Emily A. Paine

I am a medical sociologist and a T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies. I take an intersectional, mixed-methods approach to examine structural inequities shaping minority health and well-being across social contexts. I am particularly motivated to understand—and develop interventions to address—how economic marginalization, race- and gender-based oppression, and multi-level stigma drive health disparities among gender and sexual minorities. I serve as a member of the NYC HIV Planning Group and strive to conduct community-driven health disparities research. Currently, I am Principal Investigator of a pilot study to inform the future adaptation of an economic empowerment intervention for economically marginalized transgender and nonbinary people living with HIV or navigating HIV risk in the United States. The HIV Center Development Core funds this research. I also serve as a Co-Investigator of a study funded by the Smithers Foundation that examines barriers and facilitators to substance use treatment among sexual and gender minorities who use opioids. Another line of research focuses on stigma, discrimination, and affirmation faced by LGBTQ people within healthcare and interpersonal relationships. These studies have been supported by the National Science Foundation, Urban Ethnography Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, CLAGS: Center for LGBTQ Research, and the National Institute on Aging.