Ayden Scheim

Ayden Scheim is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Drexel University's Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. He holds adjunct appointments at the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation (St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto) and Western University’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and is a Visiting Professor at UCSF’s Center for AIDS Prevention Studies. His research focuses on social epidemiology, particularly intersections of stigma, policy, and healthcare inequities affecting LGBT communities and people who use drugs. He leads global studies on transgender health, including NIH-funded projects in India and Canada, and methodological work on measuring intersectional discrimination.

Dr. Scheim earned a PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Western University (2017) and a BA in Sociology from the University of Toronto. His postdoctoral training at UC San Diego was supported by CIHR. His work emphasizes community-engaged research, including participatory surveys and interventions to improve healthcare access for marginalized groups.

Research interests span global health, HIV/AIDS, substance use, and intersectional stigma. Key topics include transgender healthcare access, drug policy evaluation, and the impact of legal gender recognition on health outcomes. He collaborates internationally, with a focus on low/middle-income countries and transgender populations.

His scientific awards include the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships, and a CIHR Fellowship. Recent publications address overdose mortality, drug checking services, and structural stigma’s impact on healthcare access for transgender individuals.