Meet the ISTN-3 Grads: Rory O’Brien

Rory O’Brien (they/them) is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Michigan’s School of Social Work, and a member of INQYR’s third cohort of our International Student Training Network (ISTN). 

We talked to Rory about their research with LGBTQ+ populations and their experience in the ISTN, as part of our series of profiles on our ISTN members. Read more about our ISTN-3 cohort here!

Where and what are you currently studying? 

I completed my PhD in Social Work at the University of Southern California, and am continuing the same course of study at the University of Michigan, where I was awarded a President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship. I’m currently working on a project around the adoption and implementation of name change procedures in southeast Michigan public high schools. 

Where did your interest in doing research with LGBTQ+ populations begin? 

I had some research experience in my Masters of Public Health program, but I recognized I needed more training during my advocacy work in Sacramento. From 2017-2019, I worked for an organization that pushed for improved policies around mental health for LGBTQ+ communities in California. I was funded by the state government to listen to LGBTQ+ communities in the public mental health system and echo their experiences to state officials in order to facilitate policy change.

I found that there were a lot of questions that I couldn't necessarily pursue in a nonprofit context, and that I really wanted to understand. Questions like, “how are schools implementing gender neutral restrooms?” or “how are we ensuring that medical services for gender transition care are being provided within a few hours of where people live?” I saw these gaps in knowledge and I wanted to gain the skills to address them, leading me to the ISTN. 

Where does the current context of public discourse about queer and trans people—especially trans youth—fit into your research? And what’s that like for you, as a queer researcher? 

It absolutely affects me and my work, and it shapes how I ask my research questions and how I pursue my research. We’re in this moment of volatility and hostility towards students’ rights to privacy—for example, one of the schools we recruited into my study withdrew because my study had a waiver of parental consent, and the school was concerned about the backlash from some parents. 

I was on the job market this past year, and there were a lot of places where my market search was not active, because I would not be allowed to do my work in many places in the United States. But it's meaningful to me that my work is not allowed in all the regions of the country I live in, and it’s also frightening to consider that the list of regions that I can live and do my work in may be reducing over time. 

I specifically research the implementation of the best of our policies to protect trans and non-binary youth, because I want to take care of myself! I don’t necessarily research the scary stuff—I look at places like California that have really strong policies, and ask if those policies are working and how we can get them to work better. I take care of myself by framing my research questions in a strengths-based and positive way.

How has your experience in the ISTN impacted your scholarship and your research? 

The ISTN and the communities it creates are so important in terms of sharing insights, keeping in touch with each other, and caring for each other’s communities. I now know people in different political climates, who I can talk to about the pressures we face in our careers, how it shapes our research, what we can write, what we can ask, and how we pursue the answers to our questions. 

The ISTN has also provided an incredibly useful toolbox that has been helpful for my career. Throughout the lectures in the program, the speakers were quite specific about the “how-to” of research methods. We learn about research methods in school, but we don’t often get into the nitty-gritty details, like how to detect bots in survey research, or what counts as community-based participatory research, for example. 

What are some key takeaways from ISTN that you will take into your future work?

It's been so cool to be connected with people across borders! There have been so many opportunities for relationship-building and getting to hear from people from different countries, their experiences, and different research priorities that are shaped by folks’ national experiences. 

Realizing just how much we have in common—and establishing what we all find to be important in our fields—has led to lasting relationships that will continue past this cohort. 

What do you do outside of school and work? 

I live in Ferndale, which is known as the gay community of Detroit. I live with my partner, our beautiful (and massive) cat, and our tiny maltipoo dog. In my free time, I’m usually hanging out with friends or in the community. When I'm not doing that, you can find me at home playing video games or reading, and mostly just hanging out with my cat!