Amadou Barrow, a third-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions, has been awarded a competitive Research Abroad for Doctoral Students grant from the UF International Center.
The $5,000 award will support Barrow’s research project, “Impact of Lower Perceived Social Support and Psychosocial Distress on Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence among People Living with HIV in The Gambia,” during the summer of 2025. Under the mentorship of Yan Wang, Ph.D., an associate professor of epidemiology, Barrow will employ a mixed-methods approach to examine the influence of social support and psychological distress on HIV care outcomes.
The study will involve collaborations with the University of The Gambia, National AIDS Control Program and National AIDS Secretariat, with a focus on health care facilities in the Kanifing Municipality and West Coast Region, which represent approximately 60% of the country’s HIV population.
Barrow’s experiences as a student researcher with Wang’s Digital Epidemiology Lab and the Southern HIV and Alcohol Research Consortium, or SHARC, have prepared him to tackle critical issues in HIV care within resource-limited settings. He expects the findings from his research to inform evidence-based interventions aimed at improving antiretroviral therapy adherence and to strengthen UF’s international research collaborations with institutions in The Gambia.
“Amadou has consistently impressed me with his passion for global health research and his commitment to advancing the health of people living in his home country,” Wang said. “His receipt of the Research Abroad for Doctoral Students award is well-deserved. I am very proud of him and believe he will do an excellent job with his project there.”