Cornel Grey

Cornel Grey is an assistant professor in the department of gender, sexuality, and women’s studies at Western University. He recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH) where he examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social and sexual lives of gay, bisexual, and queer men. Grey’s research questions risk, health and relationality to understand the health and wellbeing of Black queer men – and the supports the community needs to thrive.  

Grey’s research explores kinship and intimacy between Black queer men through skin-to-skin touch. Grey’s new research project is supported by the Black Research Network’s IGNITE grant, where he will begin to document the positive impacts of touch for the community and how this was affected during the COVID-19 pandemic – an extension of the research he conducted as a postdoctoral fellow at DLSPH.  

Alongside various teaching roles at the university, Grey has been a part of volunteer initiatives that foster safe and inclusive spaces for the LGBTQ community.