Pandemics
I am interested in the ethics of pandemics, including both COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS. My doctoral dissertation at York University was on the ethics of HIV prevention and my postdoctoral work at the University of Victoria focused on how HIV oral history and intergenerational solidarity can help us improve ongoing HIV prevention, treatment, and care today. My postdoctoral work at Western University focuses on the lessons we can learn from solidarity during HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 for our ongoing responses to both pandemics as well as future pandemics.
Research
HIV Prevention
I am interested in the social and political dimensions of the ethics of HIV prevention. My research focuses on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as HIV prevention among men who have sex with men (MSM), and specifically gay, bisexual, and queer men. My doctoral and postdoctoral work both focus on how moral concepts like risk, trust, and solidarity affect the decisions of both MSM and healthcare providers around HIV prevention. I am also presently working on a CIHR-funded project focusing on new long-acting injectable PrEP.
2SLGBTQ+ Health
I am interested in applying moral theories and concepts to issues involving 2SLGBTQ+ health. My doctoral and postdoctoral work involves thinking about how different HIV treatment and prevention strategies affect the lives, relationships, and communities of gay, bisexual, and queer men. I consider how we can trust sexual and romantic partners as well as healthcare providers and institutions and how we can build solidarity within 2SLGBTQ+ communities. This also includes applied intersectional work on other marginalized communities.
Climate Change
I am interested in the ethics of climate change and the effects of anthropocentrism on both our theoretical and practical approaches to the crisis. I focus on acknowledging and challenging anthropocentrism in order to improve our understanding of the crisis, which includes considering philosophical issues like the value of non-human nature, human and non-human animal rights, and intergenerational ethics. I also consider our practical responses to the climate crisis, like carbon pricing, and the role that climate justice plays in our various responses.
Non-Human Animals
I am interested in non-human animal personhood and non-human animal rights. I focus on how anthropocentrism, speciesism, and the uncanny valley problem affect our understanding of non-human animals and non-human nature more broadly. I also consider research on non-human animal minds, especially their cognitive abilities and their capacity for empathy, and whether some non-human animals, like chimpanzees, dolphins, and elephants, are good candidates for personhood and some of the legal rights we have as humans.
