What We Do

AXCES Research and Health conducts outpatient clinical trials for infectious diseases, including HIV and Hepatitis. We also offer affordable testing for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). We have locations in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, El Paso, and Salt Lake City to serve the entire Southwest community.

The AXCES Mission

Our mission is to provide access to innovative, exceptional, and ethical care—based on the best science available—to everyone, including the most vulnerable in our communities.

We also strive to encourage and empower more underrepresented groups—specifically women and girls—to work in STEM roles.

The AXCES team has a longstanding history of using clinical trials as a gateway to care for all members of our community. Our aim is to provide innovative and ethical clinical care for all, including marginalized communities who have historically been under-represented in clinical trials. At AXCES, we recognize that good science needs to reflect the community it serves, and that scientific breakthroughs should benefit all of us, including the diverse communities of the Southwest.

OUR TEAM

Investigators

  • Dr. Linda Gorgos, a woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a purple sweater, smiles at us in front of trees lit by a sunset..

    Linda Gorgos, MD, MSc, FIDSA

    Investigator (Santa Fe)

    Pronouns: she/her/hers

    Dr. Gorgos completed her medical education at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, followed by a residency in Internal Medicine at The Massachusetts General Hospital. She completed a fellowship in Infectious Diseases with the University of Washington, a Master of Science in Control of Infectious Disease from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a postdoctoral fellowship in STI prevention with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Gorgos has served as a site Principal investigator for multiple clinical trials, including HIV treatment, HIV prevention, hepatitis C treatment, and vaccines to prevent infectious diseases. Her interests outside of work include backcountry skiing, backpacking, gardening, and spending time in the mountains of Colorado. She has a passion for goofy socks and fluffy animals. 

  • Ogechika Alozie, MD, MPH, FACP, FIDSA, AAHIVS

    Investigator (El Paso)

    Pronouns: he/him/his

    Dr. Alozie received his medical degree from the University of Benin in Nigeria, then completed an internship and residency at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN. He is also a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Infectious Diseases fellowship and is one of only 100 physicians in Texas who are board-certified in clinical informatics by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. He believes that patient care is the most essential part of medicine, and so has has served as chair, co-chair, and member of multiple state and local committees advocating for excellence in care. He currently works as CEO of Sunset West Health, a program that has been recognized as the Minority Health Services Firm of the Year multiple years in a row. In addition to being voted El Paso’s Best Doctor and receiving the Award for Innovative Practice, he is well known to the nation for representing the El Paso/border community during the COVID-19 pandemic on CNBC, NPR, Bloomberg, and CBS. When he’s not too busy tending to his patients or his adoring fans 😊, he likes to give TEDx talks and spend his time hiding his monumental sneaker collection from his wife and son….

  • Susana Keeshin, MD, AAHIVM

    Investigator (Salt Lake City)

    Bio coming soon!

  • Grecia Heredia, a woman with long black hair, wears a white medical coat and smiles.

    Grecia Heredia, RPh, BCACP, AAHIVP

    Investigator (El Paso)

    Pronouns: she/her/hers

    Grecia Heredia graduated with a Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Texas at Austin and completed a post-graduate residency through the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. She is board certified as an Ambulatory Care Pharmacist and credentialed by the American Academy of HIV Medicine. She currently serves as the Director of Pharmacy at Sunset West Health and is Clinical Faculty at the University of Texas at El Paso School of Pharmacy and the Texas Tech Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. She is passionate about serving underrepresented communities and educating other healthcare providers. She enjoys running, reading, hot yoga, spending time with her daughter, and in spite of her brilliance, absolutely hates the spotlight, preferring to stand comfortably in the long shadow cast by the very tall Dr. Alozie 😁

  • Wendy Johnson, a woman with shoulder length gray hair, stands amongst trees and smiles up at us.

    Wendy Johnson, MD, MPH

    Investigator (Santa Fe)

    Pronouns: she/her/hers

    Dr. Johnson has over 25 years of experience in community medicine, public health, and global health as a researcher, clinician, teacher, policy maker, technical advisor, and manager. She received her medical and undergraduate degrees from Ohio State University, her Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, and completed her Family Medicine Residency at the University of New Mexico. Her winding career path includes stints scaling up HIV treatment in Mozambique, overseeing the Cleveland, OH Department of Public Health, and most recently, directing a community clinic in Santa Fe. Her work has been focused on advocacy for marginalized populations, both in the US and internationally, and on designing health programs and interventions especially in the areas of primary care, women’s and children’s health, HIV, and addiction medicine. She currently lives in a half-wild valley on the outskirts of Santa Fe, where she works on rewilding her patch of earth. She believes her love of gardening, food, and mountains is genetic, inherited from her Italian grandmother who grew up in the Dolomite Alps.

  • Sally Bowen, FNP, AAHIVS

    Investigator (Salt Lake City)

    Bio coming soon!

Leadership

  • Wenoah Veikley, a woman with curled longer reddish brown hair, wears a maroon leather jacket and smiles at us.

    Wenoah Veikley, RN, BScN

    CEO, Chief Clinical Officer, and Investigator

    Pronouns: she/her/hers

    Wenoah is an infectious disease nurse and healthcare leader specializing in public health, clinical research, sexual health, HIV, hepatitis, and forensic nursing. She’s worked in communities as diverse as rural New Mexico and Texas, Beverly Hills, and remote regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She’s passionate about creating equity and access in healthcare, and she founded AXCES to be a beacon of clinical excellence, compassionate care, and scientific integrity. Wenoah is a needle-phobic nurse who loves her family and likes to crash into things at high speeds.

  • Wendy Johnson, a woman with shoulder length gray hair, stands amongst trees and smiles up at us.

    Laurie Bauer, LCSW

    Senior Director of Operations

    Pronouns: she/her/hers

    Laurie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 20 years of experience in healthcare and social service leadership. Laurie’s passion lies in the successful development of programs and teams that are responsive to patient and community needs. Her values of service, human dignity, gratitude, and health equity drive her personal and professional life. When not working hard in healthcare or playing hard with her 3 beautiful children, Laurie likes to engage in colorful conversations with people she doesn’t know because life is too short for small talk and pleasantries.

  • Headshot of Andrea Rodriguez, a woman with curled and highlighted brown hair wearing a black shirt and red lipstick.

    Andrea Rodriguez, CCRC

    Director of Research

    Pronouns: she/her/hers

    Andrea has been in healthcare since the mid-2000s, exploring family medicine, emergency medicine, and laboratory work before settling into clinical research. As a native Santa Fean, she is passionate about providing cutting-edge treatments to all the communities of New Mexico and building relationships with her patients. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and being a unicorn.

  • Erin Brummer, MPH

    Business Operations Manager

    Pronouns: she/her/hers

    Erin received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado (go Buffs!) and completed her Master of Public Health at Grand Canyon University. She has a clinical background in specialty healthcare, including infectious disease, and has experience as a Clinical Research Assistant. Erin also holds certifications in Harm Reduction and Mental Health First Aid. She is passionate about creating access to healthcare and education in small and rural communities. When she’s not surfing in California or skiing in Montana, she is hanging out with her dog Beefy.

  • Trevor Hawkins, MD, Emeritus

    Advisor

    Bio coming soon!

  • Zoe Sananda Castro

    Research Manager

    Pronouns: she/her/hers

    Zoe received her BS in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from the University of New Mexico. Having spent much of her time in college doing bench research, she was ultimately drawn to research that involved connecting with people, not just plants 😊. She is passionate about using clinical research as a bridge to healthcare for underrepresented populations and connecting with her patients. Sharing her research knowledge and experience is her superpower, so she often travels to AXCES sites to train our teams. After working long days, she likes to use her weekends for snowboarding or camping near a river in the Rocky Mountains. The rest of the time, you can usually find her wrangling her many dogs.

  • Dr. Gallant, a man with short graying hair, sits in the glow of a New Mexico sunset with native New Mexican plants behind him.

    Joel Gallant, MD, MPH

    Senior Medical Advisor

    Pronouns: he/him/his

    Dr. Gallant is a world-renowned HIV expert, clinical investigator, professor, and author, and we are grateful for the expertise he brings. He spent 21 years on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University and more recently he was executive director of HIV Global Medical Affairs at Gilead Sciences.

    He also just happens to be a really great guy with a wicked sense of humor and a passion for New Mexico. We couldn’t be happier to have him on our team!

Staff

  • Gustavo Lopez, a man with short black hair and a goatee wearing a collared shirt.

    Gustavo Lopez

    Research Coordinator (El Paso)

    Pronouns: he/him/his

    Gustavo (aka Gusty) moved from Colorado Springs to Santa Fe 17 years ago. He’s moved away more than once, but always returns to the “Land of Entrapment,” and now his passion for clinical research has him firmly attached to AXCES and his community. He grew up in Chihuahua, MX and adopted the “Spanish Lisp,” so don’t raise an eyebrow when you hear his very charming pronunciation of words that include ch- or sh-. He completed an associate degree in accounting at Santa Fe Community College and worked in Telecommunications before joining AXCES. Now he gets to apply his boundless energy to ensuring access to the best science available to communities in New Mexico and El Paso/Juarez. If you ever need him to show up anywhere, just tell him there will be food.

  • Sonia Arzabala-Santillan

    Research Assistant (Santa Fe)

    Pronouns: she/her/hers

    Sonia brings 7 years of diverse medical experience to her role as a Research Assistant. As a born-and-raised New Mexican, her love for her roots includes using research to empower the Hispanic community through fostering an understanding of how science improves community wellbeing. In her spare time, she likes to ride her horses, spend time with her fam bam, and soak in local hot springs while taking in the gorgeous New Mexico views.

  • Wendy Dionne

    Program Administrator

    Bio coming soon!

  • Elina Compri

    Data Coordinator

    Bio coming soon!