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Edward Machtinger, MD, Program Director, describes why WHP is unique.
Edward Machtinger, M.D.
Edward Machtinger, M.D. is the director of the Women's HIV Program (WHP) at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Machtinger earned a medical degree at Harvard University and completed his residency in internal medicine at UCSF. He is concurrently an assistant clinical professor of medicine at UCSF, the director of the San Francisco Sexual Health and Empowerment Program (+SHE), and the co-director of the UCSF Fellowship Program in AIDS Care.
Dr. Machtinger first became interested in AIDS when he moved to New York for college in 1985 at the height of the early epidemic. He was stunned by the new and historic nature of the disease when a number of his friends died from AIDS. Dr. Machtinger then decided to get involved with the community by first becoming a "buddy" to someone dying of AIDS and then later as a crisis intervention worker. On his choice of profession, Dr. Machtinger said, "AIDS, for me, became a calling and was the singular reason why I chose a career in medicine and public health."
Dr. Machtinger's involvement and passion for working with HIV-positive women began seven years ago when Dr. Ruth Greenblatt recruited him to work at the WHP. As the women's HIV epidemic is focused on women of color, many of whom are also affected by poverty and other significant life challenges, the WHP gave Dr. Machtinger the opportunity to serve marginalized populations whose needs are often overlooked.
Medication adherence and health outcomes for minorities and women are the main focus of Dr. Machtinger's research. Additionally, he directs research in East Africa and lectures widely on the international HIV epidemic. Dr. Machtinger was also the senior investigator of a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that explained the cause of a highly morbid rash that afflicted HIV-positive adults and children in Uganda. - Watch my video