Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Laura Beres, PhD ’19, MPH, uses implementation science and participatory approaches to optimize engagement in HIV prevention, care, and treatment services globally.
Research Interests
HIV care and treatment, HIV prevention, long-acting injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis, status neutral approaches, re-engagement in care, patient-centered care, mental health, implementation science, human-centered design, qualitative research, systematic review, narrative analysis, formative research, instrumental variable analysis, causality, participatory research, reproductive health and rights, sub-Saharan Africa, Zambia, Lesotho
Additional Links
Experiences & Accomplishments
I am a social, behavioral, and implementation scientist who utilizes mixed-methods research to develop and evaluate interventions to effectively prevent and treat HIV in low-resource settings. I have had the privilege to work in Lesotho since 2005 and Zambia since 2011, including currently as a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (https://www.cidrz.org/). I utilize and advance innovative methods to optimize health practices in real-world settings including leading rapid qualitative, formative, and human-centered design research that serves to facilitate meaningful participation of stakeholder groups, encouraging improved equity, patient-centeredness, and translation of evidence to action in public health across disease areas. I also engage questions of causality using quasi-experimental and other designs.
I see public health practice and policy as central to improved health outcomes. I served as an HIV & AIDS Advisor to the Lesotho National Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship (2007-2009), and a Task Force member for Lesotho National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan 2006-2011. I supported a process for multiple partners in 2013-2014 to draft the ‘Zambian Prisons Health Systems Strengthening Framework’, Zambian Prison Health Action Plan, to establish prison health committees, and to offer health capacity building for prison leadership. I co-authored the 2017 World Health Organization Consolidated guideline on sexual and reproductive health and rights of women living with HIV.
Honors & Awards
Advising, Mentoring and Teaching Recognition Award (AMTRA), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2021
R. Bradley Sack Family Scholarship, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2019
Procter & Gamble Fellowship, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2016
Delta Omega Honor Society, 2010
Robert W. Woodruff Merit Scholar, Emory Rollins School of Public Health, 2009-2011
Select Publications
Selected publications
Beres LK, Mwamba C, Bolton-Moore C, Kennedy CE, Simbeza S, Topp SM, Sikombe K, Mukamba N, Mody A, Schwartz SR, Geng E, Holmes CB, Sikazwe I, Denison JA. Trajectories of re-engagement: factors and mechanisms enabling patient return to HIV care in Zambia. J Int AIDS Soc. 2023 Feb;26(2):e26067. doi: 10.1002/jia2.26067.
Beres LK, Mody A, Sikombe K, Hersch Nicholas L, Schwartz S, Eshun-Wilson I, Somwe P, Simbeza S, Pry J, Kaumba P, McGready J, Holmes CB, Bolton-Moore CB, Sikazwe I, Denison J, Geng EH. The effect of tracer contact on return to care among adult, ‘lost to follow-up’ patients living with HIV in Zambia: An instrumental variable analysis. J Int AIDS Soc. 2021 Dec;24(12):e25853. doi: 10.1002/jia2.25853.
Beres LK, Simbeza S, Holmes CB, Mwamba C, Mukamba N, Sharma A, Munamunungu V, Mwachande M, Sikombe K, Bolton-Moore C, Mody A, Koyuncu A, Christopoulous K, Jere L, Pry J, Ehrenkranz PD, Budden A, Geng E, Sikazwe I. Human Centered Design Lessons for Implementation Science: Improving the implementation of a patient-centered care intervention. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2019 Dec; 82 Suppl 3:S230-S243. doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000002216.
Mwamba C*, Beres LK*, Mukamba N, Jere L, Foloko M, Lumbo K, Sikombe K, Simbeza S, Mody A, Pry JM, Holmes CB, Sikazwe I, Moore CB, Christopoulos K, Sharma A, Geng EH. Provider perspectives on patient-centredness: participatory formative research and rapid analysis methods to inform the design and implementation of a facility-based HIV care improvement intervention in Zambia. J Int AIDS Soc. 2023 Jul;26 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):e26114. doi: 10.1002/jia2.26114. *these authors contributed equally
Beres LK, Schwartz S, Simbeza S, McGready J, Eshun-Wilson I, Mwamba C, Sikombe K, Topp SM, Somwe P, Mody A, Mukamba N, Ehrenkranz PD, Padian N, Pry J, Bolton Moore C, Holmes CB, Sikazwe I, Denison JA, Geng E. Patterns and Predictors of Incident Return to HIV Care Among Traced, Disengaged Patients in Zambia: Analysis of a prospective cohort. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2020 Nov 4; doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000002554.