Meet The Authors/Researchers

Dr. Loretta Sweet Jemmott, Ph.D, RN, FAAN

Dr. Loretta Jemmott is one of the nation’s foremost researchers in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention among African American adolescents, having been involved with $74 million in federal funding devoted to this issue during the course of her career. Several of her curricula have been designated for national use by the Centers for Disease Control. Her reputation has achieved international proportions, having recently been invited to South Africa to help impact HIV/AIDS in Africa. Dr. Jemmott is a professor of nursing and chair of the Center for Health Disparities at the University of Pennsylvania.

For more than 15 years, Dr. John Jemmott and his colleagues have worked to identify theory-based, contextually appropriate strategies to reduce HIV/STD sexual risk behaviors. He has worked with African-American men and youth in Philadelphia and school-aged children in Africa. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Mental Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His research has been published in journals including the American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of Adolescent Health, Science and the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Antonia M. Villarruel, Ph.D, RN, FAAN

Dr. Villarruel is an Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Health Promotion at the University of Michigan. She received her PhD from Wayne State University and completed post-doctoral training at the University of Michigan. Dr. Villarruel has an extensive background in health promotion and health disparities research and practice. Her research focuses on the development and testing interventions to reduce HIV sexual risk among Mexican and Latino youth. Dr. Villarruel is also the Director of an NINR P20, which is a partnership with the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, designed to increase the capacity of minority nurse researchers.

Dr. Konstance McCaffree, Ph.D., CSE, is a certified sexuality educator and adjunct professor in the Center for Education Human Sexuality Program at Widener University in Chester, PA. As a classroom teacher in the public schools, Dr. McCaffree has taught human sexuality to both elementary and secondary students for over 35 years. Dr. McCaffree served on the Board of Directors of the Sexuality Information and Education of the U.S., is the President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS) and has served as President-Elect and Treasurer of the American Association of Sexuality Education, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT). She conducts workshops nationwide to help educators improve their skills in teaching sexuality education. She also conducts programs for parents, churches, and community organizations to enhance their knowledge and skills in dealing with the sexuality of children and teenagers. In recent years she has developed curricula and implemented training programs for educators and other health professionals in South Africa, Zambia, Nigeria and the Philippines. Dr. McCaffree has worked with various research groups to develop curricula to prevent HIV/AIDS, unplanned pregnancy, and other health and social issues among teenagers and adults.

Dr. Deborah Koniak-Griffin, RN, EdD, FAAN

Dr. Deborah Koniak-Griffin is Professor and Audrienne H. Moseley Endowed Chair in Women’s Health Research, and Director of the Center for Vulnerable Populations Research at the School of Nursing, University of California at Los Angeles, and a nurse-practitioner in women’s health. Her research, spanning more than 2 decades, is focused on understanding risk behaviors in adolescents, particularly pregnant and parenting teens, and designing interventions to promote their health. She has worked extensively with adolescents from Latino and African American backgrounds. Her numerous publications address issues in maternal-child health, adolescent pregnancy, and AIDS prevention. She has been the principal investigator on three large adolescent pregnancy studies funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research.Dr. Koniak-Griffin’s extensive speaking experience includes government and other invitational presentations, clinical and research papers, and visiting professorships.