Cathy J. Reback, Ph.D. 

Cathy J. Reback, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist with Friends Research
Institute and the Director of the Combination Prevention Core for the UCLA
Center for HIV Identification, Prevention and Treatment Services. Additionally, Dr. Reback is the founder and Executive Director of Friends Community Center the community-based site for Friends Research Institute, which provides publicly funded, culturally tailored, substance use and HIV services for sexual minority men and trans and gender-expansive individuals. The focus of Dr. Reback’s research is an examination of the intersection of substance use disorders and HIV sexual risk behaviors among sexual and gender minority individuals in community settings. Dr. Reback has an extensive background in conducting community-research collaborations; managing large-scale HIV prevention and intervention programs for sexual and gender minority individuals; designing and implementing technology-based interventions, venue- and street-based intervention programs, and biomedical intervention studies; evaluating behavioral and biomedical treatment therapies for high-risk populations with substance use and mental health disorders; and, conducting mixed methods research studies. Additionally, using implementation science frameworks, she has collaborated with several local, national and global organizations to adopt, tailor, and transfer evidenced-based interventions into public health and community settings. Dr. Reback’s community and policy work includes current and past membership on numerous local and national HIV/AIDS and substance use task forces and advisory committees.