Best of ACTHIV: Progress in HIV Prevention

Charlene Flash, MD, MPH is a national expert on the implementation of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, having developed one of the first comprehensive HIV prevention programs in the United States to prescribe HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to high-risk heterosexuals and men who have sex with men (MSM) in a real-world setting outside the context of a demonstration project or clinical trial. Currently the Assistant Medical Director of HIV Prevention Services for Harris Health System in Houston, TX, Dr. Flash is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Disease at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Flash provides primary care to a large panel of patients with HIV at Thomas Street Health Center, one of the oldest and largest free-standing HIV clinics in the United States, and serves on the HIV service as well as the General Infectious Disease Service at Ben Taub Hospital. Dr. Flash serves as a reviewer for the CDC’s clinical guidelines: Preexposure Prophylaxis for the Prevention of HIV Infection in the United States. Dr. Flash serves on the CDC Women and PrEP Working Group. Dr. Flash provides consultation for the Houston Department of Health and Human Services PrEP Implementation activities and to the Black AIDS Institute Learning Collaborative for PrEP implementation. Dr. Flash mentors infectious disease fellows, medical residents, medical students, public health students and social work students.