A Florida State University doctoral student in the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice has earned national recognition for her innovative research into homicides against transgender persons.

Lexi Faulkner, a second-year doctoral student from Jacksonville, Florida, earned the Christine Rasche Award, bestowed by the Homicide Research Working Group for Outstanding Master’s Thesis Research.

Faulkner, who will earn her master’s degree this May, worked with Associate Professor Brendan Lantz on the study, a first-of-its-kind look at the victims and perpetrators in the homicides of transgender persons.

Lantz is the director of the Hate Crimes Research and Policy Institute, which is housed in the College and provided the opportunity and resources for Faulkner’s research. Faulkner used data from the Tracking Transgender Homicide in America project, which is run by Lantz and other researchers in the College.

Faulkner said the award was a surprise and one she wanted to thank Lantz and the institute for helping her achieve.

“He is the person who got me into this research and inspired me to get into the field of research,” she said.

Faulkner said the study offers a telling look into an understudied field.

“Research on violence against transgender individuals tends to get aggregated under the larger LGBT umbrella,” she said. “But this violence is very unique to trans people compared to these other groups.”

Faulkner said she intends to continue her research in this understudied field and hopes the award opens a few doors as she continues that pursuit.

“It’s opened my eyes to new opportunities and encouraged me to apply for future awards,” she said.

For more information, visit https://hrwg1991.org/christine_rasche_award/.