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Meet the Team

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Sari Reisner, ScD

(He / Him / His)

Sari Reisner, ScD is Director of Transgender Research in the Section of Men’s Health, Aging and Metabolism, in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Reisner is also Director of Transgender Health Research at The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Trained as a social and psychiatric epidemiologist, his research addresses health disparities in sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations, with specialization in transgender health and in adolescent and young adult health. Dr. Reisner is an investigator of multiple LGBTQ health studies funded domestically and internationally, including a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) project to enroll and follow a cohort of 4,500 transgender patients in Boston and New York City to prospectively assess the impact of medical gender affirmation on physical and mental health outcomes. He has co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles in LGBTQ health. In 2016, he was profiled in The Lancet as a global leader in transgender health, and was honored as a member of the 2015 Trans100 List which celebrates work “by” and “for” transgender people, in recognition of his contributions in transgender health.

Harvard Biography

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Cassie Vuong

(She / Her / Hers)

Project Support Coordinator, The Fenway Institute

Cassie Vuong is a Research Assistant within the Epidemiology Team at The Fenway Institute in Boston, MA. She is passionate about promoting the health and wellbeing of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially LGBTQIA+ people of color. Currently, she works on the LEAP study. Outside of work, she’s a thrill seeker who loves adventure, traveling and experiencing new things.

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David Pletta, PHD, MPH

(He / Him / His)

Epidemiology Analyst, The Fenway Institute

David R. Pletta, PhD, MPH is a Research Scientist at the Brown University School of Public Health and a Consultant at The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health. He oversees data analysis for the LEGACY Project. David’s research focuses on: (1) sexual and psychiatric health inequities affecting sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations; (2) the epidemiology of sexually transmitted infections and HIV among SGM adults; and (3) how social contexts and social support influences the psychiatric health of SGM people. David earned a PhD in Population Health Sciences from Harvard University, an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the Boston University School of Public Health, and a BS & BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

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Genesis Valera

(She / Her / Hers)

Project Coordinator, The Fenway Institute

Genesis Valera (She/Her) works as a Project Coordinator on the Epidemiology Team at The Fenway Institute. Coming on to her fifth year at the institute she has worked on various studies focusing on transgender and gender diverse populations. Genesis was one of the leads who worked on the LITE Study,  focused on the advancement of trans women's sexual health. She is passionate about the development and progress of trans and gender diverse healthcare and has been heavily involved in the local LGBT+ community in Boston for many years. During her free time, she tends to her many animals on her farm.

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Rodrigo Aguayo-Romero, PhD

(They/Them/Elle)

Research Scientist, Whitman-Walker Institute

Consultant, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Dr. Aguayo-Romero (they/them) is a Research Scientist at the Whitman-Walker Institute. They completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Transgender Health Research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, with affiliations at Harvard Medical School and the Fenway Institute. They are the co-chair of the joint task force of the American Psychological Association’s Division 44 and the Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity revising the Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People. They are a clinical-psychologist by training and their research focuses on understanding how intersectional experiences of discrimination faced by gender, sexual, ethno-racial, and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups impact health overall. Their research examines risk behaviors and health disparities—with an emphasis on HIV—using epidemiologic quantitative methods and principles of Participatory Action Research. They draw from systems approaches that apply modified social-ecological models, intersectionality, and syndemics frameworks. They are establishing a research agenda addressing health disparities among Latinx sexual and gender minorities in the Americas starting with the United States, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. They are the PI of the following grants: 

  • K01 grant funded by NIMH (K01MH134764) “Intersectional discrimination and linkage to HIV prevention and care in transgender women in Ecuador”

  • NIH CFAR supplement award “Developing a community-driven HIV research agenda to guide DC CFAR’s expansion in DC’s highest-burden neighborhoods: Needs assessment with four high priority populations”

  • HU CFAR developmental award "Optimizing biobehavioral HIV prevention for Latina transgender women in the eastern and southern US: An intersectional mixed-methods study”

Meg Quint, BS

(They/Them/Theirs)

Research Assistant II, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Aleksander Meyer

(He / Him / His)

Research Assistant, The Fenway Institute

Aleksander Meyer is a Research Assistant in the Epidemiology Team at The Fenway Institute. He is passionate about reproductive justice and transgender healthcare. He is currently working on the TOGETHR Study, an HIV prevention project for transgender men and transmasculine people. Aleksander has a BA in Public Health and Medical Anthropology from Hampshire College. 

Previous Team Members

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Dana Pardee, BS

(He / Him / His)

Director of Epidemiology Projects, The Fenway Institute

Dana is currently the Director of Epidemiology Projects at The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health in Boston, MA. In this role, he oversees the development, implementation, and operations of multiple transgender health studies, with particular focus on preventive sexual health screening, and development and implementation of HIV prevention interventions with transgender individuals.

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Juwan Campbell, MA

(They/Them/Theirs)

Jr. Programmer/Analyst, The Fenway Institute

Juwan is a Programmer/Analyst at Fenway Health. They assist in managing data and analysis for research projects within The Fenway Institute. Juwan is most passionate about addressing social determinates of health through research in clinical settings and lessening the burden of research on patients through innovative methods. During their spare time, Juwan enjoys board games, table-top games, and video games with friends.

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Andrew Asquith, BA

(He / Him / His)

Study Coordinator, The Fenway Institute

Andrew is a transgender man who works at The Fenway Institute as a Study Coordinator. Andrew coordinates a panel of transgender health research projects, of which the primary focus is sexual health, HIV prevention, and gender affirmation. He holds a bachelor's degree in Women’s and Gender Studies from Syracuse University. He most recently presented his research at the APHA Annual Meeting and the WPATH Symposium. He believes that centering trans voices is imperative for positive change.

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Lauren Sava, MPH

(She / Her / Hers)

Study Coordinator, The Fenway Institute

Lauren Sava is a Study Coordinator on the Epidemiology Team at Fenway Health. Her current work focuses in qualitative and mixed methods research and research coordination. Lauren is passionate about LGBTQ+ youth health needs in schools, including inclusive sexual health education, mental health services, and preventing and responding to bullying. Lauren has her MPH in Global Health and Epidemiology with an emphasis in Sex, Sexuality, Gender, and Health from Boston University and her BA in Health, Behavior, and Society from the University of Rochester. She enjoys traveling and spending time with her cat.

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