Dr. Mona Loutfy is a Professor, Infectious Diseases Specialist and Senior Clinician Scientist at Women’s College Hospital and the University of Toronto. She launched the Women HIV and Health Research Program at the Women’s College Research Institute in 2006 to carry out social justice research related to women, reproductive health, stigma, retention in care and HIV and other STBBIs. She works from a community-based research model involving the people that her research will affect at all stages. In 2017, Mona received a CIHR Foundation Grant for her Research Program with the launching of the TWIRI as one of the objectives.​

Asya Gunduz is a community incubator, trans activist and researcher who has an M.A. in Gender Studies at the University of Gothenburg. Currently working as policy lead on trans and gender diverse HIV prevention at the Ontario HIV Treatment Network, she has had more than 6 years of experience in front-line and administerial roles at sexual health clinics, peer-to-peer navigation programs and NGOSs in Turkey, Sweden and Canada. She is one of the initiators of LubunTo, a recently fledging community for LGBTI+ people from Turkey living in Toronto. She is co-chair of the Trans Women and Gender Diverse People HIV/STBBI Research Initiative (TWIRI) as well as co-vice chair at the Board of Maggie's Toronto, a sex worker justice organization. Her intersectional endeavours are rooted in anti-colonialism, refugee advocacy and GIPA/MEPA.​​

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Chelsea Davis is the Community Engagement & Volunteer Programs Manager at Fife House Foundation and a passionate advocate for inclusion, empowerment, and gender-affirming care. As a proud trans woman living with HIV, Chelsea draws on her lived experience to inform her community-based work and strengthen her commitment to ensuring trans and gender-diverse people living with HIV are heard, represented, and supported. Before joining Fife House, Chelsea worked with the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation (PWA), where she coordinated empowering workshops, fostered peer connection, and advocated for the rights and wellbeing of women and gender-diverse people living with HIV. Her work continues to focus on breaking stigma, building community, and creating spaces of understanding and belonging for those whose experiences are often overlooked. Chelsea believes in the transformative power of empathy, collaboration, and visibility to drive lasting change.

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Ashley (she/her) received her MSW (2010) and PhD (2018) from the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto.  Her community-based interdisciplinary research agenda advances two overarching areas: (1) Sexual and reproductive healthcare access among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (trans), queer and other sexuality and gender diverse (LGBTQ+) people and women living with HIV, with a substantive focus on trans women living with HIV; and, (2) Social ecological, intersectionality and multi-level stigma theoretical approaches applied to understand and address LGBTQ+ and women living with HIV’s health in local and global contexts. Lacombe-Duncan’s work informs interventions to remove multi-level barriers and increase access to intersectionally affirming healthcare.

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Angela Underhill is a PhD candidate in the Family Relations and Human Development program at the University of Guelph. She is also the Research Manager of TWIRI and the Women HIV and Health Research Program at Women's College Hospital in Toronto, Canada. Angela is an interdisciplinary, feminist scholar and educator who focuses on intersectional and queer feminist research approaches to advance social inclusion and equitable care, particularly as it relates to sex, gender, and sexual and reproductive health. In short, Angela works to increase access to care for folks who may experience barriers, focusing specifically on changing the systems that make it difficult for these folks. Angela believes community-based research is essential to contributing to meaningful, sustainable and positive change for people and loves working with community, organizations, and service providers to find the best ways forward.

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Rsha Soud received her MSc in the Family Relations and Human Development program at the University of Guelph. She is also the Research Coordinator of Trans Women and Gender Diverse People HIV/STBBI and Health Research Initiative and the Women HIV and Health Research Program at Women's College Hospital in Toronto. Rsha’s research interests focus on the intersection of sexual health and education, particularly regarding the experiences of marginalized communities, including individuals with disabilities and LGBTQ+ populations. She is dedicated to exploring how societal barriers and gaps in sexual health education impact knowledge, awareness, and access to resources, advocating for inclusive and accessible sexual health materials that meet the diverse needs of all individuals.​

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Ellie (he/him) is the Community Leadership and Research Coordinator at the Trans Women and Gender Diverse People HIV/STBBI and Health Research Initiative. With 4 years of community based research experience and frontline experience in clinic admin, Ellie brings his lived and professional experience to benefit his communities and those he is allied with. He is passionate about queer and trans health equity, HIV and sexual healthcare, and equity for newcomers, and strives to bring about tangible change through his work at TWIRI. 

Dr. Ian Armstrong is a family physician with a clinical focus on HIV care, transgender health, and sexual health. They joined the Transgender Women HIV Research Initiative in 2019. They are interested in addressing gaps in knowledge about HIV drug-hormone interactions and treatment satisfaction, so that trans women and non-binary folks can make fully informed decisions about their health. They also see patients in the Hassle Free Men & Trans Clinic, and the CAMH Adult Gender Identity Clinic.

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Dr. Carmen Logie is a Professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, an Adjunct Scientist at Women’s College Hospital, and Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation Early Researcher (2016-21).  Carmen conducts community-based global research (Canada, Jamaica, Haiti, Swaziland, Lesotho, Uganda) focused on the social contexts that shape wellbeing. She is particularly interested in understanding and addressing intersectional stigma associated with multiple marginalized identities, including race and ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity and expression, HIV, poverty, sex work, and substance use. Carmen has been working on mixed-methods community-based research initiatives with trans women living and affected by HIV in Canada, Jamaica, Swaziland and Lesotho for the past decade.

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Wangari Tharao is the Director of Research and Programs at Women’s Health at Women’s Hands, a community health centre that provides primary healthcare services for African, Caribbean, Black, Latin American and South Asian women in Toronto and surrounding areas.  She is also a community based researcher, with a focus on research that bridges knowledge generation, programmatic and policy practice to support effective actions on HIV. Wangari is also a recognized HIV advocate and has co-founded several provincial, national and international networks including, the African and Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario (ACCHO), the Canadian HIV/AIDS Black, African and Caribbean Network (CHABAC) and the African and Black Diaspora Global Network on HIV and AIDS (ABDGN) to support Black populations living in Canada and other developed countries mount effective responses to HIV/AIDS.​​

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