HRP Staff Listing

Biographies

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  Redonna Chandler, Ph.D.,  Director
  (301) 402-1919
  Dr. Redonna K. Chandler returned to NIDA in June, 2018 to serve as the Director of the HIV Research Program.  Dr. Chandler is also the Director of the HEALing Communities Study.  She brings extensive scientific and organizational leadership, and recently served as the Deputy Director for the Division of Clinical Innovation at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences providing leadership to the Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program. Dr. Chandler has been at the NIH since 2002, serving in positions of increasing responsibility and leadership at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.  Prior to joining NCATS she served as the Acting Director for the NIDA’s Division of Epidemiology, Services, and Prevention Research and Chief of the Services Research Branch.  She worked for the Department of Justice from 1996-2002, directing large drug treatment programs. Her areas of expertise include research with individuals involved with the criminal justice system, clinical trials, improving adherence to drug abuse treatment and HIV care, and implementing evidence based treatments into routine practice settings.  She has authored numerous articles and book chapters.  She earned her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Kentucky and is a licensed psychologist.  As a clinician she has treated those struggling with addiction and serious mental health issues.  An interesting piece of trivia – she once trained with the FBI and served as a member of a hostage negotiation team! 

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  Vasundhara Varthakavi, DVM, Ph.D., Associate Director 
  (301) 443-2146
  Dr. Vasundhara Varthakavi (Kavi) is the Associate Director of the HIV Research Program.  Kavi comes to us from NIAID where she served as a Scientific Review Officer (SRO) in the AIDS Research Review Branch. As an SRO, she managed the AIDS Research Review Committee and multiple Special Emphasis Panels that conducted peer review of single- and multi-project grant applications and R&D contract proposals covering a broad range of scientific topics and technologies relevant to HIV/AIDS, HIV/TB, and other infectious diseases. Kavi was trained as a veterinarian and holds a doctorate in Microbiology from the College of Veterinary Sciences at Kansas State University. Before joining NIH, she served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she was engaged in teaching and research activities. Her expertise includes HIV Assembly and pathogenesis, virus-virus and virus-host interactions involving HIV-1 and HHV-8, herpesvirus pathogenesis, immune responses to viruses and vaccines, immunology, molecular biology, virus replication assays, molecular diagnostics, and assay development.

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  Andrea Czajkowski  
  Program Analyst, HEALing Communities Study
  (301) 827-6202
  Andrea Czajkowski is the Program Analyst for the HIV Research Program (HRP) and HEALing Communities Study (HCS). Andrea came to NIDA in 2018 after six years with the Indian Health Service (IHS). She is a proudly enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She spent the majority of her tenure at IHS working in the Office of Clinical and Preventive Services, Division of Behavioral Health. Notably, she was responsible for high-profile event planning and project management activities. On behalf of the IHS Chief Medical Officer, she served as lead planner for the agency’s National Behavioral Health conferences and National Combined Councils meetings. Andrea also worked closely with the agency’s key advisory bodies, advocating for issues that affect the delivery of behavioral health care for American Indians and Alaska Natives. She served as an Executive Committee member on the National Council on Behavioral Health and coordinated mission-critical activities for the National Tribal Advisory Committee on Behavioral Health. In her current role, Andrea serves in the project management capacity for HCS and HRP. This includes ongoing collaboration with other project management professionals to track and manage the HCS progress, leading NIDA’s newly reinstated HIV Work Group, conducting routine data and portfolio analyses, and managing logistical and communications contracts as a Contract Officer Representative level II.  Andrea earned her Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland, Global Campus and her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Frostburg State University. Additionally, she holds her Project Management Professional certification through the Project Management Institute.

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  Poorti Trehan
  Staff Assistant
  (301) 919-3491
  Poorti joined NIDA February 2024 as a Staff Assistant working with the HIV Research Program and the HEALing Communities Study. Prior to joining NIH, Poorti has worked for the Department of Defense, Department of Army, Staff Assistant for the Cyber Command. Poorti has also worked with Defense Health Agency as a Support Agreements Manager with the Graduate Medical Education program at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. She has completed her education at the University of Maryland, College Park graduating with bachelor’s in science in Public and Community Health.