Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty Member

Lonnie Embleton PhD, MPH

Research Interests

Dr. Embleton is the Director of the Ontario HIV Treatment Network Cohort Study (OCS). Prior to joining the Ontario HIV Treatment Network, for over a decade, she led and collaborated on HIV-related research in Kenya focused on understanding and addressing structural and social determinant of health inequities with underserved young people to improve their engagement in the HIV prevention-care continuum. Dr. Embleton serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Global Health and Health Systems Design at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. She is passionate about generating high quality evidence to improve health, economic, and social outcomes for underserved communities to advance health equity. Her current research focuses on structural and social determinants of health and outcomes along the HIV care continuum among equity-deserving communities in Ontario.

Other areas of interest include:

• Homelessness and housing adequacy, particularly youth experiencing homelessness
• Adolescents and young adults and HIV prevention and care
• Structural and social interventions
• Gender equity
• Stigma
• Human rights
• Global health
• Implementation science and interventional research

Education & Training History 

• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dalla Lana School of Public Health (2019-2022)
• Doctor of Philosophy, Medical Science, Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto (2015-19)
• Master of Public Health, Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health (2009-11)
• Honors Bachelor of Science, Health Sciences, Brock University (2005-09)
• Bachelor of Architectural Science, Ryerson University (2001-05)

Primary Teaching Responsibilities

• Available to supervise practicum students at the Ontario HIV Treatment Network

Representative Publications 

1. Embleton, L., et al., Characterizing adolescent and youth-friendly HIV services: a cross-sectional assessment across 16 global sites. J Int AIDS Soc, 2025. 28(4): p. e26437.
2. Embleton L, Braitstein P, Di Ruggiero E, Oduor C, Wado YD. Sexual and reproductive health service utilization among adolescent girls in Kenya: A cross-sectional analysis. PLOS Global Public Health. 2023;3(2):e0001508. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001508.
3. Embleton L, Logie CH, Ngure K, et al. Intersectional Stigma and Implementation of HIV Prevention and Treatment Services for Adolescents Living with and at Risk for HIV: Opportunities for Improvement in the HIV Continuum in Sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS and Behavior. 2023;27(S1):162-184. doi:10.1007/s10461-022-03793-4
4. Embleton L, Shah P, Apondi E, Ayuku D, Braitstein P. “If they had a place to live, they would be taking medication”: a qualitative study identifying strategies for engaging street‐connected young people in the HIV prevention‐care continuum in Kenya. Journal of the International AIDS Society. 2023;26(6). doi: 10.1002/jia2.26023
5. Embleton L, Di Ruggiero E, Logie CH, Ayuku D, Braitstein P. Improving livelihoods and gender equitable attitudes of street-connected young people in Eldoret, Kenya: Results from a pilot evidence-based intervention. Heal Soc Care Community. 2020;
6. Embleton L, Di Ruggiero E, Logie CH, Ayuku D, Braitstein P. Piloting an evidence-based intervention for HIV prevention among street youth in Eldoret, Kenya. Int J Public Health. 2020;
7. Embleton L, Nyandat J, Ayuku D, Sang E, Kamanda A, Ayaya S, et al. Sexual Behavior Among Orphaned Adolescents in Western Kenya: A Comparison of Institutional- and Family-Based Care Settings. J Adolesc Heal. 2017;60(4).
8. Embleton L, Lee H, Gunn J, Ayuku D, Braitstein P. Causes of child and youth homelessness in developed and developing countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr. 2016;170(5).
9. Embleton L, Mwangi A, Vreeman R, Ayuku D, Braitstein P. The epidemiology of substance use among street children in resource-constrained settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Addiction. 2013;108(10).