Dr. Conserve, who started in PCH on October 1, 2020, previously served as an Assistant Professor of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior at the University of South Carolina. His research focuses on implementing and disseminating evidence-based interventions for scale-up and population impact. As part of his K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institutes of Health, he has contributed to national efforts to implement and scale up community-based HIV self-testing (HIVST) distribution to men in Tanzania. Building on his experience in Tanzania, he has expanded his research on HIVST to Haiti and other Sub-Saharan African countries with collaborators from the Self-Testing AfRica (STAR) Initiative, the world’s largest HIVST implementation science project to date.
He is currently leveraging his HIVST research to inform the emerging COVID-19 self-testing field. In recognition of the impact of his work, Dr. Conserve recently received the Pennsylvania State University College of Health and Human Development 2020 Emerging Professional award, given to graduates who in the first ten years of their career have demonstrated professional excellence and exemplary voluntary community involvement in the health and human development professions. PCH Chair Deanna Kerrigan notes, “We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Conserve to PCH. His expertise in implementation and dissemination science will strengthen the department’s capacity to rapidly tailor and bring to scale effective social and behavioral interventions to areas and populations with urgent need.”