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Meet our Faculty |
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Eric Bing is the Director of the Drew CARES. They are the Collaborative Alcohol Research Center, the Drew Center for AIDS Research, Education and Services, and the SPECTRUM Social Services Clinic. As Director of these centers, Dr. Bing has been responsible for tremendous growth, demonstrating leadership and a commitment to excellence. He oversees a diverse staff that has grown ten-fold under his direction, and which includes research investigators, statisticians, social workers, and administrators. Dr. Bing has also expanded his programs to include international projects through partnerships with African universities and governmental and non-governmental organizations. He also serves as Associate Director of the Prevention and Treatment Services Core of the Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services – Charles Drew University and University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Bing came to Charles Drew University in 1993 as an Assistant Professor in Psychiatry, a role in which he continues to serve. He is a member of the International Health Institute committee at Drew. Dr. Bing also continues to work as a licensed Psychiatrist.
Dr. Bing received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Dartmouth College, his Medical Doctorate from Harvard Medical School, and his Masters of Public Health and a Doctorate in Epidemiology (Ph.D.) from UCLA.
Dr. Karen Cheng is an assistant professor in the department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Charles Drew University and a core investigator with the Methods Core of the UCLA/Drew Center for HIV Identification, Prevention and Treatment Services (CHIPTS).
Her current work marries two passions: health promotion in low-resource countries and the use of computer technology in culturally-appropriate ways. In particular, Dr. Cheng has been investigating ways to strengthen HIV/AIDS prevention programs in sub-Saharan Africa with culturally-appropriate computer technology. She recently completed several studies assessing the acceptability and cost-effectiveness of using handheld computers to collect self-reported sexual behavior data in Angola. In addition, Dr. Cheng directs the team that develops culturally-appropriate assessment surveys, as well as data collection and data entry strategies in low-resource settings, for Drew HIV/AIDS prevention projects in sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr. Cheng’s work builds upon years of research on cultural identity within social networks, such as dyadic relationships, and on cognitive processing of social information among bicultural and bilingual people.
Dr. Cheng received her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California and her PhD in social psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Dr. Frank Galvan received a master’s degree in social work from USC in 1982 and a doctoral degree in social welfare from UCLA in 1998. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science. He is an investigator with the Drew Center for AIDS Research, Education and Services (Drew CARES) at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science and the Associate Director of the Treatment Services Core of the UCLA/Drew/RAND Center for HIV Identification, Prevention and Treatment Services (CHIPTS). His primary research interests include HIV prevention among Latinos, alcohol use among HIV-positive people, and those coping with HIV. He presently has studies focusing on HIV testing, the HIV-related high-risk behaviors of Latino immigrant day laborers, the needs of HIV-positive ethnic minorities who abuse alcohol, and the social support networks of HIV-positive ethnic minorities. He has published in the areas of coping among HIV-positive Latinos, HIV testing, alcohol consumption among HIV-positive people, co-occurring psychiatric and substance abuse among HIV-positive people, abuse in the relationships of HIV-positive people, and the sexual motives of HIV-positive adults.
Daniel Ortiz is an Assistant Professor at Charles Drew University with a joint appointment at the University of California, Los Angeles. As part of the Drew Center for AIDS Research, Education and Services he develops research programs targeting HIV/AIDS prevention in at-risk populations. His projects include HIV/AIDS prevention in sub-Saharan Africa with support from the National Institutes of Health and the United States Department of Defense. He is also a co-investigator of the UARP funded project, Latino Day Laborers' HIV Risk in Targeted Geographical Areas.
His research is guided by the perspective that individual behavior is strongly influenced by the social environment. To this end, Dr. Ortiz is very interested in creating interventions through media, education, and structural changes that are sensitive to social and cultural factors. He is also interested in increasing access to medical care and services for disadvantaged populations that may otherwise go unserved.
He received his BA in psychology in 1994 from the University of California, Berkeley, and his PhD in social psychology in 2001 from the University of California, Los Angeles. During his graduate studies, Dr. Ortiz was part of a research team at AIDS project Los Angeles that conducted a countywide survey of persons living with HIV/AIDS.
Earning her Ph.D. in clinical/community psychology from DePaul University, Dr. Paxton uses her multidimensional training to address myriad issues facing African Americans in urban settings. Currently, she is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Charles Drew University and has been affiliated with Drew since 2001. Dr. Paxton’s research focuses on sexual risk behavior among African American adolescents and young adults, HIV/STD prevention, sexual health program development for African-American women and the intersection of mental health and risk behavior. She is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health to develop a sexual health program for African American young women that targets friendship groups. Additionally, Dr. Paxton engages in several community-academia partnerships. She is a core faculty member in the Faculty-Community Health Leadership Program. In the project, Drew partners with universities and community programs in Cuba to develop means to improve health indicators in South Los Angeles. Dr. Paxton has amassed several years of working in the Los Angeles community. She has worked closely with health service providers and grassroots organizations providing consultation regarding service provision, evaluation, and research activities. Dr. Paxton is a fellow in the NIH National Center on Health Disparities and Minority Health’s Loan Repayment Program. Dr. Paxton completed both her undergraduate and postdoctoral training at UCLA.
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Drew CARES |
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Drew Center for AIDS Research, Education, and Services |
