Profiles

Lisa J Messersmith, PhD

Associate Professor, Global Health - Boston University School of Public Health

617-358-2296
ljmesser@bu.edu
Crosstown Center - 430
View Full Profile at BUMC

Biography

Lisa J. Messersmith has over 25 years of research, program and policy experience on gender, sexuality, HIV, and sexual and reproductive health and rights in Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia. Dr. Messersmith is the principal investigator (PI) on several studies, most recently on a National Institute of Mental Health-funded study to test the effectiveness of wireless technology and data-informed counseling to improve retention in HIV care and adherence to antiretroviral therapy in HIV positive pregnant and postpartum women in Uganda. Other current research includes: a randomized control trial to evaluate interventions to address intimate partner violence in Tanzania; two studies in Ghana that explore the behavioral, socio-economic and structural vulnerability to HIV of people who inject drugs and women who work in bars; a study on the HIV and reproductive health and social service needs of women living with HIV and the first national study to document the types and magnitude of discrimination experienced by people living with HIV in Vietnam. She was also the principal investigator and Director of the Vietnam AIDS Policy and Planning Project, which trained nearly 850 senior policy makers at national and provincial level to design, implement and evaluate rights-based and multi-sectoral responses to HIV. Dr. Messersmith worked in residence for over 13 years in Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Vietnam and has worked in a number of other countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Before joining BU SPH in 2007 she was as an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy and Research Fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. From 1998 to 2004 Dr. Messersmith served as the Sexuality and Reproductive Health Program Officer for the Ford Foundation's Office for Vietnam and Thailand. Prior to her departure in 2004, the Vietnam Ministry of Health awarded her the Medal for the People's Health. In 2003, Dr. Messersmith was a visiting fellow at the Francois Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health. She served as the Country Programme Advisor for UNAIDS in Bangladesh from 1996 to 1998. From 1994 to 1995 she was a Research Associate in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health and concurrently served as the Women and AIDS advisor for USAID in Washington, DC. Dr. Messersmith's career in international health and development began in Burkina Faso in 1985 where she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer. She has a PhD and MA in Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles, a Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Hamilton College.

Other Positions

  • Associate Professor, Anthropology - Boston University College of Arts and Sciences

Education

  • University of California, Los Angeles, PhD Field of Study: Anthropology
  • Johns Hopkins University, MPH Field of Study: Public Health
  • University of California, Los Angeles, MA Field of Study: Anthropology

Websites

Classes Taught

  • SPHGH795
  • SPHGH941
  • SPHPM828
  • SPHSB818

Publications

  • Published on 5/2/2024

    Messersmith L, Kolhe C, Ladha A, Das P, Rao SR, Mohammady M, Conant E, Bose R, Ramanathan N, Patel A, Hibberd PL. Providing optimal care in the neonatal care units in India: How Covid-19 exacerbated existing barriers. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2024; 4(5):e0000393. PMID: 38696540.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 12/5/2023

    Bosak J, Messersmith L, Bryer C, Drainoni M, Goodman D, Adams M, Barry T, Flanagan C, Flanagan V, Wolff K, Declercq E. "They just looked at me like I was human": The experiences of parenting women and providers with substance use disorder treatment. J Subst Use Addict Treat. 2024 Feb; 157:209240. PMID: 38061633.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/3/2023

    Bosak J, Drainoni ML, Bryer C, Goodman D, Messersmith L, Declercq E. 'It opened my eyes, my ears, and my heart': Codesigning a substance use disorder treatment programme. Health Expect. 2024 Feb; 27(1):e13908. PMID: 37920874.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 10/13/2023

    Adjei, Rose, Messersmith, Lisa, Beard, Jennifer, and Yaw Sarkodie. 2023 Report: National Harm Reduction Forum: Development of National Action Plan. 2023.
  • Published on 6/15/2022

    Sabin LL, Simmons E, Halim N, Hamer DH, Gifford AL, West RL, Larson A, Bonawitz R, Aroda P, Banigbe B, Holderman AJ, Murray L, DeSilva MB, Gasuza J, Mukasa B, Messersmith LJ. Real-time Feedback to Improve HIV Treatment Adherence in Pregnant and Postpartum Women in Uganda: A Randomized Controlled Trial. AIDS Behav. 2022 Dec; 26(12):3834-3847. PMID: 35704124.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 4/27/2022

    Messersmith LJ, Ladha A, Kolhe C, Patel A, Summers JS, Rao SR, Das P, Mohammady M, Conant E, Ramanathan N, Hibberd PL. Poor power quality is a major barrier to providing optimal care in special neonatal care units (SNCU) in Central India. Gates Open Res. 2022; 6:58. PMID: 37383544.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 12/10/2021

    Monica A. Onyango, Houda Chergui, Lora L. Sabin, Lisa J. Messersmith, Natalya Sarkisova, Jane Oyombra, Perez Akello, Daniel O. Kwaro, Juliana Otieno. School-level Barriers of Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence and Interventions to Overcome them Among Adolescents Living with HIV in Western Kenya: A Qualitative Study. The Open AIDS Journal. 2021; 15:93-107.

     Read At: Custom
  • Published on 6/10/2021

    Messersmith LJ, Adjei R, Beard J, Bazzi AR, Earlywine JJ, Darko E, Agyarko-Poku T, Asafo MK, Bempah SA, Adu-Sarkodie Y. High levels of used syringe use and unsafe sex among people who inject drugs in Kumasi, Ghana: an urgent call for a comprehensive harm reduction approach. Harm Reduct J. 2021 06 10; 18(1):62. PMID: 34112187.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 2/22/2021

    Kimmel AL, Messersmith LJ, Bazzi AR, Sullivan MM, Boudreau J, Drainoni ML. Implementation of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis for women of color: Perspectives from healthcare providers and staff from three clinical settings. J HIV AIDS Soc Serv. 2021; 19(4):299-319. PMID: 34456637.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/1/2020

    Sabin LL, Halim N, Hamer DH, Simmons EM, Jonnalagadda S, Larson Williams A, Chemusto H, Gifford AL, Bonawitz R, Aroda P, DeSilva M, Gasuza J, Mukasa B, Messersmith LJ. Retention in HIV Care Among HIV-Seropositive Pregnant and Postpartum Women in Uganda: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial. AIDS Behav. 2020 Nov; 24(11):3164-3175. PMID: 32314120.

     Read At: PubMed

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