Dr. Tamara Taggart is an Assistant Professor of Prevention and Community Health at George Washington University, Faculty Affiliate Investigator at Whitman-Walker Institute, Inc, and Associate Director of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Core in the District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research (DC CFAR).

She conducts socioepidemiologic studies to examine the social-structural (e.g., structural racism, intersectional stigma, and neighborhoods) and cultural identity factors that influence health behaviors, and then uses CBPR approaches to develop and implement interventions to improve HIV-related outcomes and reduce substance use/abuse among racial/ethnic minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged adolescents and emerging adults. Her current work focuses on three areas: (1) Applying a community engaged framework to examine systems level factors associated with HIV prevention and treatment; (2) Utilizing activity space assessments and biopsychosocial models of stress to examine the mechanisms connecting discriminatory neighborhood environments and HIV-related behaviors; and (3) Investigating the role of religion, spirituality, and religious institutions on HIV syndemics. Integrating techniques, theories, and concepts from epidemiology, psychology, and sociology, the ultimate goal of Dr. Taggart’s program of research is to reduce health disparities and improve the health of adolescents and adults.