Dr. Kirk leads a large multidisciplinary team in a program of epidemiological, clinical, and behavioral research centered in the AIDS Linked to the Intravenous Experience (ALIVE) study. His research primarily focuses on access to and consequences of antiretroviral therapy among HIV-infected injecting drug users (IDUs).
As principal investigator of the Study of HIV Infection in Etiology of Lung Disease (SHIELD), he led development of a consortium of Baltimore HIV cohorts (including ALIVE) to evaluate the longitudinal consequences of HIV and tobacco on chronic lung diseases. He also leads separately funded studies nested within ALIVE on aging outcomes in HIV and on development of technological approaches for data collection and/or intervention among drug users to improve HIV treatment outcomes. With collaborators in Uganda, he is investigating the role of HIV on development of liver disease. As attending physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital, he continues active clinical practice in infectious diseases, including care of HIV-infected patients and IDUs.