What brought you to the UAB School of Public Health?

I knew it was the opportunity of a lifetime to serve as the inaugural holder of a position explicitly focused on LGBTQ health at a public university in the deep south.

What is the broad focus of your research?

I look at all levels of LGBTQ health including the ways in which the broader legal and policy context influences individual-level health outcomes.

Where did you receive your training and degrees?

I received my master’s and doctoral degrees at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and completed my postdoctoral studies at Brown University.

What is your favorite self-authored manuscript?

One of the first papers I published was initially rejected by an editor who wrote a nine-page critique in red and bold font (who does that?). I was early in my career, and it hurt my heart. At the same time, that level of rejection made me feel like I didn't have a lot to lose, so I re-wrote much of the paper in my own authentic voice, rather than a generic academic one. I think over the years I've struggled with how to respect the academic format while not losing my sense of vision and purpose in its neutrality. Slowly I'm finding ways to get back to that authentic voice, and it feels really good.

What professional accomplishment are you most proud of so far in your career?

It depends on the day. Some days I would say getting this job. Other days I would say the community event we did in collaboration with Magic City Acceptance Center where we brought AVEDA stylists and gave free haircuts to more than 30 LGBTQ youth. Other days I would say the NIH conference that we just held in collaboration with the Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office that brought over 60 people together from across the region. Most days my biggest accomplishment is just figuring out how to be myself, a mom and a professional all at the same time. The biggest wins often come from the smallest moments that eventually thread together to help me feel like life is generally moving in the right direction.

What is the coolest training or program you've been a part of, or your favorite conference you've attended?

I do love a good American Public Health Association conference! It can be really refreshing to step out of the day-to-day grind and connect with friends and colleagues in a different context to talk about our personal and professional lives.

What kind of research would you like to be doing that you haven’t yet had the opportunity to do?

I'm interested in better understanding the ways in which living in positive or punitive legal and policy contexts interacts with our biology and potentially accelerates our aging processes.

If you had the funding to answer one research questions what would that question?

How does the broader legal and policy environment that we live in affect our individual and collective health and wellbeing?

If you weren’t in academia, what would your career be?

I would be a showrunner for Bridgerton. Not kidding.