Dr. Shayna Skakoon-Sparling

Dr. Shayna Skakoon-Sparling is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Guelph. She is also affiliate faculty with the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University and is an affiliate scientist with the Canadian Alliance for Social Connection and Health.

Dr. Sparling earned her PhD in Applied Social Psychology from the University of Windsor and went on to complete a CTN and CIHR funded postdoctoral fellowship at Toronto Metropolitan University, under the supervision of Dr. Trevor Hart.

Her research explores the impact of stigma and the importance of social connection for the health and well-being of sexual and gender minority populations, with a focus on sexual minority men.

Dr. Sparling is involved in CTN 300-2, the Engage Cohort Study, which is gathering longitudinal information about the sexual and mental health of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men in Canada’s largest urban centres (i.e., Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver).