HIV Prevention Lab
Our Team
Dr. Trevor Hart is the director of the HIV Prevention Lab and a current recipient of an Ontario HIV Treatment Network Endgame Leader Chair Award. The HIV Prevention Lab is staffed by Dr. Hart’s research team, consisting of a graduate student, a full-time lab manager, a research coordinators, a research assistant, and two post-doctoral fellows.
Our Mission
The mission of the HIV Prevention Lab is to conduct rigorous basic and applied research that can be used to prevent HIV transmission and promote positive sexual and mental health among vulnerable populations and people living with HIV.
About
The HIV Prevention Lab conducts research on how to prevent HIV transmission among groups that are at a higher risk for acquiring HIV. We also conduct research on how to promote quality of life among people living with HIV. The mission of the HIV Prevention Lab is to conduct rigorous basic and applied research that can be used to prevent HIV transmission and promote positive sexual and mental health among vulnerable populations and people living with HIV. Dr. Trevor Hart is the director of the HIV Prevention Lab and the Director of the HOPE Centre for Sexual and Gender Minority People. The HIV Prevention Lab is staffed by Dr. Hart’s research team, which currently consists of four graduate students, a full-time lab manager, 2 full-time research coordinators, a research nurse, two post-doctoral fellows, and four volunteer research assistants.
Research Focus
MESH (Men’s Experiences of Substances and sexual Health)
This multiphase, sequential mixed-methods biopsychosocial study aims to examine potential modifiable mechanisms that may explain different types of crystal methamphetamine (CM) use and associated mental and sexual health outcomes among gay, bisexual, and queer (GBM) men.
Engage
The Engage Cohort Study is Canadian collaboration between researchers and community-based organizations on HIV and sexual health among gay, bi, and queer men, including trans men, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) in Canada. Its three primary aims are to provide research evidence to inform HIV and STBBI prevention initiatives for Canadian GBM, build capacity for a pan-Canadian network on HIV and sexual health research for GBM, and integrate community engagement into all stages of the project to enhance community-researcher collaboration and bidirectional knowledge exchange.
News Grid
Dr. Trevor Hart inducted into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences
October 2, 2024
This past week, Dr. Trevor Hart was granted the honour of attending and receiving his induction into the Canadian Academy...
Read moreFEATURE: TMU researchers secure CIHR grants for wide-ranging essential health research
August 26, 2024
A brief announcement story on the OVPRI website — we received priority announcement funding for our project entitled, An Integrated...
Read moreGreetings from SPSSI!
June 27, 2024
A postcard from our Post-doc (and former Post-doc), Paolo and Shayna, in Philadelphia for the Society for the Psychological Study...
Read moreHIV Prevention Lab and the HOPE Centre
Stand in Solidarity with
Trans and 2SLGBTQIA+ People
We are amidst a striking backlash targeting 2 Spirit, trans, and non-binary people, drag performers, and broader 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Gender-diverse identities are being targeted and attacked for political gain, putting trans lives and trans youth lives in danger.
On September 20, 2023, anti-trans marches took place in cities across Canada. The HIV Prevention Lab and the HOPE Centre for Sexual and Gender Minority People want to add to the responses of BC’s Human Rights Commissioner, the 519 Centre, and the CBRC to these hate-fueled marches by affirming that the human rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ people are not up for debate.
We strive to create a safe, inclusive, just, and equitable space for 2SLGBTQIA+ and all people to thrive. 2SLGBTQIA+ lives matter. Trans lives matter. The safety of trans youth matters. Every single day.
The HIV Prevention Lab stands in solidarity
with the University’s Indigenous community
in the renaming of
Toronto Metropolitan University
To learn more about the University’s new name and the process in which the name was chosen, we encourage you to read more about the University’s new name.
A key focus of the HIV Prevention Lab’s work is to acknowledge and highlight the health disparities and inequities that exist within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. A recent Canadian research report highlights the unique experiences of Indigenous trans, two-spirit, and non-binary people that negatively impact their health and wellbeing, particularly high rates of violence, harassment, and social exclusion. Importantly, the report also highlights the unique strengths and resiliency of Indigenous trans, two-spirit, and non-binary individuals and communities. As a part of Pride Month, we encourage community members to stand in solidarity with and advocate for the racialized, trans, non-binary, and two-spirit members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community who continue to experience disproportionate levels of discrimination, oppression, and marginalization.
Statement on Anti-Racism Action
The HIV Prevention Lab acknowledges the violent and tragic history of racism and colonialism as well as the ongoing oppression of Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour. We also acknowledge that both science and academia are complicit in these systems of racism and oppression. We commit to respond with anti-racist action, including:
- Actively recruiting and supporting Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour in our lab.
- To conduct research examining the role of racism and colonialism in the lives of people who are Black, Indigenous, and/or other people of colour.
- To conduct intersectional analyses that examine how racism and colonialism interact with other oppressive systems such as homophobia and sexism in the lives of gay, bisexual, queer, and other men who have sex with men who are Black, Indigenous, and/or people of colour.
- To mandate training among lab members on anti-racism and anti-colonialism, and to mandate that we discuss how to implement this knowledge to improve our research and clinical practices.