David Brennan

Dr. David J. Brennan is a Professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (University of Toronto), OHTN Research Chair in Gay and Bisexual Men’s Health and the Director of CRUISElab (www.cruiselab.ca), a social science research lab focused on gay and bisexual men’s health. Dr. Brennan’s research, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Ontario HIV Treatment Network, and the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CanFAR), has examined the ways in which gay and bisexual men who are marginalized by gender identity, race, age and HIV status access health and social service information online to maximize health and wellness. He has examined the intersection of racism and body image among ethnoracialized gay men, aging and HIV, and resilience among two-spirit gay and bisexual men who are HIV-positive. Espousing community based research principles, he has worked with nearly 40 different community based and AIDS Service Organizations here in Ontario. David has consulted with UNAIDS on how web apps may be useful for gay men in lower income countries. David’s Cruising Counts study (funded by OHTN) was essential in developing new guidelines for online outreach to gay men in Ontario.

Dr. Brennan’s current study, (#iCruise, funded by CANFAR) is examining how young gay men use apps and online spaces for sexual health and has recently also been funded by CIHR to extend the study to gay men throughout the life cycle. Prior to moving to Toronto in 2007, David volunteered and worked in the HIV field since 1983. He served as the social work and bereavement coordinator for the first federally certified AIDS Hospice in the US and the Associate Director of Clinical Services at AIDS Action Committee in Boston.