Sameena Azhar is a PhD candidate in the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. She has completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of California, Berkeley, and Master’s degrees in Social Work and Public Health at the University of Pennsylvania. She has more than a decade of clinical and research experience in the fields of HIV, mental health, and substance abuse. Ms. Azhar’s dissertation research pertains to HIV stigma and gender inequity of cisgender women and hijras/transgender women living with HIV in Hyderabad, India. After doctoral degree completion, she would like to pursue a career in international social work, working to develop programs that improve the mental health of ethnic and sexual/gender minority populations, particularly those impacted by HIV and gender-based violence. Ms. Azhar is licensed in the states of Illinois and California as a clinical social worker.
