Kelika A. Konda, PhD

Clinical Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences (Part-Time)

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Overview

Dr. Kelika Konda is an Associate Professor at the University of Southern California. She has worked in Lima, Peru since 2004 focusing on HIV and STI prevention research with gay men and transgender women. Dr. Konda’s work specifically focuses on interventions to reduce HIV disease burden and improve sexual health among gender and sexual minorities, advancing understandings of HIV disease transmission, care, and prevention at the intersections of social and economic instability.
Dr. Konda’s interest in public health began when she was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic. After working there for two years she decided to get a Master’s degree in Social and Behavioral Interventions in the International Health department of Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in 2005. Dr. Konda received her PhD in Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in 2010. She then completed a post-doctoral Fellowship in Global Health at UCLA and went on to obtain an NIMH-funded K01 entitled that focused on HIV prevention strategies for gay couples in Peru.
Dr. Konda is an Associated Research at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia where she works with the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Sexuality, Society, and AIDS on a variety of clinical trials focused on behavioral and community strategies for HIV prevention among gender and sexual minorities. Dr. Konda has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles. She also serves on the HVTN and ACTG Social and Behavioral Working Groups, contributing to the networks’ clinical trials.

Education and Training

  • Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY — BA — 05/2000 — Environmental Science
  • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD — MHS — 05/2005 — International Health
  • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD — PhD — 05/2010 — Infectious Disease Epidemiology
  • School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA — post-DOC — 07/2013 — Global Health

Research Funding

  • Improving HIV and STI Prevention and Care for Venezuelan Sexual and Gender Minority Migrants in Lima, Peru
    NIH · R21MH133454 · Sep 21, 2023 – Sep 19, 2025 · Role: Co-Investigator
  • Acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary impact of a web-based, HIV prevention toolkit with cisgender male couples in Lima, Peru
    NIH · R34MH126776 · Jul 1, 2021 – Jun 30, 2024 · Role: Co-Investigator
  • Clinical Trial Comparing the Effectiveness of Cefixime Versus Penicillin G for Treatment of Early Syphilis
    NIH · R01AI155217 · Jul 13, 2020 – Jul 31, 2027 · Role: Co-Investigator
  • Syphilis Immunology and Biology to Improve Clinical Management and Vaccine Design
    NIH · R01AI139265 · Sep 1, 2018 – Oct 31, 2028 · Role: Co-Investigator
  • Assessing how relationships between MSM influence HIV prevention strategies
    NIH · K01MH098698 · Jul 1, 2013 – Jun 30, 2019 · Role: Principal Investigator
  • NIMH Collaborative HIV/STD Prevention Trial among young, low-income men in Peru
    NIH · F31MH084765 · Feb 6, 2009 – Feb 5, 2011 · Role: Principal Investigator

Publications

  • Maternal and congenital syphilis at a national referral center in Peru, 2023-2025. Int J STD AIDS. 2026 Sep 17; 9564624261487375.. View in PubMed
  • HIV and STI Co-infection and Migration-Related Social Vulnerability among Venezuelan Gay and Bisexual Migrants in Lima, Peru. Sex Transm Dis. 2026 Aug 28.. View in PubMed
  • An Exploratory Study of Host Plasma Proteomic Signatures that Distinguish Secondary and Early Latent Syphilis in Adults. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2026 Aug; 13(8):ofag498.. View in PubMed
  • HIV Self-testing and Coupons Distribution by Persons Using PrEP to Create Demand for Combination HIV Prevention Services Among Men Who Have Sex With Men and Transgender Women: A Randomized Clinical Trial in the Context of the ImPrEP Project. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2026 Aug 01; 101(8):881-889.. View in PubMed
  • Navigating sexual and reproductive health among Venezuelan women sex workers in Peru: Qualitative explorations of structural vulnerability and resistance. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2026; 6(7):e0006906.. View in PubMed
  • Preferences for mHealth Features to Support Engagement in the HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis Cascade Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Peru: Cross-Sectional Online Survey. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2026 Jul 14; 12:e84982.. View in PubMed
  • Using Tenofovir Diphosphate Levels to Evaluate Factors Associated With PrEP Non-Adherence and Performance of Indirect Adherence Measures in Latin America: A Prospective, Single-Arm, Open-Label, Multicentre Implementation Study (ImPrEP). J Int AIDS Soc. 2026 Jul; 29.. View in PubMed
  • Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenges and Opportunities for HIV Treatment and Prevention. J Int AIDS Soc. 2026 Jul; 29.. View in PubMed
  • Perceptions of acceptability and preferences surrounding a hypothetical syphilis vaccine in Lima, Peru. Int J STD AIDS. 2026 Aug; 37(9):1026-1034.. View in PubMed
  • High-throughput profiling of the IgG and IgA response to the Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum proteome in syphilis patients. mBio. 2026 07 08; 17(7):e0082026.. View in PubMed