Amber Sophus, PhD

Amber Sophus, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health, Behavior, and Society at UT School of Public Health San Antonio. Dr. Sophus earned her PhD in Public Health at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in the Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health and her Master of Public Health from the University of Miami. Dr. Sophus is also Visiting Research Faculty within the CIRA Research Education Institute for Diverse Scholars (REIDS) at Yale School of Public Health. Before joining the UT School of Public Health San Antonio, she was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Florida International University within the Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.

Dr. Sophus has over 10 years of experience as a social and behavioral research scientist and community engagement. Trained in community-based and translational research, Dr. Sophus’ research is dedicated to advancing HIV/STI prevention and sexual health, with an emphasis on reducing HIV related disparities among vulnerable communities in the Southern US. Her research employs qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodology, and applies theoretical frameworks aimed at identifying multilevel factors that influence sexual health behaviors among Black women.

Her current research interests focus on improving awareness, knowledge, and uptake of biomedical strategies for HIV prevention, specifically pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Most recently, Dr. Sophus completed a 1-year web-based pilot study funded through NIH to: 1) identify multilevel factors associated with Black women’s perceived self-efficacy and intention to use PrEP; and 2) describe Black women’s preferences for PrEP programs by applying a Stated Preference method of Choice Based Conjoint (CBC) Analysis (i.e., Discrete Choice Experiment). In summer 2024, 398 adult cis-Black women who live throughout the Southern U.S were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Findings identified motivational factors and modifiable barriers associated with Black women’s potential PrEP uptake and identified their preferred PrEP program attributes. Dr. Sophus’ research contributes to the scientific understanding of HIV prevention among an HIV vulnerable population and holds the potential to inform tailored interventions and policies.