Randy Jackson

Randy Jackson (NPI) is Associate Professor at McMaster University in the School of Social Work with a cross-appointment in the Department of Health, Aging and Society. Randy is Anishinaabe from Kettle and Stony Point First Nation and has become an expert in HIV in Indigenous communities in Canada. Dissatisfied with existing research, which tended to focus excessively on pathologizing Indigenous people, Jackson works with communities to find another perspective–one grounded in Indigenous cultural world views. By better understanding the role of culture in the lives of people living with HIV, Jackson reveals parts of the bigger picture of the sociological facets of human health. Jackson teaches courses in Indigenous Health and Wellness and Community-Based Research methods that are at the heart of his own research. In the recent past, he also held a CIHR Doctoral Awards, a Community Scholar Award with the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN), and also held the position of Director of Research and Programs with the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN). Reflecting his beliefs about the significance of Indigenous self-determination in research, Randy helped develop CAAN’s Principles of Research Collaboration. Current areas of research include Indigenous masculinity and chronic illness, Indigenous leadership and it connection to health and wellness, and Indigenous transgender health. In 2012, Randy was honoured and recognized for his decade-plus long involvement in Indigenous HIV/AIDS research with a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).