Leo Wilton

Associate Professor and Department Chair

Office: University Downtown Center, Room 407
Office Phone: (607) 777-2841
Fax: (607) 777-7587
E-mail: lwilton@binghamton.edu

Dr. Leo Wilton (Associate Professor of Human Development) has research expertise in the areas of health disparities (HIV and AIDS); community based research and evaluation, and Black psychological development and mental health. His scholarly research on the AIDS epidemic focuses on the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality in Black communities, particularly as related to the experiences of Black gay and bisexual men. His research also focuses on the socio-cultural contexts of health in the African Diaspora. The overall objective of Dr. Wilton's program of research has been to focus on socio-cultural factors that provide the basis for the development of culturally applicable HIV risk prevention interventions for Black gay and bisexual men. Dr. Wilton is currently serving a four-year term on the NIH Director's Council of Public Representatives at the National Institutes of Health. In 2010, Dr. Wilton was invited to the White House by the Office of National AIDS Policy to take part in a discussion on Black Men and HIV and later that same year he was an invited speaker by the NAACP and Harvard University Center for AIDS Research. He is a founding member and current Chair of the Board of Directors of the Black Gay Research Group (BGRG) an international organization of Black gay men engaged in interdisciplinary and intersectional research in the fields of public health, African Diaspora studies, gender studies, and sexuality studies that works to address the substantial HIV-related health disparities in Black gay men's communities.  Dr. Wilton earned his BA from Binghamton University and his MS and PhD in Counseling Psychology from New York University.

Educational Background

• Ph.D. Counseling Psychology, New York University (APA Accredited Program)
• M.A. Counseling Psychology, New York University
• B.A. English & Africana Studies, Binghamton University  

Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

• University of Michigan, Empirical Summer Program in Multi-Ethnic Research
• New York University, Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training

Predoctoral Clinical Psychology Fellowship

Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry (APA Accredited Program)

Teaching Profession

Courses Regularly Taught

• Black Child & Adolescent Development
• Black Families
• Psychology of Racism
• Social Science Research Methods
• Psychology of HIV and AIDS

Current Research Interests

• Health Disparities (HIV and AIDS)
• Community Based Research and Evaluation
• Black Psychological Development and Mental Health

Selected Publications

• Wilton, L. (2010).  Where do we go from here?  Raising the bar of what constitutes multicultural competence in the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.  In J.G. Ponterotto, J.M. Cases, L.A. Suzuki, and C.M. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counseling (pp. 318-328). 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Wilton, L. (2009). Men who have sex with men of color in the age of AIDS:  The sociocultural contexts of stigma, marginalization, and structural inequalities.  In V. Stone, B. Ojikutu, K. Rawlings, & K. Smith (Eds.), HIV/AIDS in communities of color (pp.172-212). New York: Springer Publications
• Wilton, L. (2009). A preliminary investigation of body image and HIV sexual risk behavior in Black gay and bisexual men: Implications for HIV Prevention. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services., 21, 309-325.
• Wilton, L., Herbst, J.H., Coury-Doniger P., Painter, T.M., English, G., Alvarez, M.E., Scahill, M., Roberson, M.A., Lucas, B., Johnson, W.D., & Carey, J.W. (2009).  Efficacy of an HIV/STI prevention intervention for Black men who have sex with men: Findings from the Many Men, Many Voices (3MV)project.  AIDS & Behavior, 13, 532-544.
• Wilton, L. (2008). Correlates of substance use in relation to sexual risk behavior in Black gay and bisexual men: Implications for HIV prevention. Journal of Black Psychology, 34, 70-93.