OmiSoore Dryden

Professor/Tier 1, Canada Research Chair (CIHR), Black Health Studies/Director, Black Studies Research Institute (in STEMM)

OmiSooreDrydenHeadshot

Related information


Email: OmiSoore.Dryden@dal.ca
Mailing Address: 
Dalhousie University
PO Box 15000
5869 University Avenue
Halifax NS B3H 4R2

Office hours: by appointment. Email: crcbkhs@dal.ca
 
Research Topics:
  • Black Health Studies
  • Black Queer, Trans, and Gender-Diverse Health
  • Black Health Justice, Liberation Praxis, and Structural Transformation
  • Community-Led Knowledge Production and Governance
  • Disrupting Anti-Black Racism and Structural Inequities
  • Anti-Racist, Abolitionist Approaches to Health and Medical Education
  • Black Feminist, Africentric, and Decolonial Health Epistemologies
  • Black Methodologies and Knowledge Production in STEMM

Biography

Dr. OmiSoore H. Dryden (she/her) is a Black queer femme and Professor at Dalhousie University, holding the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Black Health Studies. Her research centres Black life, Black [Queer] Studies + Health Studies, advancing Black queer, trans, and gender-diverse health through community-led approaches to health, education, data governance, and STEMM.

Education

  • PhD Social Justice Education (Sociology and Equity Studies in Education) Ontario Institute for the Study of Education/University of Toronto
  • MA, Women’s Studies, York University
  • BA, Political Science, York University

Memberships/ Services and Activities

  • Co-lead (Co-founder), Black Health Education Collaborative

Publications

  • Dryden, OmiSoore H., and Suzanne Lenon. “Introduction: Beyond Homonationalisms: Queer(er) Possibilities of Elsewhere and Imagining Otherwise.” Topia: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies, vol. 50, June 2025, pp. 1-7
  • Owino, Maurice, OmiSoore H. Dryden, David Este, et al. “A Manifesto for Transformative Action on HIV among Black Communities in Canada.” Canadian Journal of Public Health, vol. 115, 2024, pp. 245–249, doi:10.17269/s41997-024-00856-y
  • Dryden, OmiSoore H. Got Blood to Give: Anti‑Black Homophobia in Blood Donation. Fernwood Publishing, 2024.
  • Dryden, OmiSoore H. “Foreword.” The Regulation of Desire: Queer Histories, Queer Struggles. 3rd ed., by Gary Kinsman, Concordia University Press, 2024.
  • Douglas, Delia, OmiSoore H. Dryden, et al. “Black Health Education Collaborative: The Important Role of Critical Race Theory in Disrupting Anti‑Black Racism in Medical Practice and Education.” CMAJ, vol. 195, no. 4, 2023, pp. E1422–E1424

Employment

  • Tier 1, Canada Research Chair (CIHR), Black Health Studies
  • Professor, Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University

Research interests

My research advances Black Health Studies by centring Black feminist, Africentric, decolonial, and abolitionist epistemologies. I examine Black queer, trans, and gender-diverse health through community-led knowledge production, disrupting anti-Black racism and structural inequities while advancing justice-oriented methodologies and transformative approaches to health, medical education, and STEMM knowledge production.