Assistant Professor of Health Equity & Public Policy
Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
The Full Story
The Lodge Lab
The lab’s primary focus is on HIV prevention and care among gender and sexual minorities, particularly transgender women, applying syndemic and intersectionality theories to study how stigma, economic hardship, policy environments, and co-occurring mental health or substance use issues shape health behaviors. His team employs mixed-methods—combining qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys—across settings like India, Brazil, Tanzania, and the U.S., with a notable ongoing field project in India examining antiretroviral therapy adherence among trans women under the national “test and treat” policy
Mission
The lab’s primary focus is on HIV prevention and care among gender and sexual minorities, particularly transgender women, applying syndemic and intersectionality theories to study how stigma, economic hardship, policy environments, and co-occurring mental health or substance use issues shape health behaviors. His team employs mixed-methods—combining qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys—across settings like India, Brazil, Tanzania, and the U.S., with a notable ongoing field project in India examining antiretroviral therapy adherence among trans women under the national “test and treat” policy
Vision
Looking forward, Lodge Lab is anticipated to expand its intervention research—including designing and testing culturally tailored behavioral and structural programs that empower communities and address upstream determinants such as stigma and poverty. We can expect future ventures to incorporate randomized trials and implementation science to evaluate how policies and targeted interventions can be scaled within marginalized populations. Additionally, the lab may broaden its scope to other syndemic conditions like COVID-19’s interaction with HIV and substance use among sexual minority groups, continuing its commitment to informing both community-led initiatives and policy frameworks abroad and in the U.S.
