Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Contact Info
Research Interests
HIV / AIDS; antiretroviral therapy; non-communicable diseases; non-AIDS outcomes (lung, liver disease, cancer); drug use; epidemiology; liver cancer; biomarkers; genetic susceptibility; ALIVE study; Uganda; Senegal; South Africa
Additional Links
Experiences & Accomplishments
My research focuses on understanding the natural history of viral infections, particularly HIV and the hepatitis viruses, in both domestic and international settings. The ALIVE (AIDS Linked to the Intravenous Experience) study is a long-standing and productive cohort that characterizes the natural history of HIV infection among intravenous drug users in Baltimore, MD. Our research in ALIVE ranges from pathogenesis to clinical to behavioral. In particular, I focus on the non-AIDS outcomes of HIV including cancer, liver and lung diseases. I also work on related topics with international collaborators, primarily in Africa. My research employs clinical, imaging, and 'omic' (genetic, epigenetic, proteomic) methods to help understand and identify individuals at greatest risk for clinically relevant outcomes from HIV, HBV and HCV infections. The long-term goal of this research is to translate this information into targeted interventions to help reduce the burden from these infections.
Honors & Awards
2017-2019 Fulbright Global Scholar Award to Barbados, Netherlands and South Africa
2016 Elected Member, American Society of Clinical Investigation
2013 Elected Fellow, Infectious Diseases Society of America
2012 Elected Fellow, American College of Epidemiology
multiple from 2006-2015 Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching
2005 Gustav J. Martin Innovative Fund for Research on HIV/AIDS Award
2003 Johns Hopkins University Phi Beta Kappa Honorary
1996 AMA Glaxo-Wellcome Resident Leadership Award for Outstanding Community Service
1995 Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Delta Omega National Public Health Honor Society
1994-1997 American Cancer Society, Physician Training Award in Preventive Medicine
Select Publications
Sun J†, Mehta SH, Astemborski J, Piggott DA, Genberg BL, Woodson-Adu T, Benson EM, Thomas DL, Celentano DD, Vlahov D, Kirk GD. Mortality among people who inject drugs: a prospective cohort followed over three decades in Baltimore, MD, USA. Addiction. 2021 Aug 2. doi: 10.1111/add.15659. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34338374
Kirk GD, Astemborski J, Mehta SH, Ritter KD, Laird GM, Bordi R, Sekaly R, Siliciano JD, Siliciano RF. Non-structured treatment interruptions are associated with higher HIV reservoir size measured by intact proviral DNA assay in people who inject drugs. J Infect Dis. 2020 Oct 10:jiaa634. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiaa634. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33037877
Sun J†, Althoff KN, Jing Y, Horberg MA, Buchacz K, Gill MJ, Justice AC, Rabkin CS, Goedert JJ, Sigel K, Cachay E, Park L, Lim JK, Kim HN, Lo Re V 3rd, Moore R, Sterling T, Peters MG, Achenbach CJ, Silverberg M, Thorne JE, Mayor AM, Crane HM, Kitahata MM, Klein M, Kirk GD; North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design of IeDEA. Trends in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Incidence and Risk Among Persons With HIV in the US and Canada, 1996-2015. JAMA Network Open. 2021 Feb 1;4(2):e2037512. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.37512. PMID: 33595662 PMCID: PMC7890526
Nsibirwa SK†, Aizire J, Mugerwa JN†, Thomas DL, Ocama P, Kirk GD. The impact of HIV infection on clinical presentation and mortality among persons with hepatocellular carcinoma in Kampala, Uganda. BMC Infect Dis. 2023 Apr 6;23(1):216. doi: 10.1186/s12879-023-08164-5. PMID: 37024807; PMCID: PMC10080890.
Cepeda JA, Thomas DL, Astemborski J, Rudolph JE, Gicquelais R, Kirk GD, Mehta SH. Impact of Hepatitis C Treatment Uptake on Cirrhosis and Mortality in Persons Who Inject Drugs : A Longitudinal, Community-Based Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med. 2022 Aug;175(8):1083-1091. doi: 10.7326/M21-3846. Epub 2022 Jul 12. PMID: 35816712.
Sun J, Zheng Q, Madhira V, Olex AL, Anzalone AJ, Vinson A, Singh JA, French E, Abraham AG, Mathew J, Safdar N, Agarwal G, Fitzgerald KC, Singh N, Topaloglu U, Chute CG, Mannon RB, Kirk GD*, Patel RC*; National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) Consortium. Association Between Immune Dysfunction and COVID-19 Breakthrough Infection After SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in the US. JAMA Intern Med. 2022 Feb 1;182(2):153-162. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.7024. PMID: 34962505; PMCID: PMC8715386.