Adolescent & Young Adult SWG

With an estimated 4 million adolescents and young adults (AYA) ages 10-24 years of age living with HIV and a steadily high proportion of new infections occurring among this age group, there is a critical need to focus on optimizing prevention and treatment of this population, a key focus in the Ending the Epidemic Plan for America and the global 90-90-90 initiative. Their unique multi- faceted developmental stage often contributes to the poorer outcomes being seen along the care continuum from testing to viral suppression. The Johns Hopkins Adolescent and Young Adult Scientific Working Group's (AYA SWG) overarching mission is to promote interdisciplinary research collaborations across the intersecting domains of AYA health and HIV by developing: 1) innovative approaches to address critical scientific gaps for AYAs aged 13-25; 2) cross- disciplinary research to understand and mitigate the HIV epidemic among AYA in domestic and international settings; and mentoring, supporting, and providing pilot funding for the next generation of HIV researchers; and 3) promoting research-informed policies & practices that impact AYA populations through engaging stakeholders, including youth, researchers, policy makers and practitioners, across the AYA SWG developed multi-level life course framework. The AYA SWG, consists of a committed group of faculty and staff spanning various departments across the SOM, SPH, and SON. This, first of its kind SWG, through a coordinated effort involving existing and new AYA multidisciplinary researchers, CFAR Cores, SWGs, and initiatives; and the community (including the AYA themselves), will enhance the capacity to develop and conduct interdisciplinary research relevant to AYA in Baltimore and beyond, providing added overall value to the JHU CFAR and its goals.