Dr. Vincent Guilamo-Ramos Honored by NYS Health Commissioner
Dr. Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, Professor and Director of NYU Silver’s Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health (CLAFH), has been selected to receive a New York State Department of Health Commissioner’s Special Recognition Award for his work on behalf of youth living with and at risk for HIV infection. The award will be presented by Health Commissioner Howard A. Zucker at the Department’s World AIDS Day observance in Albany on December 3, 2019.
Dr. Guilamo-Ramos was nominated for the award by colleagues at the Adolescent AIDS Program at Children’s Hospital of Montefiore Medical Center, where he provides clinical care as a Nurse Practitioner and is also a research collaborator. Among many other roles, Dr. Guilamo-Ramos is NYU's Associate Vice Provost for Mentoring and Outreach Programs; Pilot and Mentoring Core Director at the Center for Drug Use and HIV Research at NYU College of Global Public Health; and Vice-Chair of the board of directors of the Latino Commission on AIDS.
Dr. Guilamo-Ramos is well known for his promotion of Latinx adolescent and family health and his development of evidence-based interventions to reduce youth sexual risk behavior. He has been the principal investigator of numerous NIH, CDC, and other federally funded research grants studying the role of families in promoting adolescent health, with a special focus on preventing HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, unplanned pregnancies, and improving treatment outcomes for HIV+ and at risk youth. Clinically, Dr. Guilamo-Ramos has expertise in the primary care of HIV+ adolescents, provision of PrEP for high-risk youths, and screening and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. In addition to being a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Nurse Practitioner with prescriptive privileges in New York State, Dr. Guilamo-Ramos is board certified in HIV/AIDS Nursing and as an HIV Specialist by the American Academy of HIV Medicine.
Dr. Guilamo-Ramos has also been a leading voice in drawing attention to the largely overlooked HIV crisis among Latinx in the United States. Recently, he co-authored a peer-reviewed commentary published in the American Journal of Public Health entitled “The Invisible US Hispanic/Latino HIV Crisis: Addressing Gaps in the National Response.” In conjunction with National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day this past October 15, he and his CLAFH colleagues produced a video on this invisible crisis, created a set of infographics on the increasing numbers of new HIV infections and diagnoses in Latinx communities, and spearheaded an email and social media campaign to amplify these messages. Dr. Vincent Guilamo-Ramos was also a keynote speaker on this topic at National LSWO Latinx Social Work Conference this past September.
The purpose of the New York State Department of Health Special Recognition Awards is to recognize individuals for their commitment, contribution, and response to improving and promoting the health and well-being of New Yorkers. Dr. Guilamo-Ramos is eminently worthy of such recognition.