Contact
Research/Lab Website
Roles
Professor of Medicine
Medical Director, IDEA Exchange
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Biography
Hansel Tookes is a tenured Professor of Medicine at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is founder of the IDEA Lab whose mission is to implement, disseminate, educate, and advocate for the health of people who use drugs. His lab also houses the IDEA syringe services program – the first legal program in Florida. Dr. Tookes spent five years advocating in the Florida Legislature for the creation of the program as an evidence-based HIV prevention intervention. In 2016, he succeeded and the pilot was signed into law. Today, Dr. Tookes serves as medical director of IDEA and successfully passed Infectious Disease Elimination Act of 2019 authorizing statewide expansion of syringe services programs. As a physician at Jackson Memorial, one of the largest public hospitals in the nation, Dr. Tookes attends on the HIV service as well as the Ryan White clinic. He is an advocate for health equity and has extensive experience working with both patients of low socioeconomic status and individuals who use drugs. His research interests include structural/systemic interventions and innovative approaches to HIV prevention and treatment. He is a 2021 recipient of a NIDA Avenir Award which is testing his innovative tele-harm reduction model for HIV treatment in a randomized controlled trial and, more recently, 3 NIDA R01s. The R01s include a trial of tele-harm reduction for the prevention of HIV, a team science cohort study, and an implementation science trial on opt-out HIV and hepatitis C testing for people who inject drugs. He has received numerous honors, including Miami Chamber of Commerce Healthcare Hero, Starbucks Upstander, and SAVE Champion of Equality. In 2023, he was appointed to the board of the HIV Medicine Association, the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and the CDC/HRSA Advisory Committee on HIV, Viral Hepatitis, and STD Prevention and Treatment. -
Education & Training
Education
Post Graduate Training
Licensures and Certifications
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Honors & Awards
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Research Interests
Dr. Tookes’ research interests include behavioral interventions and innovative approaches to HIV prevention. He is a 2021 recipient of a $2.3M NIDA Avenir Award which will test his Tele-Harm Reduction model in a randomized controlled trial. He has received numerous honors, including Miami Chamber of Commerce Healthcare Hero, Starbucks Upstander, and SAVE Champion of Equality. He previously served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Florida Medical Association and as a delegate to the American Medical Association. Prior to medical school, Dr. Tookes worked in public health. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale University. -
Publications
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Professional Activities
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