New Member Introduction

[Guest guest]

Hello everybody,

I am indeed honored to be a part of this group of HIV/AIDS specialists,

activists, and leaders in the fight against this terrible epidemic. As

I haven't introduced myself yet for the past 1 month that I've been a

part of this list-serv, I thought I should do so now.

I have a Masters in Public Health (Epidemiology/Biostatistics) from the

Washington University in Washington, DC. I was born & raised

in the United States, but have travelled to India twice for AIDS

research and/or work (I have travelled to India 3 times before that for

other reasons). In 2001, I worked with the Humsafar Trust in Mumbai

India where I completed a study for my masters thesis on risk factors

for HIV/AIDS among Men having Sex with Men (MSM) in Mumbai, India, which

studied knowledge, attitudes & behavior of this population, and also

allowed me to calculate a crude prevalence rate of HIV seropositivity

among individuals visiting the VCT.

Earlier this year, in 2003, I completed a one-month research project

with Population Services International (PSI) in Mumbai. I have been

working with PSI, and international social marketing NGO for the past

year and a half in Washington, DC but I wanted to travel to 'the field'

to get a close-up picture.

I hope to return to India again soon, to complete more work in this

field with leading NGOs there. Though my background is in research,

analysis & documentation, I would really like to gain experience in

project design and implementation, specifically in creating effective

communication materials. I am inspired by those of you in this forum

that are so dedicated to the fight against HIV/AIDS in India, and hope

there is chance for me to collaborate with some of you in the future

through activism, research, project/outreach work, communications, etc.

In solidarity,

Sapna

Sapna Dilip Pandya, MPH

Senior Program Assistant

Population Services International

1120 19th Street NW, Suite 600

Washington, DC 20036

(202) 572-4620

E-mail:<spandya@...>