Edward Alessi’s research relies on an interdisciplinary perspective to understand connections among sexuality and gender, trauma, and migration. His current projects examine how traumatic stress among sexual and gender minority (SGM) migrants (immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers) intersects with psychosocial and structural conditions in the host country to impact their health and mental health outcomes. Additionally, he is focused on developing community-based interventions to buffer the negative effects of integration-related stressors on SGM migrant health and mental health. He has led studies in the United States, Canada, and the European Union and is currently conducting research in South Africa.

In 2020, he received a Global Health Seed Grant from Rutgers Global Health Institute for his project titled “Development of an HIV Prevention Group Intervention for MSM Migrants in South Africa.”