Research Team

Karen L. Blair (She/Her) - Peterborough, Ontario

My students and I began studying LGBTQ+ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in late March 2020 and quickly identified a number of ways in which LGBTQ+ individuals in Canada and around the globe were being uniquely impacted by the pandemic. I wanted to be involved in this national study because it will provide us with a clearer picture of how LGBTQ+ Canadians have been impacted by COVID-19 and will allow for a more meticulous examination of how specific intersections of identity relate to mental and physical well-being throughout the pandemic. We can now see that the pandemic will be with us for some time and the more we can understand about how different groups are impacted by the pandemic, the better prepared we can be to support everyone. 

Aaron Devor (He/Him)

I have been a member of LGBTQ2I+ communities for more than 50 years, first in the LGQ spectrum, and more recently as trans. I was an activist in queer communities in the 1970s and 1980s. I have been a researcher with gender-diverse communities since the mid-1980s. In 2011, I founded the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria. In 2014, I founded the Moving Trans History Forward conferences. In 2016, I founded the Chair in Transgender Studies, also at the University of Victoria. Ethnically, I am Jewish with ancestors from the Baltics and Germany.

I am guided by the Jewish social justice concept of Tikkun Olam (Repair of the World). Rabbi Tarfon, wrote in Pirke Avot (Wisdom of the Elders) 2:21 "It is not your responsibility to finish the work of perfecting the world, but you are not free to desist from it either."

Daniel Grace (He/Him) - Toronto, Ontario

I am a queer medical sociologist who conducts research with diverse sexual and gender minority communities. I am committed to advancing the social and structural determinants of health for sexual and gender minorities.

Francisco Ibáñez-​Carrasco (He/Him) - Toronto, Ontario

Born in Santiago, Chile, I came to Canada in 1985 and acquired HIV, started his AIDS activism in 1989, got a PhD in Education in 1999. I worked in the HIV field until 2019 as educator and community based researcher in non-profits and universities. I have published fiction and nonfiction in the US and Canada. My memoirs, “Giving It Raw” came out in 2015. I am an Assistant Professor, Learning Innovations, at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto.

Beth Jackson (She/Her) - Ottawa, Ontario

I am a white, cisgender, gender non-conforming, lesbian/queer woman. I have worked to advance health equity for over 30 years: in the late 1980s-early 1990s in Winnipeg, I worked with sex trade workers, housing advocates and colleges/universities on HIV/AIDS prevention and support; in the late 1990s-early 2000s in Toronto, I worked with street-involved youth on supportive services, and with a national research group focused on gender equity in health care reform; and since 2007, I’ve focused my efforts on strengthening equity in evidence, policy and programs in the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) (Ottawa). In my 13 years at PHAC I’ve led work on the measurement and monitoring of health inequalities in Canada, and the social determinants of health and health inequities for 2SLGBTQ+, Indigenous, Black, and immigrant populations, and others marginalized by inequitable health and social systems (for example).

Rod Knight (He/Him) - Vancouver, British Columbia

I live and work on unceded Indigenous territories, including the territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nations. I am a gay cisgender white settler. I would like to identify ways to make the lives of LGBTQ2I+ people better.

Nathan Lachowsky (He/Him) - Victoria, British Columbia, traditional territory of the Lekwungen peoples, and the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ nations

I am a gay/queer cis man with Ukrainian and British heritage. I am proud and humbled to co-lead research with communities that I am a part of. I acknowledge my educational, economic, and others privileges, and view these as a call to action to better the lives of those in our communities who are most marginalized. It has never been easy being different. Before COVID-19, our communities already faced systemic discrimination and numerous health and social inequalities. During COVID-19, the government has failed to collect and report data that illuminates the unique experiences of our communities. This study aims to fill the gap. 

Matthew Numer (He/Him) - Halifax, Nova Scotia

I'm a cisgender gay man located in Halifax. I've been working and advocating in the field of HIV and queer health for most of my career.

I think it is important to recognize and understand how diverse communities are impacted by Covid-19, particularly in relation to health and well-being.

Margaret Robinson (She/Her) - Sesetkuk, Mi’kmaki

I approach work with LGBTQ2I+ communities as an insider researcher. I’m an L’nuskw scholar from Eskikewa’kik Nova Scotia and a member of Lennox Island First Nation. I identify as two-spirit, queer, and bisexual. I conduct health research with sexual and gender minority communities, drawing on my background as a bisexual activist and community-builder, and as a journalist for the queer press. I work at Dalhousie University where I hold a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Reconciliation, Gender, and Identity.

Queer and Indigenous communities bring a lot of wisdom to COVID-related work because this isn’t our first pandemic. We know the importance of love, culture, and celebration for keeping our communities well. This work matters to me as a Mi’kmaw woman because colonialism has long overburdened Indigenous communities with infectious disease. It also matters to me as a bisexual, since bi people are still stigmatized as vectors for disease transmission. I approach this work with a commitment to reduce stigma and to privilege lived experience.

Kristopher Wells (He/Him) - Edmonton, Alberta

I have been a researcher, educator, and advocate on LGBTQ2 issues for over 20+ years, including extensive work supporting LGBTQ youth, curriculum, policy, and gay-straight alliances. Currently, I serve as the Co-Editor of the Journal of LGBT Youth.

Paying attention to diversity, equity and human rights are critical in reducing disparities, promoting equality, and improving health outcomes for our community.

Tobias Wiggins (He/Him) - Calgary, Alberta

I am an assistant professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Athabasca University (AU). My research centers transgender mental health, queer visual culture, clinical transphobia, community-based wellness, and psychoanalysis. Broadly, my work aims to address the continued psychiatric pathologization of gender variance and to support the efficacy of trans-competent medical care. At AU, I coordinate the University Certificate in Counselling Women, an interdisciplinary program which applies feminist theory to the practice of counselling. My recent research has been published in the Transgender Studies Quarterly and the anthology Sex, Sexuality and Trans Identities: Clinical Guidance for Psychotherapists and Counselors.