Elwin Wu

Dr. Wu is an Associate Director of the Social Intervention Group and the Co-Director of the HIV Intervention Science Training Program for Racial/Ethnic Minority New Investigators. His practice experience includes direct clinical practice with individuals, couples, and groups with agencies serving primarily the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities; evaluation of violence prevention programs for perpetrators of intimate partner violence in same-sex relationships; and program development and evaluation for criminal justice-involved adolescents and adults.

Dr. Wu’s research primarily consists of prevention and intervention research that focuses on offenders—defined as those whose behaviors place others at risk for health and pyschosocial problems—residing at the nexus of drug abuse, partner violence, and HIV. Dr. Wu has also recently embarked upon empirical investigations into factors and experiences that affect the professional trajectory of up-and-coming racial/ethnic minority researchers interested in applied sociobehavioral science to address and redress health disparities.

Research Interests:

Dr. Wu’s program of research targets a combination of five foci:

  • Services research, which investigates the impact of structural and program characteristics as well as their interactions with client attributes in shaping the efficacy and utilization of services;
  • Systems science to investigate and dissect the dynamics of interacting units;
  • Prevention and intervention research to advance theoretical frameworks used to understand social issues and intervention programs with scientific evidence of efficacy and effectiveness;
  • Science of sociobehavioral research training to systematically identify the needs, challenges, and supportive mechanisms that advance the skills and success of new investigators; and
  • Methodological advances to address and overcome challenges inherent in sociobehavioral research that are not encountered in the natural sciences.

Dr. Wu’s research targets the following populations:

  • Offenders, defined as individuals whose behaviors jeopardize the well-being of others and/or society (as opposed to a definition that indicates criminal justice involvement);
  • Non-heteronormative individuals/sexual minorities, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals; and
  • Racial/ethnic minorities burdened with health disparities and social inequalities as well as those underrepresented in science and academia.

Current Grants & Projects:

  • Connect n’ Unite, HIV Prevention for African American, Methamphetamine-Involved Male Couples
  • Service Use, ATI Program Outcomes, and Pro-Social Change
  • Novel
  • HIV/STI Prevention for Drug-Involved Couples
  • HIV/STI Risk Reduction for African American Couples
  • Identifying Factors That Affect HIV Treatment Adherence Among IDUs in Shymkent, Kazakhstan
  • Couples-Based HIV/STI Prevention for Injecting Drug Users in Kazakhstan
  • HIV Intervention Science Training Program for Minority New Investigators
  • Combined Treatment of Alcohol Dependent Women with PTSD
  • Using Multimedia and the Internet to Disseminate a HIV/STI Prevention Intervention
  • Modeling the Impact of Group Membership Turnover in Ecologically-Valid Treatment

Select Publications & Presentations:

JOURNAL ARTICLES
Wu, E., El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Chang, M., & Sanders, G. (in press). Effects of receiving additional off-site services on abstinence from illicit drug use among men on methadone: A longitudinal study. Evaluation and Program Planning.

Wu, E., El-Bassel, N., McVinney, L. D., Fontaine, Y.-M., & Hess, L. (in press). Adaptations of a couple-based HIV Intervention for Methamphetamine-involved African American men who have sex with men. Open AIDS Journal.

Panchanadeswaran, S., El-Bassel N., Gilbert, L., Wu, E., & Chang, M. (2008). An examination of the perceived social support levels of women in methadone maintenance treatment who experience various forms of intimate partner violence. Women’s Health Issues,18(1), 35-43.

El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Wu, E., Chang, M., & Fontdevila, J. (2007). Perpetration of intimate partner violence among men in methadone treatment programs. American Journal of Public Health, 97(7), 1230-1232.

El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Wu, E., Chang, M., Gomes, C., Vinocur, D., & Spevack, T. (2007). Intimate partner violence prevalence and HIV risks among women receiving care in emergency departments: Implications for IPV and HIV screening. Emergency Medicine Journal, 24(4), 225-259.

Gilbert, L., El-Bassel, N., Wu, E., & Chang, M. (2007). Intimate partner violence and HIV risks: A longitudinal study of men on methadone. Journal of Urban Health, 84(5), 667-680.

Witte, S. S., El-Bassel, N. Gilbert, L., Wu, E., & Chang, M. (2007). Predictors of discordant reports of sexual and HIV/STI risk behaviors among heterosexual couples. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 34(5), 302-308.

Wu, E., El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., & Morse, P. (2006). Dyadic HIV status and psychological distress among women on methadone.Women’s Health Issues, 16(3), 113-121.

El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Wu, E., & Chang, M. (2006). A social network profile and HIV risk among men on methadone: Do social networks matter? Journal of Urban Health, 83(4), 602-613.

Gilbert, L., El-Bassel, N., Manuel, J., Wu, E., Go, H., Seewald, R., & Sanders, G. (2006 ). An integrated relapse prevention and relationship safety intervention. Violence and Victims, 21(5), 657-672.

Witte, S. S., El-Bassel, N. Gilbert, L., Wu, E., Chang, M., & Hill, J. (2006). Promoting female condom use to heterosexual couples: Findings from a randomized clinical trial. Perspective on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 38(3), 148-154.

Wu, E., El-Bassel, N., Witte, S. S., Gilbert, L., Chang, M., & Morse, P. (2005). Enrollment of African American and Latino couples in an HIV/STI prevention trial. AIDS Education and Prevention, 17(1), 41-52.

El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Wu, E., Go, H., & Hill, J. (2005). Relationship between drug abuse and intimate partner violence: A longitudinal study among women receiving methadone. American Journal of Public Health, 95(3), 465-470.

El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Wu, E., Go, H., & Hill, J. (2005). HIV and intimate partner violence among women on methadone. Social Science and Medicine, 61(1), 171-183.

El-Bassel, N., Witte, S. S., Gilbert, L., Wu, E., Chang, M., Hill, J., & Steinglass, P. (2005). Long term effects of an HIV/STI sexual risk reduction intervention for heterosexual couples. AIDS and Behavior, 9(1), 1-13.

Bellamy, S. L. for the NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention Trial for African American Couples Study Group. (2005). A dynamic block-randomization algorithm for group-randomized clinical trials when the composition of blocking factors is not known in advance.Contemporary Clinical Trials, 26(4), 469-479.

Wu, E., El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Sanders, G., & Piff, J. (2004). Sociodemographic disparities in supplemental service utilization among male methadone patients. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 26(3), 197-202.

El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Frye, V., Wu, E., Go, H., Hill, J., & Richman, B. (2004). Physical and sexual intimate partner violence among women in methadone maintenance treatment. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 18(2), 180-183.

Sormanti, M., Wu, E., & El-Bassel, N. (2004). Considering HIV risk and intimate partner violence among older women of color: A descriptive analysis. Women and Health, 39(1), 45-63.

Witte, S. S., El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Wu, E., & Steinglass, P. (2004). Recruitment of minority women and their main sexual partners in an HIV/STI prevention trial. Journal of Women’s Health, 13(10), 1137-1147.

El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Golder, S., Wu, E., Chang, M., Fontdevila, J., & Sanders, G. (2004). Deconstructing the relationship between intimate partner violence and sexual HIV risk among drug-involved men and their female partners. AIDS and Behavior, 8(4), 429-439.

Wu, E., El-Bassel, N., Witte, S. S., Gilbert, L., & Chang, M. (2003). Intimate partner violence and HIV risk among urban, minority women in primary healthcare settings. AIDS and Behavior, 7(3), 291-301.

El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Witte, S. S., Wu, E., Gaeta, T., Schilling, R., & Wada, T. (2003). Intimate partner violence and substance abuse among minority women receiving care from an inner-city emergency department. Women’s Health Issues, 13(1), 16-22.

El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., & Wu, E. (2003). The intersecting public health problems of HIV and intimate partner violence among women on methadone: Implications for HIV prevention intervention. Strategies to Improve the Replicability, Sustainability, and Durability of HIV Prevention Interventions for Drug Users (pp. 81-86). Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

El-Bassel, N., Witte, S. S., Gilbert, L., Wu, E., Chang, M., Hill, J., & Steinglass, P. (2003). The efficacy of a relationship-based HIV/STD prevention program for heterosexual couples. American Journal of Public Health, 93(6), 963-969.

PRESENTATIONS

Wu, E., El-Bassel, N., McVinney, L. D., Mansergh, G., Charania, M., Fontaine, Y.-M., & Hess, L. (2009). A couples-based HIV risk reduction intervention for African American, methamphetamine-involved men in longer-term same-sex relationships. Presented at the National HIV Prevention Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Wu, E., Brisson, A., El-Bassel, N., Terlikbayeva, A., Gilbert, L. Nikitin, D., & Platais, I. The Global Health Research Center of Central Asia: US and Central Asia investigators collaborate to address drug addiction and HIV in Central Asia. Presented at the Society for Prevention Research, 16th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.