José A. Bauermeister, PhD, MPH

Dr. Bauermeister’s interdisciplinary research relies on mHealth strategies and biomedical technologies to optimize the health and well-being of racial/ethnic and sexual minority adolescents and young adults. He has pioneered the integration of community-based, action-oriented strategies and tailoring technologies to improve the reach and impact of mHealth applications for adolescents and young adults. Currently, Dr. Bauermeister is PI of several intervention projects seeking to improve health-seeking behaviors, sexual health, and well-being. 

Dr. Bauermeister’s scholarship is grounded in social justice and characterized by a commitment to addressing structural and interpersonal barriers that hinder the social and personal well-being of SGM communities. Alongside race, class and gender, sexuality structures how we relate and interact with one another, and can give way to social and health inequalities when some sexualities are privileged over others. Dr. Bauermeister has sought to examine how to leverage intragroup and intergroup relationships to promote innovative strategies that address the needs of vulnerable SGM communities.

NURS 824-301: Health Equity: Conceptual, Linguistic, Methodological, and Ethical Issues

Technology-Assisted Interventions

Dr. Bauermeister leads several technology-assisted multilevel interventions to reduce  the psychosocial vulnerabilities experienced by sexual and gender minority youth across the United States. He has pioneered the integration of youth-based participatory strategies during mHealth intervention development and testing, as well as the use of geospatial and behavioral tailoring techniques to improve the reach and impact of mHealth applications. Dr. Bauermeister currently is PI of several clinical trials, including a life skills program for adolescent sexual minority men, and a social support platform focused on addressing stigma for Black and Latinx sexual and gender minority adolescents and young adults.

Dr. Bauermeister is also a member of the NIH Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN). As part of the ATN, Dr. Bauermeister is testing the efficacy of a HIV/STI testing intervention that motivates SGM to know their status and matches them to the best HIV prevention sites in their community. Dr. Bauermeister is also co-investigator of several online intervention trials, including the development of an app that encouraged HPV vaccination among young gay and bisexual men, a social media delivered intervention to reduce alcohol use among adolescents, and a CDC-funded project focused on optimizing sexual health messaging for SGM. 

Community-engaged research

Dr. Bauermeister addresses health inequities by developing and testing sexual health promotion programs for vulnerable young sexual and gender minorities academic-community partnerships. He has pioneered the integration of community-based, action-oriented strategies such as mystery shopping to evaluate the quality of services offered through HIV/STI agencies across the United States, and the delivery of technical assistance and capacity building programs to address gaps in agencies’ service delivery. Using community engagement principles, he involves community members in decision-making on everything from the research questions to be asked to how to collect and analyze the data.

Innovations in Biomedical HIV Prevention

Dr. Bauermeister leads and contributes to large biomedical clinical trials focused on developing new biomedical HIV prevention technologies for use globally. With the FDA-approval of a daily oral pill as a strategy to avoid HIV infection, there has been an impetus in developing and testing additional HIV prevention technologies in the form of douches, vaginal rings, gels, inserts and injectables.  These technologies could serve as prevention alternatives to barrier methods (e.g., condoms) or systemic prophylaxis (e.g., daily oral-delivered Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) for men and women around the globe. Through his work, Dr. Bauermeister uses participatory methods to ensure that new biomedical HIV prevention solutions being developed are ultimately acceptable and fit within the lives of those most impacted by the epidemic. Currently, he serves as Protocol Chair for DESIRE (Developing and Evaluating Short-acting Innovations for Rectal Use; MTN 035), a 5-country protocol that systematically examines SGM youths’ preferred formulation modality (e.g., fast-dissolving insert, suppository, douche) for the future delivery of drugs to help prevent HIV/STI when engaging in receptive anal sex. He also serves as Protocol Chair of ATN DREAM: a novel Phase I safety clinical trial examining the acceptability, tolerability and safety profile of a PrEP douche among adolescent and young adult men.

At Penn Nursing, Dr. Bauermeister works alongside students, colleagues, and community partners to identify innovative strategies to inform sexual health promotion interventions as part of the Program for Sexuality, Technology and Action Research.  The program offers research opportunities to maximize translational science solutions towards addressing LGBT health disparities.

• Health Innovator Fellow, The Aspen Institute

• 2018 Penn Fellow, University of Pennsylvania

• Presidential Professor, University of Pennsylvania

• Past Chair, HIV/AIDS Section, American Public Health Association

• Excellence in Teaching Award, School of Public Health, University of Michigan

• Editorial Board Member - American Journal of Community Psychology, Journal of Community Psychology, AIDS & Behavior, Archives of Sexual Behavior, AIDS Education & Prevention, Annals of LGBTQ Public and Population Health, and Journal of Youth & Adolescence

• Joan Lynaugh Faculty Mentorship Award for Fostering Scholarly and Professional Development within the Faculty, Department of Family & Community Health, University of Pennsylvania

• Research Award for Distinguished Contribution to Nursing and Healthcare Scholarship, Department of Family & Community Health, University of Pennsylvania