She is also the co-principal investigator and Associate Executive Director for the Institute for HIV Prevention Leadership. This project is a cooperative agreement between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH), University of South Carolina and the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The Institute for HIV Prevention Leadership provides training in capacity building to program managers in HIV prevention. Program managers come from community-based organizations serving those most infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic throughout the nation and U.S. territories.

SPH has been a leading advocate in HIV prevention and has called for state legislation addressing prenatal HIV rapid testing. Dr. Thompson-Robinson has been a major force in educating administrators and health care providers in southern Nevada on the importance of prenatal HIV rapid testing. HIV rapid testing is a simple and inexpensive procedure that, with appropriate treatment, can provide almost complete prevention of children being born with HIV. According to Dr. Thompson-Robinson, such testing is particularly important for African American women who have the highest rate of HIV infection and are most likely not to receive prenatal care.

“The African American community is impacted in a variety of different ways. African American women have the highest rates of HIV infection, not only in the U.S. , but also right here in Las Vegas . In fact, the rates in Nevada are the highest in the entire western region. This high rate of infection not only increases the potential for perinatal transmission of HIV, but also means that these women are going to die prematurely. For those women who are infected with HIV/AIDS and have children, their premature death means that others in the African American community, as well as the community at large, will have to find ways to raise and support these children.”

“I am currently trying to build on some of my previous research around African Americans and their perceptions of HIV risk. Not only have I been publishing the results of this, I am working on grant funding to develop an evidence-based HIV prevention intervention that can be implemented in the African American community. I am looking for ways to collaborate with the Southern Nevada Health District and the Nevada State Health Division to address the HIV/AIDS needs of African Americans here in Clark County .”

To ensure her legacy of health promotion research and policy change continues, Thompson-Robinson makes it a priority to mentor young African American scientists, researchers and health advocates.

"It is important for young African Americans to choose a career in Public Health. The health of the African American community as a whole is in a critical state. Those professionals that are more likely to have a vested interest in the community are those who come from that community. In addition, African Americans are also more likely to respond to professionals who look like them and/or come from the same communities as them.”

Dr. Thompson-Robinson has recently been nominated for the 2006 Health Education Mentor Award through the Society for Public Health Education and the 2006 Faculty Excellence Award from the UNLV Consolidated Students of the University of Nevada . Prior to the opening of the UNLV School of Public Health, she received awards for 2004 Researcher of the Year and 2004 Teacher of the Year in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Florida A&M University.

The School of Public Health is proud of Dr. Melva Thompson-Robinson's exemplary body of work and achievements. Her leadership and excellence in teaching, research and community service serve as a shining example of our vision and mission to improve the health and quality of life of people in our communities and to eliminate health disparities in Nevada , the nation and the world.