Amanda D. Castel

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Bio

Amanda D. Castel is a tenured Professor in the Department of Epidemiology. She previously Co-Directed the Master of Science in Public Health Microbiology and Emerging Infectious Diseases (MSPHMEID). Dr. Castel's research focuses primarily on HIV and related infectious diseases. She teaches the Infectious Disease Epidemiology course and regularly mentors graduate students in public health.

Dr. Castel has worked internationally on HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in countries including Uganda, Senegal, Cote D'Ivoire, Kenya, Namibia and Lesotho as a Fulbright Fellow, a USAID Consultant and through a GWU Partnership with Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Dr. Castel's expertise in applied public health and surveillance stems from her training as a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer assigned to the Office of Epidemiology and Disease Control Programs at the Maryland Department of Health, and as a CDC Preventive Medicine resident at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. She also served as the Chief Epidemiologist for almost a decade on a Public Health Academic Partnership between the DC Department of Health HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, TB Administration and GWU.

In addition to her expertise in infectious diseases and outbreak investigations, Dr. Castel is a recognized expert in HIV surveillance, the HIV care continuum, and has contributed to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy 2020 updates, as well as served on NIH's AIDS Research Advisory Council.

Her research includes serving as the Principal Investigator of the DC Cohort Study, several technology-based interventions, and studies focused on the triangulation of clinical, self-reported and surveillance data to enhance our understanding of the HIV care continuum. She is also the lead of the DC CFAR Ending the HIV Epidemic Scientific Working Group.

Dr. Castel received her undergraduate degree from Brown University, her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, her Masters of Public Health (International Health) from Johns Hopkins University, completed her Pediatric Residency at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and EIS and Preventive Medicine Residency at the CDC. She is board certified in general pediatrics, preventive medicine and public health, and a certified HIV provider. She is a volunteer physician at Children’s National Medical Center Special Immunology Clinic and the DC Department of Health Health and Wellness Center.

Expertise

Expertise:

Children's Health

Epidemiology

Global Health

HIV/AIDS

Infectious Disease

Program Evaluation

Health Outcome Surveillance

Population Health

Education:

Bachelor of Arts (Biology), Brown University, 1995

Master of Public Health (International Health), Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, 2000

Doctor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 2000

General Pediatrics Residency, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2000-2003

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemic Intelligence Service, Maryland Department of Health, 2003-2005

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Preventive Medicine Residency, National Centers for Health Statistics, 2005-2006

Teaching:

Currently

PubH 6245 - Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Previously

PubH 6270 - HIV/AIDS Surveillance
PubH 6014 - Practicum in Epidemiology and Biostatistics
PubH 6015 - Culminating Experience in Epidemiology and Biostatistics
PubH 6216 - Field/Laboratory Experience Requirement for the Masters of Science Degree in Public Health Microbiology and Emerging Infectious Diseases (MSPHMEID)
PubH 6253 - Issues in HIV Care and Treatment

Community Service:

Board-certified in general pediatrics, Dr. Castel spent a year as a volunteer attending physician at the outpatient pediatric clinic at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. She was also chair and co-founder of the Multicultural Physician's Association and co-director of the International Health Interest Group, both at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where she completed her pediatric residency.

Dr. Castel currently volunteers as a physician at Children's National Medical Center in the Special Immunology Clinic of the Infectious Disease Department and atthe DC Department of Health Health and Wellness Center. Dr. Castel served as Co-Chair of the HIV/AIDS Subcommittee for the District of Columbia Department of Health, Health Disparities Advisory Committee; the NIH NIAIDS AIDS Advisory Research Council; and currently on serves on the DSMB for the NIDA Clinical Trials Network.

Institutes and Centers:

Research

Research:

Publications

Publications:

For a complete list of publications: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/amanda.castel.1/bibliography/public/

Levy ME, Monroe AK, Horberg MA, Benator DA, Castel AD, on behalf of the DC Cohort Executive Committee. Is low-level viraemia associated with serum lipid profiles among HIV controllers? Letter to the Editor, HIV Medicine. Accepted for publication Mar 2020.

George JM, Kuriakose SS, Monroe A, Hou Q, Byrne M, Pau AK, Masur H, Hadigan C, Castel AD, Horberg MA, on behalf of the DC Cohort Executive Committee. Utilization of Direct Oral Anticoagulants in People with HIV: Observational Data from the DC Cohort. Accepted for publication in Clinical Infectious Diseases, Mar 2020.

Levy M, Ma Y, Magnus M, Younes N, Castel AD, on behalf of the DC Cohort Executive Committee. Cholesterol-Lowering Effect of Statin Therapy in a Clinical HIV Cohort: An Application of Double Propensity Score Adjustment, Accepted for publication in Annals of Epi, Feb 2020.

Jones J, Dominguez K, Stephenson R, Stekler J, Castel AD, Mena LA, Jenness SM, Siegler AJ, Sullivan P. A Theoretically Based Mobile App to Increase Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Uptake Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc 2020;9(2):e16231, DOI: 10.2196/16231

Gibson KM, Jair K, Castel AD, Bendall ML, Wilbourn B, Jordan JA, Crandall KA, Pérez-Losada M, and the DC Cohort Executive Committee. A cross-sectional study to characterize local HIV-1 dynamics in Washington, DC using next-generation sequencing. Sci Rep 10, 1989 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58410-y.

Sullivan P, Mouhanna F, Mera R, Pembleton E, Castel AD, Jaaggi C, Jones J, Kramer M. McGuinness P, McCallister S, Siegler A. Methods for county-level estimation of pre-exposure prophylaxis coverage and application to the US Ending the HIV Epidemic Jurisdictions. Annals of Epi, Jan 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2020.01.004

Opoku J, Doshi R, Castel AD, Sorenson I, Horberg MA, Allston A, Kharfen M, Greenberg AE on behalf of the DC Cohort Executive Committee. Comparing clinical outcomes of persons living with HIV by enrollment status in a large longitudinal HIV cohort study, Washington, DC. Accepted for publication in AIDS Care, Dec 2019.

Jones J, Dominguez K, Stephenson R, Stekler JD, Castel AD, Mena L, Jenness SM, Siegler AJ, Sullivan P. HealthMindr: A randomized controlled trial of a theoretically-based mobile app to increase preexposure prophylaxis uptake among men who have sex with men. Accepted for publication in JMIR Research Protocols, Dec. 2019.

Levy M, Griffith C, Ellenberger N, Monroe AK, Castel AD, Rakhmanina N. Outcomes of Integrase Inhibitor-Based Antiretroviral Therapy in a Clinical Cohort of Treatment-Experienced Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with HIV Infection. Accepted for publication in Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, Dec 2019.

Secco, A, Akselrod, A, Czeresnia J, Levy M, Byrne M, Monroe A, Lucar J, Horberg M, Castel AD, Doshi R, Rivasplata H, Squire L, Parenti D, Benator D. Sexually transmitted infections in persons living with HIV infection and estimated HIV transmission risk:Trends over time from the DC Cohort. Sex Transm Infect. 2020 Jan 6. pii: sextrans-2019-054216. doi: 10.1136/sextrans-2019-054216. [Epub ahead of print].

Monroe AK, Happ LP, Rayeed N, Ma Y, Jaurretche M, Terzian AS, Trac K, Horberg A, Greenberg AE, Castel AD. Clinic-level factors associated with time to antiretroviral
initiation and viral suppression in a large urban cohort, Clinical Infectious Diseases, ciz1098, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciz1098 .

Castel AD, Wilbourn B, Greenberg D, Trexler C, Howell TH, Ralte G, D'Angelo L. Feasibility and Acceptability of Digital Gaming to Improve HIV Testing among Adolescents and Young Adults at Risk for HIV. Games for Health Journal. Sept 2019. Published ahead of print: https://doi.org/10.1089/g4h.2018.0162

Levy M, Monroe AK, Horberg MA, Benator DA, Molock S, Doshi RK, Powers Happ L, Castel AD, on behalf of the DC Cohort Executive Committee. Pharmacologic Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders and Time with Unsuppressed HIV Viral Load in a Clinical HIV Cohort, JAIDS, July 24, 2019. In press. Published ahead of print.d oi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000002138.

Saafir-Callaway B, Castel AD, Lago L, Olejemeh C, Lum G, Frison L, Kharfen M. Longitudinal outcomes of HIV- infected persons re-engaged in care using a community-based re-engagement approach, AIDS Care, May 2019, DOI: 10.1080/09540121.2019.1619662

Jair K, McCann CD, Reed H, Castel AD, Perez-Losada M, Wilbourn B, Greenberg AE, Jordan JA, on behalf of the DC Cohort Executive Committee. Validation of publicly-available software used in analyzing NGS data for HIV-1 drug resistance mutations and transmission networks in a Washington, DC, Cohort. PLOS One. Jan 2019. 14, e0214820, 10.1371/journal.pone.0214820 [doi], PONE-D-19-00208 [pii]

Levy M, Greenberg A, Younes N, Magnus M, Castel AD, on behalf of the DC Cohort Executive Committee. Immunosuppression and HIV Viremia Associated with More Atherogenic Lipid Profile in Older People with HIV. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2018 Oct 24. doi: 10.1089/AID.2018.0145. [Epub ahead of print].

Castel AD, Qasmieh S, Greenberg D, Ellenberger N, Howell TH, Griffith C, Wilbourn B, Ganesan K, Hussein N, Ralte G, Rakhmanina N. Digital Gaming to Improve Adherence among Adolescents and Young Adults Living with HIV: Mixed-Methods Study to Test Feasibility and Acceptability. JMIR Serious Games. 2018 Oct 15;6(4):e10213. doi: 10.2196/10213.

Sullivan P, Jones J, Mouhanna F, Siegler A, McCallister S, Yeung H, Kramer M, Giler RM, Pembleton E, Castel AD, Guest J. Trends in use of emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV infections, United States, 2012-2016. Annals of Epidemiology, 2018 Jun 22. pii: S1047-2797(18)30106-6. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2018.06.009. [Epub ahead of print].

Siegler A, Yeung H, Weiss K, Mouhanna F, Kramer M, Giler RM, Guest J, Castel AD, Pembleton E, McCallister S, Jones J, Sullivan P. The prevalence of PrEP use and the PrEP-to-need ratio in the second quarter of 2017, United States. Annals of Epidemiology (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2018.06.005.

Bauermeister J, Sullivan PS, Gravens L, Wolfe J, Countryman K, Smith- Bankhead N, Drab RA, Sallabank G, Helms JD, Khatibi K, Filipowicz R, Horvath KJ, Bonar E, Castel AD, Hightow-Weidman L, Guest J, Stephenson R. Reducing HIV Vulnerability through a Multilevel Life Skills Intervention for Adolescent Men: The iREACH project. JMIR Res Protoc. 2018 Jul 10;7(7):e10174. doi: 10.2196/10174.

Terzian AS, Younes N, Greenberg AE, Opoku J, Hubbard J, Powers Happ L, Kumar P, Jones, R, Castel AD, on behalf of the DC Cohort Executive Committee. Identifying Spatial Variation Along the HIV Care Continuum: The Role of Distance to Care on Retention and Viral Suppression. AIDS and Behav, Mar 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-018-2103-8.

Deerin JF, Castel AD, Mikre M, Young AT, Kuo I. Using HIV surveillance data for targeted, community-based hepatitis C virus testing among baby boomers in Washington, DC. J Health Care Poor Underserved. Aug 2018;29(3):964-974. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2018.0072.

Castel AD, Opoku J, Happ LP, Kharfen M, Greenberg AE, Younes N on behalf of the DC Cohort Executive Committee. Defining Care Patterns and Outcomes among Persons Living with HIV in Washington, DC: Linkage of Clinical Cohort and Surveillance Data. JMIR Public Health Surveill, Mar 2018;4(1):e23. DOI: 10.2196/publichealth.9221.

Lucar J, Hart R, Rayeed N, Terzian A, Weintrob A, Siegel M, Parenti D, Squires L, Williams R, Castel AD, Benator D, for the DC Cohort Executive Committee. Sexually Transmitted Infections among HIV-Infected Individuals in the District of Columbia and Estimated HIV Transmission Risk: Data from the DC Cohort. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 2018 Jan 24;5(2): doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofy017.

Levy M, Greenberg A, Younes N, Magnus M, Castel AD, on behalf of the DC Cohort Executive Committee. Evaluation of Statin Eligibility, Coverage, and Outcomes Using ATP III, ACC/AHA, and NLA Dyslipidemia Treatment Guidelines in a Large Urban Cohort of HIV-Infected Outpatients. AIDS and Behav. 2018 Feb 32(2):58-69. doi: 10.1089/apc.2017.0304.

Aldous A, Castel AD, Parenti D, on behalf of the DC Cohort Executive Committee. “Prevalence and Trends in Transmitted and Acquired Antiretroviral Drug Resistance in Washington, DC, 1999-2014”. BMC Res Notes. 2017 Sep 11;10(1):474. doi: 10.1186/s13104-017-2764-9.

Castel AD, Greenberg AE, Young H, Kalmin MM, on behalf of the DC Cohort Executive Committee. “Use of National Standards to Monitor HIV Care and Treatment in a High Prevalence City ̶ Washington, DC”. PLOS One 2017 Oct, 5;12(10):e0186036. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186036.

Pérez-Losada M, Castel AD, Lewis B, Kassaye S, Kharfen M, Cartwright C, Huang B, Maxwell T, Greenberg A, Crandall KA, the DC Cohort Executive Committee. Characterization of HIV diversity, phylodynamics and drug resistance in a large HIV cohort in Washington, DC. PLOS One 2017 Sep 29;12(9):e0185644. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185644.

Levy M, Greenberg AE, Hart R, Hadigan C, Castel AD. High Burden of Metabolic Comorbidities in a Citywide Cohort of HIV Outpatients: Evolving Health Care Needs of People Aging with HIV in Washington, DC. HIV Med. 15 May 2017. doi: 10.1111/hiv.12516.

Castel AD, Kuo I, Mikre M, Young T, Haddix M, Das S, Maugham G, Reisen C. Feasibility of Using HIV Care-Continuum Outcomes to Identify Geographic Areas for Targeted HIV Testing. JAIDS. 2017 Feb (1);74 Suppl 2:S96-S103. doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000001238. PMID:28079719.

Rakhmanina NY, Lam KS, Hern J, Young HA, Walters A, Castel AD. Interruptions of Antiretroviral Therapy in Children and Adolescents with HIV Infection in Clinical Practice: A Retrospective Cohort Study in the USA.JIAS. 2016 Oct 27;19(1):20936. doi: 10.7448/IAS.19.1.20936. PMID: 27797320.

Castel AD, Greenberg AE, Young H, Kalmin MM, on behalf of the DC Cohort Executive Committee. Disparities in Viral Suppression among a Large Cohort of HIV-Infected Persons in Washington, DC. AIDS Care. 2016 Nov;28(11):1355-64. doi:10.1080/09540121.2016.1189496. Epub 2016 Jun 13. PMID: 27297952

Magnus M, Castel AD. Breaking Down the Siloes: Developing Effective Multidisciplinary HIV Research Teams”, invited paper for AIDS and Behav supplement on Securing the Future: Mentoring to Diversify the Biomedical HIV Research Workforce. AIDS Behav. 2016 Sep;20 Suppl 2:273-80. doi: 10.1007/s10461-016-1487-6. PMID:27435076.

Ocampo, JMF, Smart, JC, Allston, A, Bhattacharjee, R, Boggavarapu, S,Carter, S, Castel, AD, Collmann, J, Flynn, C, Hamp, A, Jordan, D, Kassaye, S, Kharfen, M, Lum, G, Pemmaraju, R, Rhodes, A, Stover, J, Young, MA. Developing a novel multi-organizational data-sharing method to improve HIV surveillance data for public health action in metropolitan Washington DC. JMIR Public Health Surveill 2016;2(1):e3DOI: 10.2196/publichealth.5317.

Greenberg AE, Hays H, Castel AD, Subramanian T, Powers-Happ L, Binkley J, Kalmin MM, Wood K, Hart RD, and the DC Cohort Executive Committee. Development of a Large Urban HIV/AIDS Longitudinal Cohort using a Web-based Platform to Merge Electronically and Manually Abstracted Data from Disparate Medical Record Systems: Technical Challenges, Innovative Solutions. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2015 Dec 31. pii: ocv176. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocv176. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 26721732.

Castel AD, Choi S, Dor A, Skillicorn J, Peterson J, Roach N, Kharfen M. Comparing Cost-Effectiveness of HIV Testing Strategies: Targeted and Routine Testing in Washington, DC. PLOS One. October 2015 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139605.

Castel AD, Feaster DJ, Tang W, Willis S, Jordan H, Villamizar K, Kharfen M, Kolber MA, Rodriguez A, Metsch L. Understanding HIV Care Provider Attitudes Regarding Intentions to Prescribe PrEP. JAIDS. Published ahead of print on Aug 2015; doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000000780.

Castel AD, Tang W, Peterson J, Mikre M, Parenti D, Elion R, Wood A, Kuo I, Willis S, Allen S, Kulie P, Ikwumesi I, Dassie K, Dunning J, Saafir-Calloway B, Greenberg AE. Sorting through the lost and found: Are patient perceptions of engagement in care consistent with standard continuum of care measures? J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. May 2015;69:S44–S55.

Castel AD, Magnus M. Geenberg AE. Update on the Epidemiology and Prevention of HIV/AIDS in the USA. Curr Epidemiol Rep. Apr 2015, DOI 10.1007/s40471-015-0042-8.

Castel AD, Magnus M, Greenberg AE. Pre-exposure Prophylaxis: The Past, Present and Future. Infect Dis Clin North Am: Updates in HIV/AIDS Part II. 2014: 28(4):563-583. doi: 10.1016/j.idc.2014.08.001. Epub 2014 Nov 20.

Castel AD, Young H, Akiwumi A, Vargas A, Rogers K, West T, Levine P. Trends in Cancer Diagnoses and Survival among Persons with AIDS in a High HIV Prevalence Urban Area. AIDS Care. 2015 Feb 25:1-10.

Hallmark CJ, Skillicorn J, Davila J, Giordano T, Davila JA, McNeese M, Rocha N, Smith A, Cooper S, Castel AD. Implementation of Routine HIV Testing in Two Urban Cities: The Houston and Washington, DC Experience. PLOS ONE. Oct 2014 9(10): e110010. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110010.

Castel AD, Greenberg AE, Befus M, Samala R, Rocha N, Griffin A, West T, Hader S. Temporal Association between the Expansion of HIV Testing and Improvements in Population-Based HIV/AIDS Clinical Outcomes, District of Columbia, 2005-2009. AIDS Care. 2014;26(6):785-9. DOI:10.1080/09540121.2013.855296.

Kuo I, Magnus M, Phillips II, G, Castel AD, Opoku J, Peterson J, Jia Y, West T, Greenberg A. HIV Testing Among Heterosexuals at Elevated Risk for HIV in the District of Columbia: Has Anything Changed Over Time? AIDS and Behav. 2014 Apr;18 Suppl 3:333-9. DOI 10.1007/s10461-013-0616-8. PMID 24057933.

Willis S, Castel AD, Ahmed T, Olejemeh C, Frison L, Kharfen M. Linkage, Engagement, and Viral Suppression Rates among HIV-Infected Persons Receiving Care at Medical Case Management Programs in Washington, DC. J Acquir Immune Def Syndr. Nov 2013;64 Suppl 1: S33-41. PMID 23982662.

Rodriguez A, Castel AD, Parish C, Willis S, Cardenas G, Metsch L. HIV Medical Providers Perceptions of the Use of Antiretroviral Therapy as Non Occupational Post Exposure Prophylaxis in two Major Metropolitan Areas. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. Nov 2013;26: Suppl 1:S68-79. PMID 24126450.

Rakhmanina N, Messenger N, Phillips F, Sill A, Ganesan K, Johnson B, Sinkfield J, Teach S, Castel AD. Factors Affecting Acceptance of the Routine HIV Screening of Adolescents in Pediatric Emergency Departments. J Adolesc Health. 2014 Feb;54(2):176-82. Epub 2013 Sep 20.

Castel AD, Magnus M, Peterson J, Anand K, Hitchcock D, Kharfen M, Martin M, Rennie L, Sansone M, Jolaosho T, West-Ojo T, Hader S, Greenberg AE. Findings and Lessons Learned from the Implementation of a Seminal City-Wide Rapid HIV Testing Campaign, Washington, DC. Public Health Reports. Jul 2012; 127(4):422-31.

Castel AD, Befus M, Willis S, Griffin A, West T, Hader S, Greenberg AE. Use of the Community Viral Load as a Population-Based Biomarker of HIV Burden, Washington, DC. AIDS Jan 2012. 26:345-353.

Castel AD, Jolaosho T, Vangani R, Griffin A, Ehrmann T, Gurung DK, West-Ojo T, Hader S. Use of AIDS Drug Assistance Program Data to Increase the Completeness of HIV/AIDS Reporting. jHASE. 2011;3(1):2.

Rakhmanina NY, Sill A, Baghdassarian A, Bruce K, Williams K, Castel AD, Rakusan T, Singh N, Spiegel HM. Epidemiology of new cases of HIV-1 infection in children referred to the metropolitan pediatric hospital in Washington, DC. Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 2008; 27(9):837-9.

Castel AD, Reed G, Davenport MG, Harris LH, Blythe D. College and University Compliance with a Required Meningococcal Vaccination Law. JACH. 2007;56 (2):119-127.

Patel P, Larson AK, Castel A, Ganova-Raeva LM, Myers RA, Roup, BJ et al. Hepatitis C Virus Infections From a Contaminated Radiopharmaceutical Used in Myocardial Perfusion Studies. JAMA. 2006;296:2005-2011.

Castel A, Edwards L, Totaro J, Anthony B, Moore, MA, Blythe D. Outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis Infection Associated with Crabcakes from a Church Fundraiser — Maryland, 2003. Food Protection Trends. 2005; 25(9):701-705.

Blackless, M, Charuvastra A, Derryck A, Fausto-Sterling A, Lozanne K, Lee E. How sexually dimorphic are we? Review and Synthesis. American Journal of Human Biology. 2000;12:151-166.

Derryck A, LaRussa P, Steinberg S, Capasso M, Pitt J, Gershon A. Varicella and zoster in children with human immunodeficiency virus infection. Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. October 1998;17(10):931-933.

Web 2019 Update - CSS

Amanda D.

Castel, MD, MPH

Professor

Amanda D. Castel

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