Maya Petersen

· MD, PhD Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics

University of California, Berkeley · Biostatistics

Active 2002–2025

h-index49

Citations7.3k

Papers23285 last 5y

Funding$32.5M1 active

Academic metrics are sourced from OpenAlex and public funding records; values may differ from Google Scholar.

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About

Maya L. Petersen, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at UC Berkeley and of Computational Precision Health at UCSF. She is the co-Director of the UCSF-UC Berkeley Joint Program in Computational Precision Health and the co-Director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Targeted Machine Learning and Causal Inference. Her methodological research focuses on the intersection of AI, statistical inference, and causal inference, emphasizing complex observational and experimental data, individualized treatment strategies, and adaptive study designs. Dr. Petersen uses these methods to improve healthcare delivery globally and domestically, leading randomized trials and observational evaluations to deploy insights and measure their impact. Her work aims to develop and apply novel causal inference methods to problems in health, community-based interventions, and HIV treatment and prevention.

Research topics

Medicine
Environmental health
Social Science
Immunology
Sociology
Virology
Genetics
Socioeconomics
Nursing
Geography

Selected publications

Uptake, engagement, and adherence to pre-exposure prophylaxis offered after population HIV testing in rural Kenya and Uganda: 72-week interim analysis of observational data from the SEARCH study
The Lancet HIV · 2020 · 161 citations
BACKGROUND: Optimal strategies for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) engagement in generalised HIV epidemics are unknown. We aimed to assess PrEP uptake and engagement after population-level HIV testing and universal PrEP access to characterise gaps in the PrEP cascade in rural Kenya and Uganda. METHODS: We did a 72-week interim analysis of observational data from the ongoing SEARCH (Sustainable East Africa Research in Community Health) study. Following community sensitisation and PrEP education,…
DOI
Understanding Demand for PrEP and Early Experiences of PrEP Use Among Young Adults in Rural Kenya and Uganda: A Qualitative Study
AIDS and Behavior · 2020 · 111 citations
DOI
HIV incidence after pre-exposure prophylaxis initiation among women and men at elevated HIV risk: A population-based study in rural Kenya and Uganda
PLoS Medicine · 2021 · 74 citations
BACKGROUND: Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective for HIV prevention, but data are limited on HIV incidence among PrEP users in generalized epidemic settings, particularly outside of selected risk groups. We performed a population-based PrEP study in rural Kenya and Uganda and sought to evaluate both changes in HIV incidence and clinical and virologic outcomes following seroconversion on PrEP. METHODS AND FINDINGS: During population-level HIV testing of individuals ≥15 years i…
DOI
Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction and BinaxNOW Rapid Antigen Tests at a Community Site During an Omicron Surge
Annals of Internal Medicine · 2022 · 60 citations
BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests are an important public health tool.ObjectiveTo evaluate field performance of the BinaxNOW rapid antigen test (Abbott) compared with reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for detecting infection with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.DesignCross-sectional surveillance study.SettingFree, walk-up, outdoor, urban community testing and vaccine site led by Unidos en Salud, serving a predominantly Latinx community highly impacted by COVID-19.…
DOI
Cost-effectiveness of leveraging existing HIV primary health systems and community health workers for hypertension screening and treatment in Africa: An individual-based modeling study
PLoS Medicine · 2025-01-24 · 6 citations
articleOpen accessCorresponding
BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality is increasing in Africa, largely due to undiagnosed and untreated hypertension. Approaches that leverage existing primary health systems could improve hypertension treatment and reduce CVD, but cost-effectiveness is unknown. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of population-level hypertension screening and implementation of chronic care clinics across eastern, southern, central, and western Africa. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducte…
Publisher DOI

Recent grants

Targeted Learning using adaptive designs for HIV Epidemic control in East Africa
NIH · $5.1M · 2007–2025
A Multisectoral Strategy to Address Persistent Drivers of the HIV Epidemic in East Africa
NIH · $23.4M · 2020–2027
Targeted Learning using adaptive designs for HIV Epidemic control in East Africa
NIH · $613k · 2007–2024

Frequent coauthors

Moses R. Kamya
Makerere University
216 shared
Diane V. Havlir
University of California, San Francisco
203 shared
Edwin D. Charlebois
University of California, San Francisco
188 shared
Gabriel Chamie
University of California, San Francisco
163 shared
Tamara D. Clark
Nationwide Children's Hospital
152 shared
Dalsone Kwarisiima
Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration
140 shared
Elizabeth A. Bukusi
Kenya Medical Research Institute
118 shared
James Ayieko
Kenya Medical Research Institute
113 shared

Labs

Computational Precision HealthPI
PhD and Designated Emphasis students in UCSF & UC Berkeley Computational Precision Health 2023-2024 PhD Cohort

Awards & honors

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Pre-doctoral award
Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Development award
American Statistical Association national teaching award
June 18 'Maya Petersen Day' in San Francisco

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