Chris Whalen, MD MS

Chris Whalen is the Co-Director of the Clinical and Population Science (CPS) core of the TRAC.  He is the director of the Global Health Institute at UGA and a Professor in Global Health, Epidemiology and Biostats.

Dr. Whalen is a physician-scientist interested in reducing the suffering and mortality associated with infectious diseases, especially tuberculosis and HIV infection. He is committed to working in the regions of the world that are most afflicted by these diseases so his research and clinical activities focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, especially Uganda. His current research agenda is designed to improve methods for tuberculosis control and to improve clinical care for tuberculosis among HIV-infected persons. His research has evaluated the mechanisms of the HIV-tuberculosis coinfection, treatments of HIV-associated tuberculosis, and prevention of tuberculosis. His research portfolio includes household contacts studies, social network studies, large population-based cohort studies, and phase II and III randomized clinical trials, all conducted in Africa. he is an expert on study design and causal inference; he uses modern quantitative methods for analysis of complex and large datasets.

An equal part of his work involves building capacity for research, teaching and clinical care in Africa. Dr. Whalen is committed to training future leaders in science and public health in Africa and providing them the equipment, workforce, and infrastructure to be successful. Since 1992, he has been the PI on an AIDS Training and Research Program in Uganda that has trained over 100 graduate students, and many more in non-degree experiences, in diverse medical and public health disciplines.