Lisa Lazarus, PhD, MPH

Research summary

Dr. Lisa Lazarus has been collaborating on community-based research studies since 2010 and has partnered with community-led organizations in Kenya, India, and Canada.

Her PhD research, an ethnographic study of an HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) demonstration project led by a sex worker collective known as Ashodaya Samithi, based in Mysore, India, built on 10 years of community-based collaborations with the organization.

Her research critically examined how we define "success" in global public health interventions, as well as the significant role that communities themselves play in "making success".

Dr. Lisa Lazarus is a critical social scientist, with a focus on community-based research methodologies in the field of HIV sciences. She is particularly interested in how we further democratize community-based research partnerships across research disciplines.

She has partnered with community-based organizations led by sex workers and people who use substances in India, Kenya, and Canada, and has conducted collaborative research studies in Ukraine. Her work strives to centre community voices, with research questions driven by community priorities and social justice.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba (2015-2019)

Master of Public Health, Simon Fraser University (2008-2010)

Special Bachelor of Social Work, McGill University (2004-2005)

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology, McGill University (2001-2004)

Awards

2019:

• Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement
• CIHR Doctoral Research Award

2016:

• Research Manitoba Doctoral Research Award (Declined)

2015:

• David G. Fish Memorial Scholarship

2011:

• Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR) Conference Scholarship for Research Within Vulnerable Populations