Giving Visibility, Voice and Value to Sexual and Gender Minority Research
Wednesday, June 23, 2021, at 2 pm – 3 pm EDT / 11 am – 12 pm PDT
Join us over zoom. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYtdOmsrjMuGNbejy3Ny-d1Zb37pPx6R_85
Speakers:
Manuel “Manny” A. Ocasio, PhD, MSPH
Gary W. Harper, PhD
Drs. Ocasio and Harper will describe their career journeys and discuss the challenges of both being sexual minority researchers and conducting SGMY-focused research. Lastly, they will talk about their mentoring relationship and the importance of mentorship for researchers from underrepresented backgrounds.
Manuel “Manny” A. Ocasio, PhD, MSPH is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Tulane University School of Medicine. He is an epidemiologist whose work to date has primarily focused on HIV prevention in sexual minority adolescents of color, particularly Black and Latinx. An early-stage investigator, Dr. Ocasio is actively developing his research to formulate high impact, community-engaged research with and for sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) of color in the South.
Gary W. Harper, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. For nearly 30 years, Dr. Harper’s research and community work focuses on the mental health and sexual health needs of adolescents and young adults who experience varying degrees of oppression and marginalization, especially Black SGMY, and youth living with HIV. Dr. Harper has worked collaboratively with community members to develop and evaluate developmentally and culturally appropriate interventions, in both the US and sub-Saharan Africa. He has mentored hundreds of undergraduate students and more than 50 pre- and post-doctoral scholars. Dr. Harper has mentored Dr. Ocasio for the past 2 years.
The aims of the DNC presentation series are to highlight research on prevention science and public health that is led by researchers from underrepresented groups and primarily conduct research with groups that are understudied (e.g., racial/ethnic minorities, individuals who identify as a sexual minority, individuals with disabilities). The presentation series will also aim to create a forum for the guest speaker(s) to share career/professional reflections as a researcher from an underrepresented group(s) and to promote discussions of diversity and inclusion in professions related to prevention science and public health.