COPA Member Biographies

Monica Ulibarri, PhD, is an associate professor and associate program director in the California School of Professional Psychology Clinical Psychology PhD Program at Alliant International University — San Diego, and holds an appointment as assistant adjunct professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She received her BA in psychology and spanish from Claremont McKenna College, and her MA and PhD in clinical psychology from Arizona State University. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego. Ulibarri received a National Institute of Mental Health Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research for her postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at UCSD. Ulibarri also received postdoctoral training in UCSD’s Division of Global Public Health. She has been awarded various grants including an National Institutes of Health Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01). Ulibarri’s research focuses on HIV prevention with marginalized populations such as female sex workers, people who inject drugs, drug-involved couples and commercially sexually exploited youth along the Mexico-U.S. border, with an emphasis on how gender-based violence, mental health, substance use, intersect with HIV risk behaviors. Two of her more recent studies examine the commercial sexual exploitation of adolescent girls in San Diego County. She is a licensed Clinical Psychologist in the state of California. Her clinical focus is on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Strategic Solution Focused Therapy, and Multicultural Therapy for English- and Spanish-speaking individuals, couples, groups and families. Ulibarri has been a member of APA since 1994 and a member of Div. 45 (the Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race) since 1999.

Iván C. Balán, PhD, is an associate professor of clinical psychology (in psychiatry) at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and a research scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, where he is a principal investigator at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies. A fully bilingual and bicultural Latino psychologist, his HIV-related work as a clinician, researcher and consultant spans over 20 years. 

Balán's work in HIV began in 1994 at what is now the Lucy A. Wicks Clinic for HIV Mental Health at the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). In that position he provided individual and group psychotherapy to individuals affected by HIV. Soon after arriving at CUMC, he became involved in research on HIV prevention among MSM, in roles ranging from interviewer to group facilitator, and in 2002 shifted his work into full-time research. At the HIV Center, Balán has served as principal investigator or co-investigator on a number of studies exploring sexual risk behavior among men who have sex with men (MSM), both domestically and internationally. These studies have focused on factors related to HIV risk behavior, barebacking, use of rapid HIV self-testing with sexual partners and microbicide acceptability. 

Currently, he is principal investigator of a study exploring how MSM and transgender women might use novel rapid HIV and syphilis tests in combination with a smartphone app to test their sexual partners and facilitate linkage to care among those who test HIV or syphilis positive. Balán is also a co-investigator in another study in this same line of research which is being conducted with MSM in New York City and San Juan, Puerto Rico and is assessing the effects of using an oral rapid HIV test with sexual partners on sexual risk behavior among high-risk MSM and transgender women. Balán is also currently involved in the HOPE study, which is being conducted by the Microbicide Trials Network and is assessing use of an intra-vaginal Dapivirine Ring among approximately 2,000 women in Sub-Saharan Africa. For this study, Dr. Balán developed, implemented, and monitors fidelity of the adherence counseling intervention being delivered by over 50 counselors in 14 study sites across five countries and six languages. 

Throughout his career, Balán has also partnered with HIV-related community based organizations to provide training, program development, and as collaborators in designing and conducting research studies.

Brown is an associate professor in the department of psychiatry & behavioral neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She is also an affiliated faculty member in the department of psychology at the University of Cincinnati. She was previously a faculty member at Texas Tech University. Brown completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University where she also served as a post-doctoral therapist for individuals living with HIV within the Grady Health System’s Infectious Disease Program. Brown received her doctoral training in clinical psychology at Syracuse University and completed her clinical psychology internship in the medical psychology-HIV/AIDS track at the Medical College of Georgia and Charlie A. Norwood VA Medical Center. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio.

Brown’s research focuses on the following domains: 1.) Development of interventions to prevent HIV/AIDS and improve reproductive health outcomes among vulnerable populations; 2.) Development of interventions to address the intersection between substance use, Hepatitis C, and HIV; and 3.) Implementation science approaches to improve substance use outcomes. Her research has been funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and others. Brown provides psychological services to address substance use disorders and co-occurring psychiatric disorders. She also has expertise in delivery of psychological services for individuals living with HIV/AIDS.

Travis I. Lovejoy, PhD, MPH, is an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and School of Public Health at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), core faculty within the OHSU clinical psychology doctoral program, and investigator in the Health Services Research Center at the Portland VA. Lovejoy works as a pain psychologist in an outpatient alcohol and drug treatment program and as a consultant to the OHSU/Portland VA liver transplant team. His research focuses on the development, rigorous testing, and implementation of interventions to improve mental and behavioral health in populations living with chronic pain, HIV and substance use disorders.

Dr. Moore is a licensed clinical psychologist and professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego). For the past 15 years, he has been a lead investigator at UC San Diego’s HIV Neurobehavioral Research Program (HNRP), an organization that provides broad scientific and programmatic leadership for multi-disciplinary research programs related to the neurocognitive and psychiatric impact of HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Moore’s research is multidisciplinary covering several different aspects of research that are designed to positively impact the lives of persons living with HIV (PLWH). He is a principal investigator on several ongoing HIV-related research studies that are supported by NIMH, NIA and the California HIV/AIDS Research Program (CHRP). He has over 140 peer-reviewed publications. One of his primary research foci is examining the neurocognitive complications associated with HIV infection and other comorbid disorders (e.g., psychiatric and substance use disorders) as well as how neurocognitive difficulties relate to everyday functioning. In addition, Dr. Moore has a keen interest in the intersection of HIV and aging. His work examines factors associated with successful aging among PLWH including physical activity and positive psychological factors (e.g., grit, optimism). He is currently funded by NIA to disentangle those factors that are common and distinct in the pathophysiology of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders as compared to Alzheimer’s disease.

In addition to his research in the above spaces, Dr. Moore developed an innovative, personalized, scalable text messaging intervention (individualized Texting for Adherence Building; iTAB) to improve antiretroviral and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) adherence. His recent research, funded by the CHRP, has focused on maximizing PrEP adherence among MSM, women, and transgender/gender non conforming persons.

In addition to his research, Dr. Moore is a faculty member of the SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology where he spends a substantial portion of his time training the next generation of psychologists. He currently mentors several doctoral students as well as post-doctoral fellows in clinical psychology.

Jessica M. Sales, PhD, is a developmental psychologist by training and is currently an associate professor in the department of behavioral sciences and health education, Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) at Emory University. She is an investigator in the Emory Center for AIDS Research, as well as the Center for Translation and Prevention Science at the University of Georgia. She currently serves as the associate director for the Center for Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast and as director of its Education Core. She is also co-director of the Maternal and Child Health Certificate Program at RSPH.

Over the past 15 years, her research has focused on improving sexual health outcomes of adolescent and young adult women in the South through prevention intervention programs or clinic/practice improvements. She recently completed her National Institutes of Mental Health-funded Career Development Award (K01) exploring patterns of intervention responsiveness among adolescent/young adult women post HIV-prevention intervention participation. Currently, Sales is principal investigator (PI) of two separate projects focused on integrating pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention services into family planning settings in the South. She is also co-PI on a CDC-funded U01 to develop, implement and evaluate the efficacy of a multi-level, multimedia intervention designed to simultaneously improve clinical counseling pertaining to contraception and sexually transmitted infections/HIV prevention by providers in an adolescent medicine clinic in addition to providing an individual-level behavioral intervention with adolescent female clients to improve dual protection use.