Dr. Roger Detels

Biography

Roger Detels, M.D., M.S., is a Distinguished Research Professor of Epidemiology in Infectious Diseases at UCLA, where he has been a pivotal figure since joining the Department of Epidemiology in 1971. His expansive career began with the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit in Taipei, Taiwan, and included significant roles at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases and Stroke. Detels served multiple terms as Chair of Epidemiology and was the Dean of the School of Public Health from 1980 to 1985. His contributions to the field of epidemiology are vast, including his presidency at the Society for Epidemiologic Research and the International Epidemiologic Association, where he also served as treasurer. He has played a key role in HIV/AIDS research since 1981, notably as a principal investigator for the Los Angeles Center of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, a landmark study in this area. Detels has published over 500 research papers on topics ranging from air pollution to mobile epidemiology, and he has received numerous awards for his teaching and research contributions. His ongoing research focuses on HIV epidemiology, public health interventions, and health policy, particularly in Southeast Asia.

Research Interests