Rusty Souleymanov

Dr. Rusty Souleymanov is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba, with interdisciplinary training in social work, public health, and psychology.

• Doctor of Philosophy (Social Work and Collaborative Program in Public Health Policy) – University of Toronto, 2018 
• Masters of Social Work – University of Toronto, 2012  
• Bachelors of Science with Honours (Psychology) – University of Toronto, 2009 

Dr. Souleymanov’s interdisciplinary program of study focuses on the health and wellbeing of socially and economically marginalized communities with a particular focus on community-based health research and the social sciences of harm reduction and infectious disease. For the past twelve years he has been imbedded in research practice as a community-based HIV/AIDS and harm reduction researcher in Canada. His research also seeks to inform culturally sensitive models of healthcare and community-based services for marginalized communities in Canada. His research foci include the following areas:

• decolonizing HIV/AIDS and community-based health research
• sexual health, marginalization, and sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections
• HIV services, policy, and testing innovations
• substance use, harm reduction, and drug policy
• racial, ethnic, and cultural inequities in health 
• sociology of sexuality, chemsex
• impacts of COVID-19 on marginalized communities
• community-based research ethics, biopolitics, and critical dimensions of health

As the director of a community-based research lab called Village Lab in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba, Dr. Souleymanov continues to make significant contributions to social, healthcare, and public health policies and services that impact key populations in Manitoba and across Canada. Through the Village Lab Dr. Souleymanov is hosting an active research capacity strengthening/training program for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community called Investigaytors Winnipeg. His current projects in the Village Lab focus on research with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people; Black, African, and Caribbean people; 2SLGBTQIA+ people; refugees and immigrants; people who use drugs; and people living with HIV and Hepatitis C. Dr. Souleymanov is currently the principal investigator on several community-based health research projects including: 

• Gigii-Bapiimin Study: Exploring resilience and the impacts of COVID-19 on the health and wellbeing of Indigenous people living with HIV/AIDS in Manitoba and Saskatchewan
• Ubuntu-Pamoja Study: The HIV/STBBI Testing and the Health of African and Caribbean Migrant Communities in Manitoba
• The Manitoba Two-Spirit, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Men’s Health study
• Migration and Health Study
• The Manitoba 2SGBQ+ and COVID-19 study

Dr. Souleymanov’s program of study is funded by multiple grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Manitoba Medical Service Foundation, the Winnipeg Foundation, Federal Government of Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada, Gilead Sciences, as well as financial support from the University of Manitoba.

For a detailed list of Dr. Souleymanov’s publications and extensive body of work, please visit his Research Gate page.  

Dr. Souleymanov's is committed to creating educational spaces that centre communities who have been historically excluded in academia. He teaches from a queer-feminist, anti-colonial, and anti-racist perspective. His teaching interests include community organizing and development, research methods and epistemology, and social work practice with groups. Dr. Souleymanov is training, supervising, and building capacity among emerging scholars/students who are entering the field of HIV/AIDS, harm reduction, mental health, sexual health, Indigenous health, migrant health, and 2SLGBTQIA+ research and community practice. 

Dr. Souleymanov is currently serving on the Board of Directors of Nine Circles Community Health Centre, Realize Canada, and on the stewardship team of the Manitoba HIV/STBBI Collective Impact Network. He is also a member of University of Manitoba Senate Executive Committee.