidence-based counseling intervention delivered by lay healthcare workers to address perinatal depression and support engagement in HIV care among HIV-infected pregnant women in Malawi.

Addressing the Dual Burden of HIV and non-communicable diseases in pregnancy in South Africa (MPI: Bengtson/R21TW011678)

In South Africa, nearly 30% of pregnant women are living with HIV and 40% are obese. Antiretroviral therapy is essential to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission and improve a woman’s health, however antiretroviral therapy may lead to metabolic changes such as increased adiposity and insulin resistance. In South Africa, HIV-infected women are initiating antiretroviral therapy at younger ages and staying on it throughout their life, increasing the changes they will enter a pregnant already on treatment. How metabolic changes related to antiretroviral therapy use will affect pregnancy complications and the health of women and children over time is not clear. In this pilot study, we evaluate the prevalence and implications of gestational diabetes and hypertension in pregnancy in a cohort by HIV-infection status and antiretroviral therapy use.

1. K99/R00 (PI: Bengtson). National Institute of Mental Health: “An implementation science approach to monitoring engagement in HIV care”. (K99MH112413), 08/23/17-07/31/22, $183,500.
2. R34 (M-PI: Bengtson) National Institute of Mental Health: “Adaptation of the Friendship Bench mental health intervention for HIV-infected perinatal women in Malawi”. (R34MH116806), 08/15/18-6/30/21, $227,558.
3. R21 (M-PI: Bengtson) Fogarty International Center: “Addressing the Dual Burden of HIV and non-communicable diseases in pregnancy in South Africa. (R21TW011678) , 08/15/20-07-6/30/22, $329, 410.
4. Seed Award (M-PI: Bengtson): “Improving maternal and child health starting in pregnancy: examining cardio-metabolic risk among women living with and without HIV and their children in South Africa” Office of the Vice President for Research at Brown University, 9/1/20-8/31/21, $100,000.

2021              NIH Loan Repayment Award, National Institute of Child Health and Development

2016-2020     NIH Loan Repayment Award, National Institute of Mental Health

2017              Young Investigator Scholarship, Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI)

2014              Delta Omega Honor Society, Public Health Honor Society, University of North Carolina 

2012              Anne Cynthia Price Endowed Fund for Student Travel Award, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2012              Center for Global Initiatives Pre-Dissertation Travel Award, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2011-2012     FHI-UNC Fellowship, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and FHI 360

2010              Michel Ibrahim Scholarship, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2009-2010     Global Health Corps Fellowship, Southern African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance

2009              Ted Ning/Friendships Grant for Student Research, University of Denver

International Health Institute 

Center for AIDS Research

Populations Studies and Training Center

PHP2220C: Perinatal Epidemiology: Women and Infants’ Health during Pregnancy in a Global Context (Spring every other year)

PHP1854: The Epidemiology and Control of Infectious Diseases (Spring every other year)