Clinical Research Coordinator
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Kelsey Leon, MSc is a Clinical Research Coordinator at University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. She began working in harm reduction with Community Action Relief Project (CARP), a mutual aid and harm reduction group based in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. After training with Prevention Point's wound care clinic, she went on to build CARP's 1:1 hospital accompaniment and support practice helping PWUD navigate the intimidating and often stigmatizing experience of navigating the hospital system. Through that work, she then joined Penn's Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy as a Clinical Research Coordinator based in the Emergency Department, working on the clinical trial for Brixadi. Now, she works as the lead Coordinator at the Philadelphia site of THRIVE (teaching harm reduction in vulnerable environments) with Dr. Deanna Wilson. Her research interests are relational harm reduction and communities of care, criminal legal system impacts on the health of PWUD, as well as research and dissemination methods that engage people with lived experience. She holds a Master's degree in Medical Anthropology from University College London and an undergraduate degree in English Literature from the University of Edinburgh.
