Faculty
Kathleen Morrow
Associate Professor (Research):
Psychiatry & Human Behavior
Phone: +1 401 793 8180
Kathleen_Morrow@Brown.EDU
Read Kathleen Morrow's full Faculty Research Profile.
Kathleen Morrow, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior and The Miriam Hospital. Her research focuses on behavioral HIV/STD prevention interventions, and the development of biomedical products and devices for HIV/STD prevention, including acceptability of and adherence to experimental vaginal (and rectal) microbicides. Her work, conducted both domestically and internationally, incorporates quantitative, as well as qualitative and mixed methodologies.
Biography
Dr. Morrow received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Western Michigan University. She completed an NIAAA Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the Centers for Alcohol & Addiction Studies at Brown University and is currently Associate Professor (Research) in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Staff Psychologist at The Miriam Hospital. Her primary research interests focus on the behavioral prevention of HIV and STD infection through the development of biomedical and behavioral prevention interventions, and the exploration of biophysical, behavioral, and social (contextual) factors impacting prevention behaviors.
Interests
Project LINK (R21/R33 MH80591; Morrow, Principal Investigator) is an NIH Microbicide Innovation (MIP) program award, a special award mechanism designed to accelerate and advance innovation in the development of anti-HIV microbicides. The project is designed to provide proof-of-concept that vaginal microbicide users can feel and discriminate variations in product formulations, and that these perceptions impact the user's willingness to use the product. The ultimate goal is to develop a framework for developing vaginal gels that meet specific preclinical criteria for acceptability dimensions, thus conserving resources (by removing unacceptable products from the pipeline early) and accelerating acceptable products through the development pipeline and increasing the likelihood of greater adherence during clinical trials.
Project MAPLE (U19 AI077289 (Buckheit, PI): Long Acting Acceptable Microbicides: Novel Delivery, Activity & Pharmacodynamics, Project 3) is one of three studies within the larger U19 mechanism. It's purpose is to explore the biophysical and biomechanical variables that impact product acceptability with respect to long-acting vaginal gels (LAGs) and intravaginal rings (IVRs). The goal is to develop acceptable LAGs and IVRs for use as anti-HIV microbicides.
AID.1233-14-07567(Coffey, PI)is a USAID-funded study exploring the "Feasibility and Acceptability of SILCS Diaphragm as a Microbicide Delivery System." The study Aim is to test the deployment characteristics, as well as feasibility and acceptability of, a delivery system combining a microbicide gel and the SILCS diaphragm to effectively deliver a vaginal gel formulated microbicide.
The Phoenix Project (R01 MH 064455; Morrow, Principal Investigator) was a NIMH-funded project with the primary goal of designing and evaluating measures of factors hypothesized to be related to vaginal microbicide acceptability. Several scales were identified and psychometrically validated. They include a "Willingness to Use Microbicides" scale, a "Relationship Quality " measure, a "Microbicide Confidence" Scale, a scale measuring the "Importance of Microbicide Characteristics," and a cognitive/behavioral Risk Index. Analyses support Dr. Morrow's conceptualization of microbicide acceptability as a multi-factorial construct highly impacted by person-, product-, and context-related factors.
Dr. Morrow served as the acceptability studies chair in both the HIV Prevention Network (HIVNET) and the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN). Across four Phase-1 clinical safety trials of candidate vaginal microbicides (HPTN 009, HPTN 020, HPTN 050, HPTN 049) she and her teams have confirmed the overall acceptability of gel-formulated microbicides, and have explored factors hypothesized to be related to microbicide acceptability. These include the relationship context, the need or desire for a microbicide that not only prevents or reduces the likelihood of HIV infection, but also provides protection from other STDs and pregnancy, the need or desire to use a microbicide "covertly," such that the partner is unaware of its use, and the product's impact on sexual pleasure.
As Principal Investigator of Project START, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded HIV/STD behavioral prevention intervention development and evaluation project designed for young men leaving the incarcerated setting, she and her colleagues successfully conducted formative qualitative and quantitative studies culminating in the development of two intervention strategies. Primary outcome data from a randomized trial showed that the enhanced intervention (which focused on both HIV/STD prevention and transitional needs as men re-entered their communities) resulted in greater proportions of safer sex behavior than the standard intervention (a single-session HIV/STD prevention session). The intervention has completed development as a CDC REP study and currently enjoyed its status as a CDC DEBI (Diffusion of Effective Behavioral INterventions) program.
Degrees
PHD, MA
Teaching
1997-1999 Research Supervisor, Pre-doctoral Internship. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Clinical Psychology Training Consortium.
1997-present Guest Lecturer: Department of Anthropology/Department of Community Health, Brown University. AIDS: An International Perspective (BC0168).
1998-present Lecturer: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Pre-doctoral Behavioral Medicine Track: HIV Prevention Interventions; Assessing HIV Risk.
1998-prn Faculty Mentor: Brown University Senior Honors Theses and Medical School students.
1998-prn Faculty Mentor and Clinical Supervisor, Postdoctoral Research and Clinical Fellows. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University; Department of Community Health, Brown University.
1999-2003 Guest Lecturer: Department of Psychology, Brown University. Behavioral Medicine (PY0130).
2002 Faculty Preceptor: Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University: Medical Interviewing (BI 371).
2002-present Faculty Mentor: NIH K-Award Recipients
2003-2005 Adjunct Assistant Professor: Department of Psychology, Providence College: Introduction to Psychology (PSY100); Health Psychology (PSY225).
2008-present Director, Qualitative Methods Seminar Series, Centers for Behavioral & Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
