Project AFFIRM

Impact of Minority Stress on Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Resilience

Walter O. Bockting, PhD - Principal Investigator

Project AFFIRM is a study that aims to learn more about the identity development and health of people who identify as trans or nonbinary. Our goal is to learn more about the development of gender identity across the lifespan in order to foster resilience and reduce stigma and discrimination among members of the trans and nonbinary community. Currently, we are examining the relationship between minority stress, resilience, mental health, and risk for cardiovascular disease in diverse U.S. gender minority populations.

 

Let’s Be

Mentoring clinical investigators in patient-oriented research on substance use and HIV

Jae Sevelius, PhD - Principal Investigator

Let’s Be is a HIV status-neutral, randomized controlled trial of a group- and individual-level intervention designed to impact HIV prevention and continua outcomes with trans women of color. The peer-delivered group intervention component, Sheroes, and the peer navigation component, Healthy Divas, have demonstrated acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy in previous research with trans women. Let’s Be combines the strengths of both to address the multi-level nature of the HIV prevention and care continnum within this community. Let’s Be is conducted in Detroit, MI in collaboration with the Love Her Collective at our partner site Corktown Health Center and in NYC, NY at our partner site, Callen Lorde. This study is co-led by our research team here at the U-M School of Public Health and at New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University Research Foundation for Mental Health. Let’s Be is funded by National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH129285).

 

Gender Affirmation Program (GAP) Study

Gender Affirmation, Quality of Life, and Access to Care: A Mixed-Method Longitudinal Investigation

Walter O. Bockting, PhD - Multiple Principal Investigator

Gender minorities experience disparities in physical and mental health. Gender-affirming healthcare has the potential to mitigate these disparities, yet this population faces multiple barriers to accessing competent care. This mixed-method, longitudinal cohort study examines changes in psychosocial adjustment and health-related quality of life after gender-affirming surgery, informing the development of future home- and community-based healthcare interventions to promote their health and wellbeing.

In collaboration with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.

 

Neuroscience of Gender

In collaboration with Christoph Anacker, PhD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurobiology (in Psychiatry), we are investigating the effects of puberty suppression hormones on reproductive function, social and affective behavior, cognition, and brain activity in a rodent model.

Relevant publication:

Anacker, C., Sydnor, E., Chen, B. K., LaGamma, C. C., McGowan, J. C., Mastrodonato, A., ... & Denny, C. A. (2021). Behavioral and neurobiological effects of GnRH agonist treatment in mice—potential implications for puberty suppression in transgender individuals. Neuropsychopharmacology, 46(5), 882-890.

 

TransPOP

U.S. Transgender Population Health Survey

Ilan Meyer, PhD - Principal Investigator

Walter Bockting, PhD - Co-investigator

TransPop Study, a first-of-its-kind U.S. transgender population health survey, is being conducted by researchers at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, Columbia University, Harvard University, and The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health. The study will be the first national probability sample of transgender individuals in the U.S. and thus will be provide a more accurate and detailed picture of the issues faced by transgender people. The study will provide researchers and policy makers with unbiased estimates about demographics, health outcomes and well-being, and health care needs of the transgender population, which will be crucial for designing evidence-based public health and policy interventions. 

The TransPop study aims to:

  • Describe demographic parameters of the U.S. transgender population, such as race/ethnicity, age, gender identity, education, employment, etc.

  • Describe basic health outcomes and health behaviors, such as health status, health care access, quality of life, etc.

  • Describe experiences of transgender people with interpersonal and institutional discrimination in areas such as healthcare, employment, housing, etc.

  • Describe transgender identity history and transition-related experiences.