Capacity development in HIV and MEntal health Research in Asia (CHIMERA)

CHIMERA is a five-year (20192024) HIV, mental health, and implementation science research training program funded by the Fogarty International Center and the National Institute of Mental Health of the US NIH. CHIMERA aims to address the critical need to build capacity among Asia-Pacific clinicians and researchers to study the intersection between HIV and mental health.

Chimera Group Photo
CHIMERA Fellows Class 1 (left to right): Wipaporn Natalie Songtaweesin (Thailand), Rena Janamnuaysook (Thailand), Pui Li Wong (Malaysia), Meng Li Chong (Malaysia), Maureen Dungca (Philippines), Nguav Bora (Cambodia), Timothy Dizon (Philippines), and Meng Somanythd Chhay (Cambodia).

Program Fellows

CAMBODIA

Ngauv Bora

Dr. Bora Ngauv (Class 1)

Dr. Bora Ngauv is currently the Deputy Director of National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STD (NCHADS) of the Ministry of Health of Cambodia, where he has worked since 2004. He graduated in 1988 with a medical degree from the University of Health Science, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He later received a Master of Public Health focusing on Disease Control (Option Reproductive Health) in 2010 from the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium. He received a certificate from the Global Intensive Professional Program in HIV-Public Health Stream from the University of Sydney in 2014.

Somanythd Chhaymeng  (Class 1)

Dr. Somanythd Chhay Meng  (Class 1)

Dr. Somanythd Chhay Meng received his medical degree from the University of Health Science, Cambodia. He obtained his master’s degree in Public Health from the National Institute of Public Health, Cambodia. He is an expert in adult and pediatric HIV care and management, and spent 11 years in the Social Health Clinic of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STIs (NCHADS) and the National Pediatric Hospital, as well as being an investigator in clinical trial research, including with the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre. He is a member of the Technical Working Group at NCHADS and trains clinicians on opportunistic infections.

Dr. Ouk Vichea (Class 2)

Dr. Ouk Vichea (Class 2)

Dr. Ouk Vichea is the Director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STD (NCHADS) of the Ministry of Health. He is the Project Director of HIV Program Component of the Global Fund. He has worked in the field of HIV/AIDS for more than 18 years, during which he has been actively engaged in formulating HIV strategies and policies, monitoring and joint in HIV studies. He graduated with a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of New South Wales, Australia. His main interests are exploring more about HIV, mental health, and STIs and applying the findings to operational research.

MALAYSIA

Dr. Meng Li Chong (Class 1)

Meng Li Chong (Class 1)

Meng Li Chong is a counselling psychologist in the Infectious Disease Unit of the University of Malaya Medical Center (UMMC), Malaysia, with a strong interest in HIV and mental health counselling. She believes that her dual role as a counselor & a researcher will provide valuable insights in developing holistic service delivery models for her patients. It is a privilege for her to walk with her clients through their journeys and make a positive and, hopefully, lasting impact.

Pui Li Wong (Class 1)

Dr. Pui Li Wong (Class 1)

Dr. Pui Li Wong is currently an Infectious Diseases physician at the University of Malaya Medical Centre in Malaysia. Her interests are in improving the care and experiences of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the clinical setting as they grow older and live longer. Her research areas include implementation research in screening and management of patients with HIV-associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND), and HIV and aging and stigma research to reduce the stigma experienced by PLHIV and key populations in the healthcare setting.

Dr. Kejal Hasmukharay (Class 2)

Dr. Kejal Hasmukharay (Class 2)

Dr. Kejal Hasmukharay is a geriatrician at the University Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia. Her special interests include understanding cognitive frailty and integrating cognitive rehabilitation as an early intervention as well as immuno-senescence. In addition, she seeks to understand how to incorporate and utilize technology and gamification to optimize care for the people living with HIV (PLHIV). Her current research is focused on identifying the facilitators and barriers to integration of a multi-disciplinary cognitive rehabilitation program to routine HIV clinic. Her future goal is to establish a first-ever REACH clinic (Rise to Empower and Act on Cognitive Health) to integrate a multi-domain cognitive rehabilitation into routine HIV care. Using the multi-domain aims to study early identification of cognitive impairment in people living with HIV and formulate cognitive rehabilitation interventions to prevent further deterioration.

Dr. Anjanna Kukreja (Class 2)

Dr. Anjanna Kukreja (Class 2)

Dr. Anjanna Kukreja is an Infectious Diseases Physician at the University Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia. She is trained in internal medicine, general infectious diseases, and antimicrobial stewardship, and is most passionate about HIV medicine, particularly as it relates to women living with HIV. Her current research is focused on implementing a cervical cancer screening and prevention program into routine HIV clinic care, with an ultimate goal of implementation across HIV treatment services nationwide. Apart from her duties as a clinician, she is also actively involved with medical education and research, as well as community-based HIV outreach programs to underserved communities.

PHILIPPINES

Anna Maureen B. Dungca-Lorilla (Class 1)

Dr. Anna Maureen B. Dungca-Lorilla (Class 1)

Dr. Anna Maureen Dungca-Lorilla is a medical doctor practicing as a primary HIV care physician at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Philippines. She completed her Doctor of Medicine at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and is currently taking her master’s in Public Management Major in Health Systems Development at the Development Academy of the Philippines. She is currently part of Research studies related to mental health, HIV, and TB prevention. Her main research interest is how to integrate mental health services in primary HIV clinics.

mothy John R. Dizon (Class 1)

Dr. Timothy John R. Dizon (Class 1)

Dr. Tim Dizon is a medical doctor with special interests in clinical, molecular and health policy research. He is a graduate of the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health, which conferred on him the degrees of Doctor of Medicine and Master of Business Administration. Since passing the Medical Boards, he has been involved in various research projects with topics ranging from genetics to health policy. Currently working for the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, he is frequently involved in the creation of research protocols and management of ongoing projects.

Aripa G. Alonto (Class 2)

Aripa G. Alonto (Class 2)

Aripa G. Alonto is a Social Worker in the Medical Social Work Department at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Manila, Philippines. She is a graduate of the Mindanao State University – Marawi City. She previously worked as a Child Welfare and Community Worker in public and private agencies. She strongly believes that education is one of the most important ways to advocate for change. She seeks to advance understanding of research, policy development, family therapy, human behavior, and advocacy programs and services, and their impact on HIV and mental health.

Karmia Pakingan

Karmia Pakingan (Class 2)

Karmia Pakingan is a faculty member at the Psychology Department of De La Salle University, Philippines, and is a practicing clinical psychologist. She has previously worked on the mental health management of children, adolescents and young adults experiencing mood problems, anxiety, and behavioral issues. She obtained her Master of Science in Psychology at De La Salle University and is currently completing her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the same university. She is working on her dissertation on the experiences of PLHIV with undetectable status. Her CHIMERA project is on the feasibility and acceptability of using an interpersonal counseling application in HIV settings in the Philippines. She is also interested in doing research on mental health and environmental psychology.

THAILAND

Rena-Janamnuaysook

Rena Janamnuaysook (Class 1)

Rena Janamnuaysook is Program Manager at the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation (IHRI), Bangkok, Thailand, where she established the Tangerine Clinic as the first transgender-led health clinic in the region. She manages and provides technical guidance for the development and implementation of HIV research and programs for key populations in Thailand and in Asia. She has a keen interest in integration of people-centered care, including mental health, into the key population-led health service (KPLHS) model which plays the significant role in the national HIV response in Thailand.

Wipaporn Natalie Songtaweesin (Class 1)

Dr. Wipaporn Natalie Songtaweesin (Class 1)

Dr. Natalie Songtaweesin is a pediatrician and clinical researcher at the Center of Excellence in Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Vaccines at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Her main research interest is in HIV prevention in adolescent males who have sex with males, and transgender women in Thailand. She also cares for newly diagnosed adolescents and adolescents with perinatally acquired HIV. Due to the large interplay between mental health and HIV prevention in adolescents, she has developed an interest in conducting studies that address this aspect of providing care and improving overall service delivery to this key population in Thailand.

Linda Aurpibul

Dr. Linda Aurpibul (Class 2)

Dr. Linda Aurpibul is a pediatrician and clinical researcher at the Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, in northern Thailand. Her research activities involve clinical trials on prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, and HIV treatment in children and adolescents under the IMPAACT network and other funding agencies. She also is interested in the interplay between psychosocial factors, resilience, mental health, and quality of life outcomes among people living with HIV in communities across the lifespan. As Thailand works towards ending AIDS, she sees the need for stronger multidisciplinary services, either delivered through “one–stop clinics” or efficient linkages between HIV care and other health services.

Dr. Akarin Hiransuthikul (Class 2)

Dr. Akarin Hiransuthikul (Class 2)

Dr. Akarin Hiransuthikul is a neurologist at the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University. He received his master’s degree in epidemiology and biostatistics from the same institute. His research focuses on neuroepidemiology and clinical neurology, particularly neuroHIV. He has also been working extensively in the epidemiologic and clinical aspects of sexually transmitted infections and gender-affirming care among men who have sex with men and transgender populations.

Dr. Pongkwan Yimsaard (Class 2)

Dr. Pongkwan Yimsaard (Class 2)

Dr. Pongkwan Yimsaard is a psychiatrist at the Department of Psychiatry, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. She is interested in mental health and substance use disorder research. Since there are significant relationships between substance use disorders and HIV, she has developed an interest in conducting research that addresses substance use problems in high-risk key populations. Her current research will assess the acceptability of implementing a Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for alcohol use among transgender women in Bangkok, Thailand.

Program Mentors

MALAYSIA

Dr. Reena Rajasuriar

Dr. Reena Rajasuriar

Dr. Reena Rajasuriar is an Associate Professor at the Department of Medicine, University of Malaya, and an adjunct Research Fellow at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne University, Australia. She is also a post-doctoral scientist for the Centre of Excellence for Research in HIV/AIDS (CERiA) at the University of Malaya. Dr. Rajasuriar coordinates the translational research program in HIV immunology at CERiA and heads the Immunotherapeutics Laboratory at the University of Malaya. Her current research focuses on the clinical aspects and immunopathogenesis of accelerated aging and modulators of immune activation in HIV.

PHILIPPINES

Dr. Rossana A. Ditangco

Dr. Rossana A. Ditangco

Dr. Rossana A. Ditangco is the head of the AIDS Research Group of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Department of Health, the Philippines. She is currently the principal investigator for the Philippines site of the TREAT Asia network and IeDEA Asia-Pacific. She also was the principal investigator of the first HIV incidence study among MSM and the Project PrePPY pilot study on PrEP among MSM in the Philippines. She develops and implements demonstration projects on models of care for HIV and viral hepatitis prevention, diagnosis and treatment for the National AIDS and STI Prevention and Control Program.

 Dr. Maria Isabel Echanis Melgar

Dr. Maria Isabel Echanis Melgar

Dr. Maria Isabel Melgar is a retired faculty member in Psychology at the Ateneo de Manila University and a consulting clinical psychologist at the Ateneo Bulatao Center for Psychological Services. She also serves as a research preceptor at the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health. In 2018, she co-wrote a book, “Beyond DSM 5: A Casebook in Abnormal Psychology and Mental Health,” which was nominated for the National Book Award. Dr. Melgar is a project mental health consultant at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in the Philippines. She was elected President of the AIDS Society of the Philippines in 2021.

THAILAND

Dr. Nittaya Phanuphak

Dr. Nittaya Phanuphak

Dr. Nittaya Phanuphak is the Executive Director of the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation (IHRI) in Bangkok, Thailand. She has a deep interest in Key Population-Led Health Services (KPLHS). KPLHS approaches empower lay providers who are members of KP communities to perform HIV/STI testing and dispense PrEP/PEP, antiretroviral treatment and STI treatment to their peers. She currently works towards the establishment of national accreditation and domestic financing systems for lay providers to ensure KPLHS sustainability. She also oversees the KP-led PrEP program, HPTN 083, and HIV self-testing and PrEP projects for adolescent and youth men who have sex with men and transgender women.