Darren L Whitfield is an associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Dr. Whitfield has been on the faculty since 2021.
Dr. Whitfield’s research interests include health and mental health disparities among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities, biomedical HIV prevention among gay and bisexual men of color in the United States, and intersectional measurement development. His research is grounded in an intersectional framework, where he specifically examines the impact of intersectional identity on psychosocial, sociocultural, and structural factors associated with health and mental health outcomes of LGBTQ communities of color and biomedical HIV prevention among Black and Latino gay and bisexual men. Dr. Whitfield currently holds research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration.
Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Maryland, Dr. Whitfield was an assistant professor and psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social and Department of Psychiatry. He also served as the Direct Practice Chair for the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. Dr. Whitfield has more than 10 years of practice experience working in the HIV/AIDS field working at the AIDS Project of Central Iowa, The Virginia Department of Health, and The Kansas City Free Health Clinic. He is a previous commissioner for the Pittsburgh City Commission on AIDS. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Persad Center Inc and is an advisory board member for AIDS Free Pittsburgh.
Dr. Whitfield received his MSW and PhD in Social Work from the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work.