Scholars@Duke
Emily M Cherenack

Emily M Cherenack

Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral Medicine & Neurosciences

Selected Publications

Douching Is Associated With Dysregulated Rectal Mucosal Immunity in Sexual Minority Men.

Journal Article J Infect Dis · January 6, 2026 BACKGROUND: Receptive condomless anal sex (CAS) associates with elevated rectal inflammation and mucosal injury, increasing HIV acquisition risk. Although douching may amplify rectal inflammation and alter microbial communities, this has not been well char ... Full text Link to item Cite

Elevated expression of inflammation and wound healing pathways in recurrent BV 3988

Conference The Journal of Immunology · November 1, 2025 Abstract Description Metronidazole (MET) treatment for Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is effective for initial symptom resolution, bu ... Full text Cite

Psychosocial, Behavioral, and HIV-Related Health Among Men Living with HIV Who Have a History of Incarceration.

Journal Article AIDS Behav · October 14, 2025 Incarceration is intricately linked with the HIV epidemic, with incarcerated individuals exhibiting HIV prevalence rates three times higher than the general population. We used baseline data from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS)/Women's Interagency ... Full text Link to item Cite

Attitudes Towards Aging, Depression, Physical Functioning, and Pain Among Women Living with HIV of Reproductive Age.

Journal Article AIDS Behav · October 2025 Positive attitudes towards aging (ATA) are associated with better mental and physical health in the general population and with lower depressive symptoms among men living with HIV. Little is known about ATA among women of reproductive age living with HIV ( ... Full text Link to item Cite

Host-microbe interactions characterized by gene expression of cervical adhesion molecules, cytokines, and growth factors define the recurrence of bacterial vaginosis.

Journal Article Res Sq · September 23, 2025 Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common vaginal condition with a high recurrence rate after treatment. In this longitudinal multi-omics study, we integrated cervical microbial metatranscriptomics, host transcriptomics, cytokine profiles, and behavioral data t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Being in postmenopause may be associated with lower prevalence of COVID-19 symptoms among women over 45 years of age with and without HIV.

Journal Article Menopause · July 22, 2025 OBJECTIVE: Menopause is associated with COVID-19 severity among women without HIV (WWoH). Yet, little is known about menopause and COVID-19 among women with HIV (WWH). METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of survey data collected in 2020-2022 f ... Full text Link to item Cite

Latino Sexual Minority Men Living with HIV in South Florida have Varied Experiences of Intersectional Discrimination: A Mixed Methods Pilot Study.

Journal Article AIDS Behav · July 2025 Culturally tailored behavioral interventions are needed to improve HIV treatment outcomes among Latino gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority cisgender men (LSMM) living with HIV. From 2022 to 2023, this study collected cross-sectional survey data (n = 5 ... Full text Link to item Cite

Stimulant Use, HIV, and Plasma Metabolites Among Men.

Journal Article J Neuroimmune Pharmacol · June 19, 2025 Metabolomics can be used to identify biological targets to mitigate the negative impacts of HIV and stimulant use on neuroimmune and cardiometabolic functioning. However, studies are needed to characterize the plasma metabolome among sexual minority men (S ... Full text Link to item Cite

"Due to These Restrictions, Girls Think of Themselves as Nothing": A Qualitative and Quantitative Description of Menstrual Restrictions and Stigma Among Adolescent Girls Across Religious and Other Sociocultural Contexts.

Journal Article J Adolesc · June 2025 INTRODUCTION: Girls in Tanzania often experience menstrual restrictions (i.e., expectations about behaviors prohibited during menstruation) and menstrual stigma (i.e., negative attitudes toward people who menstruate). A better understanding of sociocultura ... Full text Link to item Cite

The vaginal microbiome and HIV transmission dynamics.

Journal Article Curr Opin HIV AIDS · September 1, 2024 PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Among women, having a nonoptimal, highly diverse vaginal microbiome dominated by bacteria other than optimal Lactobacillus species such as L. crispatus or L. jensenii predicts HIV transmission. Reducing HIV acquisition among women requir ... Full text Link to item Cite

A positive affect intervention alters leukocyte DNA methylation in sexual minority men with HIV who use methamphetamine.

Journal Article Brain Behav Immun · August 2024 OBJECTIVE: This epigenomics sub-study embedded within a randomized controlled trial examined whether an evidenced-based behavioral intervention model that decreased stimulant use altered leukocyte DNA methylation (DNAm). METHODS: Sexual minority men with H ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cancer Treatment Decision-Making for People Living With HIV: Physician-Reported Barriers, Facilitators, and Recommendations.

Journal Article J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr · December 15, 2023 BACKGROUND: Compared with the general cancer population, people living with HIV (PLWH) and cancer are less likely to receive treatment and have significantly elevated cancer-specific mortality for many common cancer types. Physician recommendations drive t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Motivational Enhancement Interventions to Increase Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Use in Sexual Minority Men Who Use Stimulants: Protocol for a Pilot Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial.

Journal Article JMIR Res Protoc · October 13, 2023 BACKGROUND: Although pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) could substantially mitigate HIV risk, sexual minority men who use stimulants commonly experience difficulties with engaging in PrEP clinical services. Motivational interviewing (MI) and contingency mana ... Full text Link to item Cite

Stimulant use, HIV, and immune dysregulation among sexual minority men.

Journal Article Drug Alcohol Depend · October 1, 2023 BACKGROUND: Sexual minority men (SMM) report high rates of stimulant use (e.g., crystal methamphetamine, cocaine) and HIV infection. Stimulant use contributes to immune dysfunction, which enhances risk for HIV acquisition and pathogenesis. Research is need ... Full text Link to item Cite

Examining associations of coping strategies with stress, alcohol, and substance use among college athletes: Implications for improving athlete coping

Journal Article Journal of Intercollegiate Sport · June 23, 2023 Mental health challenges and substance use are common among college athletes, yet few studies have been conducted to understand substance use as a coping strategy. The pressures of collegiate athletics-including commitments to training, travel, and competi ... Full text Cite

Randomized Controlled Trial of Motivational Enhancement Interventions to Increase Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Use in Sexual Minority Men Who Use Stimulants.

Journal Article Res Sq · April 20, 2023 BACKGROUND: Although pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) could substantially mitigate HIV risk, sexual minority men (SMM) who use stimulants commonly experience difficulties with engaging in PrEP clinical services. Motivational interviewing (MI) and contingenc ... Full text Link to item Cite

Assessing Intravaginal Practices in HIV Prevention Research: Development and Validation of an Intravaginal Practices Questionnaire.

Journal Article Arch Sex Behav · February 2023 Intravaginal practices (IVPs) refer to placing items (e.g., water, soap, commercial douches, fingers, rags) inside the vagina. IVPs have been shown to contribute to the development of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and may increase sexually transmitted infection ... Full text Link to item Cite

The relationship between substance use and physical activity among people living with HIV, chronic pain, and symptoms of depression: a cross-sectional analysis.

Journal Article AIDS Care · February 2023 ABSTRACTChronic pain, depression, and substance use are common among people living with HIV (PLWH). Physical activity can improve pain and mental health. Some substances such as cannabis may alleviate pain, which may allow PLWH to participate in more physi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Pilot Trial of a Critical Consciousness-Based Intervention for Black Young Gay and Bisexual Men Living with HIV: Mobilizing Our Voices for Empowerment (MOVE).

Journal Article J Racial Ethn Health Disparities · February 2023 HIV in the USA disproportionately affects Black young gay and bisexual men (Y-GBM). This article presents outcomes of a pilot randomized controlled trial comparing Mobilizing our Voices for Empowerment (MOVE), a culturally and developmentally tailored crit ... Full text Link to item Cite

PrEP awareness and use among reproductive age women in Miami, Florida.

Journal Article PLoS One · 2023 BACKGROUND: Miami, Florida is an epicenter of the HIV epidemic in the US, with 20% of new HIV infections occurring in women. Despite effectiveness of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in preventing HIV, only 10% of eligible women benefit from its use. SETTIN ... Full text Link to item Cite

Adolescent girls' descriptions of dysmenorrhea and barriers to dysmenorrhea management in Moshi, Tanzania: A qualitative study.

Journal Article PLOS Glob Public Health · 2023 Dysmenorrhea (menstrual pain) is common among adolescent girls globally, but many girls in Sub-Saharan Africa do not receive effective treatment. Qualitative interviews were used to describe adolescent girls' experiences of dysmenorrhea and identify socioc ... Full text Link to item Cite

Examining causal attributions for depression, alcohol use disorder, and schizophrenia in a diverse sample of international students at U.S. universities.

Journal Article J Am Coll Health · October 2022 ObjectivesInternational students face increased vulnerability for mental health challenges, but underutilize counseling compared to their domestic peers. We examined beliefs regarding the causes of mental illness, known as attributions, which may impact tr ... Full text Link to item Cite

Through the Looking-Glass: Psychoneuroimmunology and the Microbiome-Gut-Brain Axis in the Modern Antiretroviral Therapy Era.

Journal Article Psychosom Med · October 1, 2022 OBJECTIVE: Depression, substance use disorders, and other neuropsychiatric comorbidities are common in people with HIV (PWH), but the underlying mechanisms are not sufficiently understood. HIV-induced damage to the gastrointestinal tract potentiates residu ... Full text Link to item Cite

A Syndemic Approach to Explore Factors Associated with Bacterial Vaginosis.

Journal Article AIDS Behav · September 2022 Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common genital infection in women and is associated with an increased risk of sexually transmitted infections and HIV. This study uses a syndemic approach to evaluate factors associated with BV. Non-pregnant, HIV-negati ... Full text Link to item Cite

Daily Predictors of ART Adherence Among Young Men Living with HIV Who Have Sex with Men: A Longitudinal Daily Diary Study.

Journal Article AIDS Behav · June 2022 Improving adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is essential for limiting HIV disease progression among young sexual minority men living with HIV. Daily diaries allow for a detailed examination of how fluctuations in psychosocial factors are associated ... Full text Link to item Cite

Puberty- and Menstruation-Related Stressors Are Associated with Depression, Anxiety, and Reproductive Tract Infection Symptoms Among Adolescent Girls in Tanzania.

Journal Article Int J Behav Med · April 2022 BACKGROUND: Puberty and menstruation are significant stressors for adolescent girls and young women in low-resource settings in sub-Saharan Africa. However, little is known about the impact of these stressors on girls' mental health and reproductive health ... Full text Link to item Cite

Pharmacologic and Non-Pharmacologic Treatments for Chronic Pain Used by Patients with Pain, HIV, and Depression.

Journal Article AIDS Behav · March 2022 The objective of this study was to understand pain treatment utilization, perceived efficacy, and differences in utilization by gender, clinic site, chronicity of pain, pain severity, and depression severity among people living with HIV (PLWH), chronic pai ... Full text Link to item Cite

Abstract PO-045: Experiences of oncologists treating cancer patients living with HIV: Opportunities to improve care and reduce disparities

Conference Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention · January 1, 2022 AbstractIntroduction: Prior database studies have demonstrated that cancer patients with comorbid human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have higher cancer-specific mortality and are less likely to receive cance ... Full text Cite

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 is associated with menstrual irregularities among women of reproductive age.

Journal Article PLoS One · 2022 BACKGROUND: Biological and psychological mechanisms may be responsible for menstrual irregularities occurring among women during the COVID-19 pandemic. STUDY DESIGN: From January 2019 to September 2021, women (18- to 45-years-old and not using hormonal con ... Full text Link to item Cite

Stress, Anxiety, Binge Drinking, and Substance Use Among College Student-Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Journal Article Journal of Intercollegiate Sport · September 4, 2021 Student-athletes face considerable stress in balancing participation in sports with other responsibilities, which can contribute to unhealthy coping behaviors including alcohol and drug use. We administered online surveys to 188 college athletes to examine ... Full text Cite

Syndemics and preexposure prophylaxis are independently associated with rectal immune dysregulation in sexual minority men.

Journal Article AIDS · July 1, 2021 OBJECTIVE: Syndemic conditions have been linked to engagement in receptive condomless anal sex (CAS) and HIV seroconversion. However, little is known about the biological pathways whereby syndemics could amplify vulnerability to HIV and other sexually tran ... Full text Link to item Cite

HIV, cancer, and coping: The cumulative burden of a cancer diagnosis among people living with HIV.

Journal Article J Psychosoc Oncol · 2021 OBJECTIVES: People living with HIV (PLWH) have increased risk for cancer and worse cancer-specific survival. We explored the emotional burden of cancer and HIV as a potential driver of cancer mortality. RESEARCH APPROACH: Semi-structured qualitative interv ... Full text Link to item Cite

Depression and Sexual Trauma Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in HIV-Prevention Research in Tanzania.

Journal Article Matern Child Health J · May 2020 PURPOSE: Clinical trials are necessary to test HIV-prevention strategies among adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa. Psychosocial risk factors that increase girls' and young women's vulnerability for HIV may also impact their experiences ... Full text Link to item Cite

Sexual Risk Behaviors and Menstrual and Intravaginal Practices Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Tanzania: A Cross-Sectional, School-Based Study

Journal Article International Journal of Sexual Health · January 1, 2020 Objectives: Objectives were to describe menstrual and intravaginal practices and sexual risk behaviors among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Tanzania. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in secondary schools in Tanzania. Data on mens ... Full text Cite

Avoidant Coping Mediates the Relationship Between Self-Efficacy for HIV Disclosure and Depression Symptoms Among Men Who Have Sex with Men Newly Diagnosed with HIV.

Journal Article AIDS Behav · October 2018 HIV diagnosis presents a critical opportunity to reduce secondary transmission, improve engagement in care, and enhance overall well-being. To develop relevant interventions, research is needed on the psychosocial experiences of newly diagnosed individuals ... Full text Link to item Cite

Substance-associated elevations in monocyte activation among methamphetamine users with treated HIV infection.

Journal Article AIDS · March 27, 2018 OBJECTIVE: Microbial translocation and monocyte activation predict mortality in treated HIV. We examined whether substance use independently contributes to these pathophysiologic processes. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study at baseline for a randomized control ... Full text Link to item Cite

Improving AIDS Care After Trauma (ImpACT): Pilot Outcomes of a Coping intervention Among HIV-Infected Women with Sexual Trauma in South Africa.

Journal Article AIDS Behav · March 2018 UNLABELLED: Improving AIDS Care after Trauma (ImpACT), a coping intervention for HIV-infected women with sexual abuse histories, was evaluated for feasibility and potential efficacy in a public clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. Sixty-four participants wer ... Full text Link to item Cite

Selection and Evaluation of Media for Behavioral Health Interventions Employing Critical Media Analysis.

Journal Article Health Promot Pract · January 2018 Although a growing number of psychosocial health promotion interventions use the critical analysis of media to facilitate behavior change, no specific guidelines exist to assist researchers and practitioners in the selection and evaluation of culturally re ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Feasibility and Acceptability of Using Technology-Based Daily Diaries with HIV-Infected Young Men Who have Sex with Men: A Comparison of Internet and Voice Modalities.

Journal Article AIDS Behav · August 2016 This study delivered a daily diary to 67 HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) between 16 and 24 years old for 66 days to measure HIV-risk behaviors and other psychosocial variables via two diary modalities: internet (accessible via any web-enabled ... Full text Link to item Cite

Profiles of Resilience and Psychosocial Outcomes among Young Black Gay and Bisexual Men.

Journal Article Am J Community Psychol · March 2016 Young Black gay/bisexual men (YBGBM) are affected by contextual stressors-namely syndemic conditions and minority stress-that threaten their health and well-being. Resilience is a process through which YBGBM achieve positive psychosocial outcomes in the fa ... Full text Link to item Cite

Self-Efficacy for Sexual Risk Reduction and Partner HIV Status as Correlates of Sexual Risk Behavior Among HIV-Positive Adolescent Girls and Women.

Journal Article AIDS Patient Care STDS · June 2015 Little is known about the correlates of sexual risk behavior among HIV-positive adolescent girls and women in the United States. This study investigates two potential factors related to unprotected vaginal and anal intercourse (UVAI) that have yet to be th ... Full text Link to item Cite

Using syndemic theory to understand vulnerability to HIV infection among Black and Latino men in New York City.

Journal Article J Urban Health · October 2014 HIV is a public health crisis that disproportionately affects Black and Latino men. To understand this crisis, syndemic theory, which takes into account multiple interrelated epidemics, should be used. A syndemic is "two or more afflictions, interacting sy ... Full text Link to item Cite