My current project is seeking to explore mental health patterns, particularly suicide, depression, and anxiety in the trans and non-binary community, especially as it pertains to the experience of microaggressions, loneliness, and gender minority stress.
Aside from this ongoing work, I am also involved in several projects at the Division of Psychiatry, all of which have a distinct focus on the LGBT+ community and their experiences of poor mental health.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion are terms that resonate with me deeply. I am an open and proud trans woman with lived experience of poor mental health. I believe that representation is key to engendering a sense of possibility in any career for people in marginalised communities. For me, seeing other trans people working and thriving in academic settings was and is a source of great inspiration and helps maintain my drive to produce work that empowers any marginalised community that I work with.
On a more personal note, I am frequently the only trans person on any given team, or in any given department that I work in. I know first-hand that this can be an isolating experience, and in departments where diversity is accepted, and sought after, I have had better relationships with colleagues as a consequence and felt less alone. I also see this impact my own work by striving to represent marginalised communities within my own marginalised community. EDI and intersectionality go hand in hand, we must recognise that humans are multifactorial, and that for many marginalised and minoritised people, the presence of stigma and discrimination in the workplace (or indeed in wider society) holds us back from achieving what we are very clearly capable of.