Match tier Confirmed
Presence Current · Arkansas
Last published 2026
Sources OpenAlex · ORCID
Refreshed 2026-10-05

Samira Shirzaei Nichols

Affiliation confirmed via AI analysis of OpenAlex, ORCID, and web sources.

Assistant professor

Also affiliated: University of Ghana (2026); Yale University (2026); University of Rochester (2026)

2 h-index 12 pubs 13 cited

  • HIV Testing
  • Self-Testing
  • Mass Screening
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
  • Refugees
  • HIV Infections
  • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Sex Workers
  • African People
  • Adult
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Humans
  • Italy
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Male

Biography and Research Information

OverviewAI-generated summary

Samira Shirzaei Nichols' research focuses on public health issues, particularly concerning HIV prevention and risk behaviors among vulnerable populations. Her work investigates the intersection of substance use, economic precarity, and HIV risk within refugee communities, specifically African refugee male sex workers in Italy.

Her publications explore the impact of multilevel stigma on transgender women's access to HIV services in Ghana. Nichols also employs quantitative epidemiological studies to assess HIV and STI burden among African migrant male sex workers in Italy. Additionally, she has conducted research on forecasting COVID-19 cases in the United States using machine learning models.

Nichols collaborates with several researchers at the University of Central Arkansas, including Giovanni Zardini, Carolina Rigo, Saina Abolmaali, and Kelvin Aleakwe, with whom she shares multiple publications. She has an h-index of 2 and has published 11 total works.

Metrics

  • h-index: 2
  • Publications: 12
  • Citations: 13

Positions

  • Assistant professor 2021–present
    University of Central Arkansas Computer Information Systems and Analytics ORCID

Selected Publications

  • “I went for a year without hormone treatment” experiences of access and continuity of gender-affirming care among transgender and nonbinary migrants in Italy (2026)
    International Journal of Transgender Health DOI OpenAlex
  • "Stigma Is Still There": Healthcare Providers' Accounts of Multilevel Stigma Affecting Transgender Women's HIV Service Access in Ghana. BSGH 019 (2026)
    Research Square 1 citation DOI OpenAlex
  • Substance Use and HIV Risk Among African Refugee and Migrant Sex Workers in Italy: A Mixed-Methods Study Informed by Syndemic Theory (2026)
    AIDS and Behavior DOI OpenAlex
  • Economic Precarity Shapes Engagement in Sex Work and HIV-Related Behaviors Among African Refugee Male Sex Workers in Italy: A Mixed-Methods Study (2026)
    Sexuality Research and Social Policy 1 citation DOI OpenAlex
  • Substance Use is Linked to Less Facility-Based but Greater Self-HIV Testing Willingness Among African Refugee Male Sex Workers in Italy: A Cross-Sectional Study (2026)
    Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care 1 citation DOI OpenAlex
  • Client-Seeking Environments, Safety Management, and Survival Strategies Among African male and gender-diverse refugee/migrant workers in Northern Italy: A Theory of Planned Behavior Mixed-Methods Study. BSGH026 (2026)
    Research Square DOI OpenAlex
  • Economic precarity shapes engagement in sex work and HIV-related behaviors among African refugee male sex workers in Italy: A mixed-methods study (2026)
    Research Square 2 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • A simulation-driven expert system for adaptive staff scheduling under non-Poisson, time-varying demand (2026)
    SSRN Electronic Journal DOI OpenAlex
  • Intersecting Structural Vulnerabilities and Health Risks: A Quantitative Epidemiological Study of HIV and STI Burden Among African Migrant Male Sex Workers in Italy. BSGH 027 (2025)
    Research Square 1 citation DOI OpenAlex
  • Substance Use and HIV Risk in a Syndemic Context: Vulnerabilities Among African Refugee Sex Workers in Italy (2025)
    Research Square 3 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Bridging Gaps in HIV Prevention: A Machine Learning-Enhanced Mixed-Methods Study on PrEP Awareness and Willingness Among Refugee Male Sex Workers from Sub-Saharan Africa in Italy (2025)
    Research Square 3 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Flexible Staff Scheduling in Small Service Systems with Time-Varying Non-Poisson Demand to Achieve Time-Stable Performance Using Drl (2024)
    SSRN Electronic Journal DOI OpenAlex
  • Enhancing COVID-19 Case Forecasting in the United States: A Comparative Analysis of ARIMA, SARIMA, and RNN Models with Grid Search Optimization (2024)
    medRxiv 1 citation DOI OpenAlex
  • Justice and Fairness in Academia: Are Women Underrepresented/Underpaid in Engineering and Science Fields? Comparing 2018 and 2021 Data (2023)
    Journal of Business Diversity DOI OpenAlex
  • Applying Deep Reinforcement Learning to Dynamic Staff Scheduling in a Service System with Nonstationary Arrival Process; a Case Study of Grocery Store (2022)
    SSRN Electronic Journal DOI OpenAlex

View all publications on OpenAlex →

Collaboration Network

43 Collaborators 27 Institutions 9 Countries

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