Dr. Nina Harawa is an Associate Professor with the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and an adjunct Associate Professor at UCLA. Trained in Epidemiology, her research involves understanding trends in HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and developing effective, culturally relevant prevention interventions. She has partnered with several local organizations to conducted innovative community-based research in a variety of populations – including high-risk African American men, sexually active African American and Latina women, older adults, and incarcerated and post-incarcerated men and women. In an effort to foster methodologically sound and effective approaches to addressing health disparities, Dr. Harawa has also written about conceptual issues in the categorization and analysis of racial and ethnic groups in health research. She regularly shares her knowledge and findings by presenting data to community, policy, and academic groups. In addition, she launched the Breaking the Silence events, a series of one-day conferences and trainings designed to educate and empower women of color and their providers in order to improve sexual health (www.breakingthesilenceevent.com). Dr. Harawa has received a number of awards for her community-based research and HIV education efforts, including an Unsung Hero Award from the NAACP in 2011.