HIV Prevention Lab
Our Team
Dr. Trevor Hart is the director of the HIV Prevention Lab and a current recipient of an Ontario HIV Treatment Network Endgame Leader Chair Award. The HIV Prevention Lab is staffed by Dr. Hart’s research team, consisting of a graduate student, a full-time lab manager, a research coordinators, a research assistant, and two post-doctoral fellows.
Our Mission
The mission of the HIV Prevention Lab is to conduct rigorous basic and applied research that can be used to prevent HIV transmission and promote positive sexual and mental health among vulnerable populations and people living with HIV.
About
The HIV Prevention Lab conducts research on how to prevent HIV transmission among groups that are at a higher risk for acquiring HIV. We also conduct research on how to promote quality of life among people living with HIV. The mission of the HIV Prevention Lab is to conduct rigorous basic and applied research that can be used to prevent HIV transmission and promote positive sexual and mental health among vulnerable populations and people living with HIV. Dr. Trevor Hart is the director of the HIV Prevention Lab and the Director of the HOPE Centre for Sexual and Gender Minority People. The HIV Prevention Lab is staffed by Dr. Hart’s research team, which currently consists of four graduate students, a full-time lab manager, 2 full-time research coordinators, a research nurse, two post-doctoral fellows, and four volunteer research assistants.
Research Focus
Sexual and gender minority Counselling Training Hub (SCTH)
Formerly known as the Gay Counselling Training Hub (GCTH), the SCTH provides high-quality counselling training to individuals and organizations involved in counselling gay men to use evidence-based approaches for promoting behaviour change, health, and well-being.
Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS)
The SAAS is available on an open-science basis and permission is granted to anyone looking to use the scale so long as the original citation is provided. The scale is calculated as a simple sum of items, with item #1 reverse-coded, the articles below will also allow you to compare your study sample to other clinical and non-clinical samples.
Loneliness Longitudinal Study
This is a mixed-method, 3-year study looking at loneliness, social support, and well-being.
News Grid
Yusuf Ghauri’s Paper Published in Behavioral Sciences
June 26, 2025
HIV Prev Lab’s Research Associate, Yusuf Ghauri’s paper, Examining Longitudinal Risk and Strengths-Based Factors Associated with Depression Symptoms Among Sexual...
Read moreDr. Hart Awarded the 2024 Dean Service Award
May 30, 2025
Dr. Trevor Hart was awarded the 2024 Dean Service Award for his contributions to the Faculty of Arts, Toronto Metropolitan...
Read moreLab Get-Together 2025
May 26, 2025
The HIV Prevention team hosted a lab get-together for 2025 this May! Pictured is Dr. Hart and the volunteer RAs!
Read moreHIV Prevention Lab and the HOPE Centre
Stand in Solidarity with
Trans and 2SLGBTQIA+ People
We are amidst a striking backlash targeting 2 Spirit, trans, and non-binary people, drag performers, and broader 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Gender-diverse identities are being targeted and attacked for political gain, putting trans lives and trans youth lives in danger.
On September 20, 2023, anti-trans marches took place in cities across Canada. The HIV Prevention Lab and the HOPE Centre for Sexual and Gender Minority People want to add to the responses of BC’s Human Rights Commissioner, the 519 Centre, and the CBRC to these hate-fueled marches by affirming that the human rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ people are not up for debate.
We strive to create a safe, inclusive, just, and equitable space for 2SLGBTQIA+ and all people to thrive. 2SLGBTQIA+ lives matter. Trans lives matter. The safety of trans youth matters. Every single day.
The HIV Prevention Lab stands in solidarity
with the University’s Indigenous community
in the renaming of
Toronto Metropolitan University
To learn more about the University’s new name and the process in which the name was chosen, we encourage you to read more about the University’s new name.
A key focus of the HIV Prevention Lab’s work is to acknowledge and highlight the health disparities and inequities that exist within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. A recent Canadian research report highlights the unique experiences of Indigenous trans, two-spirit, and non-binary people that negatively impact their health and wellbeing, particularly high rates of violence, harassment, and social exclusion. Importantly, the report also highlights the unique strengths and resiliency of Indigenous trans, two-spirit, and non-binary individuals and communities. As a part of Pride Month, we encourage community members to stand in solidarity with and advocate for the racialized, trans, non-binary, and two-spirit members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community who continue to experience disproportionate levels of discrimination, oppression, and marginalization.
Statement on Anti-Racism Action
The HIV Prevention Lab acknowledges the violent and tragic history of racism and colonialism as well as the ongoing oppression of Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour. We also acknowledge that both science and academia are complicit in these systems of racism and oppression. We commit to respond with anti-racist action, including:
- Actively recruiting and supporting Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour in our lab.
- To conduct research examining the role of racism and colonialism in the lives of people who are Black, Indigenous, and/or other people of colour.
- To conduct intersectional analyses that examine how racism and colonialism interact with other oppressive systems such as homophobia and sexism in the lives of gay, bisexual, queer, and other men who have sex with men who are Black, Indigenous, and/or people of colour.
- To mandate training among lab members on anti-racism and anti-colonialism, and to mandate that we discuss how to implement this knowledge to improve our research and clinical practices.