Research

My work addressing minority health disparities is organized along three primary lines of research. In the first, I examine how economic marginalization and gender- and race-based oppression are shaping employment trajectories, access to care, health and well-being among transgender and nonbinary people. Within this line of work, I am Principal Investigator of a pilot study to inform the future adaptation of an economic empowerment intervention for transgender and nonbinary people living with HIV or navigating HIV risk in the United States. The HIV Center Development Core (via National Institute of Mental Health, NIMH) funds this research. Manuscripts under review and in progress within this area 1) investigate how stigmatizing, discriminatory, and affirming workplace experiences are shaping employment opportunities and trajectories (revise and resubmit), 2) identify patterns of economic marginalization and their associations with healthcare access and HIV outcomes among trans and nonbinary people, and 3) explore the processes through which economic marginalization diminishes transgender and nonbinary people's ability to maintain viral suppression or HIV seronegativity. I have received recognition for this line of work, including selection for the 2021 National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Health Disparities Research Institute for promising early-career minority health disparities research scientists and a Loan Repayment Program Award from NIMH (2021-2023).

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In my second line of research, I investigate how multilevel factors such as stigma, discrimination, social support, and neighborhood characteristics are associated with HIV-related prevention and care outcomes among key populations. Papers in this line of work, published and in revision for invited resubmission at AIDS & Behavior, focus on sexual and gender diverse populations in Kazakhstan. In another paper in progress, I am working with a team to merge data sets so we can examine whether and how neighborhood-level stigma is associated with engagement in the HIV care continuum and HIV outcomes in New York City. These studies are supported by NIDA and NIMH and received recognition from the International AIDS Society.

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My third area of research uses multilevel qualitative methods to reveal how dominant, intersecting ideas about gender, sexuality, and race deployed within healthcare settings, organizations, and interpersonal relationships are shaping health and well-being among LGBTQ people. These studies have been supported by the National Science Foundation, Urban Ethnography Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, CLAGS: Center for LGBTQ Research, and the National Institute on Aging. Five articles in this area have been published in Social Science & Medicine, Journal of Marriage and Family, Sociological Compass, and one is under review at a sociological journal. I am currently drafting a book based on my dissertation study in this area, tentatively titled Queer in the Clinic: Transforming Gender, Sexuality, and Inequity in LGBTQ Healthcare. 

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Please see my CV for additional information about white papers, chapters, and teaching publications. 

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[1] Clarivate Analytics 2021 Impact Factor.