INHCC Trainees

Jennifer Chavez, MPHD

Florida International University

Jennifer Chavez is a second year doctoral candidate in the Brain, Behavior and Environment Program at Florida International University under the mentorship of Drs. Adam Carrico and Robert Paul. Jennifer’s research interests are rooted in psychoneuroimmunology and translational neuroscience. She is interested in understanding how endogenous factors (biological vulnerability, neuroimmunometabolic pathways) and exposomic factors (environmental toxicity and other social determinants of health) interact to impact substance use and neuropsychiatric comorbidities, in people with HIV. Jennifer has been a trainee of the INHCC since 2022. ​

Cory Carvalho, PhD

University of Missouri - St. Louis

Dr. Carvalho has worked as a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Paul’s laboratory at the Missouri Institute of Mental Health at the University of Missouri–St. Louis since 2025. His research focuses on understanding the immunological, neurobiological, and social mechanisms underlying mental health problems among people with HIV. He applies machine learning approaches to identify mental health subtypes and to characterize the complex, nonlinear processes that contribute to this heterogeneity.