Dr. Tamara Taggart
Dr. Taggart conducts socioepidemiologic studies to examine the social-structural (e.g., neighborhoods and social networks) and cultural determinants of health, and then uses CBPR approaches to develop and implement interventions to reduce HIV risk and substance use among racial/ethnic minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged adolescents and emerging adults. Her current work focuses on three areas: (1) Applying a community engaged framework to examine systems level factors associated with PrEP uptake among young people; (2) Utilizing activity space assessments and biopsychosocial models of stress to examine the mechanisms connecting discriminatory neighborhood environments and HIV-related behaviors; and (3) Investigating the role of religion, spirituality, and religious institutions on HIV syndemics.
