Virginia Zalazar

I am a Psychologist with experience in both clinical settings and social research, particularly in the field of HIV prevention and treatment. I have been a member of Fundación Huésped, a leading HIV-focused organization in Argentina, since 2006. I have also worked in a mental health institution researching recovery and stigma among people with mental health conditions. In clinical practice, I currently work with LGBT individuals and people living with HIV (PLHIV), providing individual counseling and facilitating support groups. In research, I have participated in both national and international multicenter studies on topics including: the acceptability of PrEP and microbicides among transgender people and men who have sex with men (MSM); the impact of Argentina’s Gender Identity Law; quality of life in transgender people; HIV-related stigma and discrimination in vulnerable populations; sexual risk behaviors among sexual minorities; and adherence to HAART. I have extensive experience coordinating fieldwork and qualitative research components such as focus groups and interviews, and I maintain a close relationship with community-based transgender organizations. I coordinate TransCITAR, a cohort study aimed at enrolling 500 transgender participants to collect comprehensive health-related data, including mental health indicators. Since 2022, I have also served as Co-Investigator of the study “Más por nosotras”, funded by IDRC, where I coordinated the qualitative study and the collection of psychosocial data for the cohort. I have lead feasibility and acceptability studies on HIV/syphilis rapid testing, injectable medications, and HIV self-testing among transgender women and MSM. In addition, I collaborated on other studies at Fundación Huésped focused on PrEP; retention and HIV TARV adherence a; HIV self-testing; COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and tabacco cessation in transgender population.