Paul A. Burns, Ph.D., M.S.

Social and Behavioral Sciences Administrator (Program Official)
Division of Integrative Biological and Behavioral Sciences
paul.burns@nih.gov
301-451-4509

Dr. Paul Burns is a social and behavioral sciences administrator (program official) in NIMHD’s Division of Integrative Biological and Behavioral Sciences. He is a social and behavioral researcher focused on sexual and reproductive health disparities among racial and ethnic and sexual and gender minority populations. Dr. Burns's research seeks to understand the role of social and structural factors and their impact on sexual risk behavior that increase vulnerability to HIV/STIs among minoritized populations.

Prior to joining NIMHD, Dr. Burns was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow. Previously, he was a founding faculty member of the John D. Bower School of Population Health at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

As principal investigator and co-investigator, Dr. Burns has worked on a number of studies designed to reduce HIV-related health disparities among underserved, understudied, and marginalized populations, including:

• A patient navigation intervention to improve uptake of pre-exposure prophylactics (PrEP) among Black sexual minority men.
• A community-driven HIV prevention intervention utilizing theatre to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination.
• Multilevel, intersectional stigma measures.
• The use of digital technologies to improve uptake and adherence to HIV prevention, care and treatment services.

Dr. Burns obtained a doctorate in public health with a concentration in health behavior/health education from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Cornell University, and a B.S. in biology from Tulane University in New Orleans.

Selected Publications

• Burns, P. A., Mutunga, C. (2024). Addressing the impact of climate change on sexual and reproductive health among adolescent girls and young women in low- and middle-income countries. Global Health: Science and Practice, 12(1), epub. https://doi:10.9745/GHSP-D-23-00374
• Burns, P. A., Hall, C. D. X., Poteat, T., Mena, L. A., Wong, F. Y. (2021). Living while black, gay, and poor: The association of race, neighborhood structural disadvantage, and PrEP utilization among a sample of black men who have sex with men in the deep south. AIDS Education and Prevention, 33(5), 395-410. https//doi:10.1521/aeap.2021.33.5.395
• Rodriguez-Hart, C., Boone, C. A., Del Río-González, A. M., Kutner, B. A., Baral, S., Burns, P. A., German, D., Eaton, L., Lucas, L., Remien, R. H., Ellis, M., & Dale, S. K. (2022). Monitoring intersectional stigma: A key strategy to ending the HIV epidemic in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 112(S4), S350-S355. https://doi.org/10.215/AJPH.2022.306733
• Wang, L., Harris, R., Simoni, J. M., Yue, Q., Fu, X., Zheng, H., Ning, Z., Hall, C. D. X., Burns, P. A. & Wong, F. Y. (2023). Health service utilization and its associations with depression and sexual risk behaviors among transgender women in Shanghai, China. Journal of Transgender Health, 8(6), 516-525. https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2021.0009

Page published Oct. 16, 2024