THE TEAM

The PRIDE Study was created for the LGBTQ community by members of the LGBTQ community and their allies.

A few dedicated members of the LGBTQ and ally communities made this study possible,
but it’s your support that will make The PRIDE Study a success!

Directors

Mitchell R. Lunn, MD, MAS

CO-DIRECTOR

The PRIDE Study

CO-DIRECTOR

PRIDEnet

Mitchell R. Lunn, MD, MAS

Co-Director The PRIDE Study

Co-Director PRIDEnet

Pronouns: he, him, his

Mitchell (Mitch) R. Lunn, MD, MAS is an Assistant Professor in Division of Nephrology of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

Mitch is a long-standing advocate for sexual and gender minority (SGM) inclusion in research and higher education who lectures around the country on SGM medical education, SGM health, and SGM community engagement. He serves on the Advisory Committee for the Medical School Campus Pride Index; is a member of the American Society of Nephrology’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee; and is a founding member of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Medical Education Research Group (LGBT MERG) at Stanford University School of Medicine. LGBT MERG’s study on SGM health-related content in medical school curricula has influenced individual institutions and national organizations to examine their policies, procedures, educational environments, and curricular content to improve the culture of academic medicine for SGM people. In recognition of his work, he received the 2015 UCSF Chancellor’s Award for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Leadership.

Mitch is delighted to be joining his passions of SGM health research, internal medicine, and medical education in The PRIDE Study and PRIDEnet. Other areas of active research and interest include use of emerging technologies in research, remote data collection in nephrology, SGM institutional climate, and methods of evaluation, particularly in undergraduate and graduate medical education.

Mitch earned his Bachelor of Science degree with highest thesis honors from Tufts University in 2004, his Doctor of Medicine degree from Stanford University School of Medicine in 2010, and his Masters in Advanced Studies degree in Clinical Research from UCSF in 2017. He completed internal medicine residency training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, MA) in 2013 and nephrology fellowship at UCSF in 2016.

Juno Obedin-Maliver, MD, MPH, MAS

CO-DIRECTOR

The PRIDE Study

CO-DIRECTOR

PRIDEnet

Juno Obedin-Maliver, MD, MPH, MAS

Co-Director The PRIDE Study

Co-Director PRIDEnet

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Juno Obedin-Maliver, MD, MPH, MAS is an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and The San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Juno graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine in 2010. While at Stanford, Juno maintained a focus on promoting social justice in medicine. Juno was honored with The Kaiser Permanente eQuality Scholarship for service to the LGBTQ community as well as the Markowski Leach Memorial Scholarship for LGBT Activism & Leadership.

Combined with a strong focus on women’s health, Juno continued her dedication to advancing LGBT health initiatives while completing her clinical residency in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at UCSF in 2014 and a Fellowship in Women’s Health and Clinical Research at San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center in 2016.

While at UCSF, she has been honored with the San Francisco General Hospital Julius R. Krevans Award for Community Service and The UCSF Chancellor’s Award for GLBT Leadership. During her residency, Juno was active in health policy to expand reproductive possibilities in California and in efforts to remove national Medicare Non-Coverage Determination ruling on “transsexual surgery.” She is also on the Medical Advisory Board of the UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Health.

Juno is enthusiastically combining her interests in research, advocacy, and medicine to design and conduct The PRIDE Study and expand community engagement with research through PRIDEnet. Additional clinical, research, and advocacy activities include the gynecological and obstetrical health of transgender men and women and the health of veterans.

Associate Directors

Matthew Capriotti, PhD

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

The PRIDE Study

Matthew Capriotti, PhD

Associate Director The PRIDE Study

Pronouns: he, him, his

Matthew (Matt) Capriotti, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at San Jose State University and a Research Associate in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Matt earned his doctoral degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and he completed pre-doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships at UCSF. Matt studies factors that promote resilience and wellbeing among sexual and gender minority people, with an emphasis on youth and young adults. He has a particular research interest in engaging young adults in evidence-based approaches to HIV prevention and treatment, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Matt also maintains an active line of research on the development, testing, and implementation of evidence-based behavioral interventions for young people with tic disorders (e.g., Tourette syndrome), other obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Matt is thrilled to be a part of The PRIDE Study's efforts to identify and end health disparities faced by sexual and gender minority communities.

Annesa Flentje, PhD

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

The PRIDE Study

UCSF SITE DIRECTOR

The PRIDE Study

Annesa Flentje, PhD

Associate Director The PRIDE Study

UCSF Site Director The PRIDE Study

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Annesa Flentje, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the UCSF School of Nursing, Department of Community Health Systems. Annesa completed her PhD at the University of Montana and pre- and post-doctoral fellowships at UCSF. Annesa is a clinical psychologist who focuses on reducing health disparities among sexual and gender minority individuals. Her research has targeted multiple ways to reduce these disparities including prevention, increasing visibility of sexual and gender minorities in research and electronic health records, and improving mental health services for sexual and gender minorities. She has developed an individually delivered psychotherapeutic intervention to reduce sexual minority stress and is investigating this as a means to improve both health and mental health outcomes for sexual minorities. Annesa is funded through a K23 Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse investigating the underlying physiological pathways whereby stress and discrimination are related to deleterious health outcomes.

Annesa is thrilled to be a part of The PRIDE Study as a means to give voice to the physical and mental health needs of the diverse sexual and gender minority community.

Staff

Darren Arquero, MA

LGBTQ COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

PRIDEnet

Darren Arquero, MA

LGBTQ Communications Specialist PRIDEnet

Pronouns: he, him, his

Darren Arquero, MA uses the power of storytelling to advance multidisciplinary research for strategic communications and impactful change. With a decade of nonprofit experience, he serves as the LGBTQ Communications Specialist for PRIDEnet.

Prior to joining the PRIDE team, Darren served as a Butler Koshland Fellow to Kate Kendell at the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) where he focused on strategic messaging through a broad range of issues affecting LGBTQ people and their families, including nondiscrimination in employment and the transgender military ban under the Trump administration. Through NCLR’s Born Perfect campaign to end conversion therapy, Darren successfully secured coverage for conversion therapy survivors in national news and media outlets including The Advocate, Teen Vogue, and Colorlines.

Darren also served as a Research Fellow to Director john a. powell (lowercase spelling) at the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, where he prepared public and private presentations for high-profile clients including the Ford Foundation and the White House’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative under the Obama administration. Before the Haas Institute, he worked as a Network and Research Associate at Race Forward, writing as the primary author for the report “Better Together in the South: Building Movements across Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation.”

Originally from Sugar Land, Texas, Darren is also a communications consultant at the Arcus Foundation and an associate curator at the GLBT History Museum, and currently serves on the board of directors for the CHEER For Life Foundation in San Francisco. He earned his MA degree from the University of California, Berkeley and his BA degree from Rice University.

Darren is excited to develop and implement initiative-level digital community strategy and content aimed at educating and improving the physical, mental, and social health of LGBTQ and SGM communities with the PRIDE team.

Mahri Bahati, MPH

ENGAGEMENT NAVIGATOR

All of Us Research Program

Mahri Bahati, MPH

Engagement Navigator All of Us Research Program

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Mahri Bahati, MPH is a creative and passionate public health professional with extensive experience across the HIV/AIDS continuum of care, including anti-retroviral medication access, HIV prevention and surveillance, harm reduction, and community mobilization. Most recently she worked for the Global Forum on MSM and HIV as Public Health Advisor where she developed and managed a global capacity building project to facilitate organizational development and build self-sustainability for trans-led organizations throughout the global south. Her professional interests include sexual and gender minority health equity, HIV treatment adherence, PrEP access, and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections.

Mahri earned her Master of Public Health degree at the University of Kentucky in 2013, with a focus in Epidemiology. As an undergrad she began volunteering with local HIV/AIDS non-profits which sparked a professional interest in public health along with a lifelong interest in volunteering and community organizing.

Mahri is excited to join the PRIDE team as the All of Us Research Program Engagement Navigator, where she will work to engage 'yet to be reached’ sexual and gender minority sub-communities who are new to health research, who have experienced barriers in accessing healthcare, or who have had negative research experiences.

Carolyn Hunt, MPA

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR

PRIDEnet

Carolyn Hunt, MPA

Community Engagement Director PRIDEnet

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Carolyn Hunt, MPA is delighted to combine her passions for supporting underserved communities, advocating for sexual and gender minority (SGM) health, and facilitating community research collaboration as part of the PRIDEnet team.

Most recently, Carolyn worked at the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) supporting HIV-prevention community research collaboration and managing an STD intervention evaluation in San Francisco's gay community. She has worked in LGBTQ smoking cessation as an advisor to UCSF's iquit and as Community PI for QueerTIPS, one of the first evaluated cessation programs within the SGM community. Prior to working at UCSF, Carolyn directed the statewide LGBT Drug and Alcohol Technical Assistance Project based in Oakland.

Carolyn earned her BA from Carleton College with a self-designed major focused on disenfranchised communities and Spanish, and her Masters in Public Administration from the University of Rhode Island. She received a Presidential Management Internship from the NIH where she tailored projects to her community engagement interests. She is the recipient of the national Uncommon Legacy Award for lesbian activists.

Carolyn looks forward to working with the PRIDEnet team to build more opportunities for deep and meaningful community engagement in health research.

Micah Lubensky, PhD

PARTICIPANT ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR

The PRIDE Study/PRIDEnet

Micah Lubensky, PhD

Participant Engagement Director The PRIDE Study/PRIDEnet

Pronouns: he, him, his

Micah Lubensky, PhD has always held a deep passion for and dedication to social justice for sexual and gender minority, racial/ethnic minority, and low-income communities. These passions helped motivate his graduate education at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and manifest his career as an applied social psychologist. After earning his doctorate, Micah spent almost 10 years at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, managing HIV-prevention and holistic health-promotion programming for Black/African-diasporic sexual and gender minorities in the San Francisco Bay Area. While there, he also contracted at the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center as a national trainer of CDC HIV interventions for Black/African-diasporic gay and bisexual men, and provided technical assistance and capacity building assistance to organizations implementing those interventions. Most recently, Micah worked at the Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF), managing multi-million-dollar grant-funded programs focused on coordinating and synergizing efforts to support the HIV-related health and human rights programming for sexual and gender minorities in resource-limited regions of the world. He also collaborated with MSMGF’s global team of young gay and bisexual men to provide strategic direction for the organization.

Micah Lubensky is excited to join the PRIDE team as The PRIDE Study/PRIDEnet Project Manager. The Project Manager position provides a unique opportunity for him to integrate his project management, community engagement and mobilization, and research skills to contribute to this project of immense potential.

PRIDEnet Participant Advisory Committee (PAC)

Ward Carpenter, MD

Pronouns: he, him, his

Dr. Ward Carpenter is a Board--Certified Internist and expert in HIV medicine, transgender medicine, and LGBT primary care. He earned his medical degree from UMDNJ – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School where he first discovered his passion for community health. He did his residency training in Medicine-Pediatrics at St Vincent’s Hospital in New York City. Following his passion for LGBT health and care for the underserved, he worked at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in NY, one of the premier LGBT health centers in the country. Dr. Carpenter then transitioned into private practice, taking over a busy HIV and primary care practice in Manhattan. Seeking an escape from NY’s long winters, Dr. Carpenter moved to Los Angeles in 2013 and returned to his LGBT community health roots, accepting a position as the Director of Primary Care at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. In this role, he continues to expand and optimize the Center’s offerings in primary care, HIV treatment and prevention, and transgender health.

Loree Cook-Daniels, MS

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Loree Cook-Daniels, FORGE’s Policy and Program Director, has helped design and co-facilitate FORGE’s multiple in-person and virtual support groups, research studies, and programs since 2000. She has been involved in advocacy, research, training, and services for LGBT populations since 1975, and is nationally-known for her writing, training, and policy work on LGBT aging, trauma and trauma recovery, and transgender issues. She co-chairs the Policy Committee of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs and serves on the National LGBT Aging Roundtable. Cook-Daniels holds a B.A. in women’s studies and history, an M.S. in conflict management, and a post-graduate Certificate in trauma counseling.

Laura Durso, PhD

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Laura E. Durso is Vice President of the LGBT Research and Communications Project at the Center for American Progress. Using public health and intersectional frameworks, she focuses on the health and well-being of LGBT communities, data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity, and improving the social and economic status of LGBT people through public policy.

Prior to joining the Center for American Progress, Laura was a public policy fellow at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, where she conducted research on the LGBT community, including LGBT homeless and at-risk youth, poor and low-income LGBT people, and the business impact of LGBT-supportive policies. Earlier in her career, Laura conducted research on the health impact of weight-based discrimination. Her research has been published in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals, including Sexuality Research and Social Policy, Obesity, and the International Journal of Eating Disorders, and she has presented her work at both national and international conferences.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Harvard University as well as master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa.

Porsha Hall, MPH, MA

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Porsha Hall is the Program Manager for Health and Wellness at Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders (SAGE), where she oversees and evaluates the health management, exercise, and nutrition programming for the organization's five senior centers located throughout New York City. At SAGE, she also assisted with the evaluation of the nation’s first federally-funded National Resource Center on LGBT Aging. She has worked in the fields of aging and health education for over a decade, conducting gerontological health research in academic institutions, providing case management to homebound older adults, and working as a fitness consultant for community-dwelling retirees. She holds an MPH in Community Health Education from Hunter College and an MA in Gerontology from Georgia State University.

Tari Hanneman, MPA

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Tari Hanneman is the Director of the Health Equality Project at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. In this role she oversees the annual LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) and other projects related to LGBTQ health and aging.

Tari has over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector, primarily focused in the areas of health and women’s issues. Prior to joining HRC, she served as the initial Director of The Women’s Fund of Winston-Salem where she led all aspects of developing The Fund’s programs and brand in the community. Prior to her move to North Carolina, she served in a number of roles at The California Endowment, one of the nation's largest health foundations. She has also worked for elected officials and non-profits focused on the environment, reproductive rights and HIV. She has a Master’s in Public Administration with an emphasis on Nonprofit Management from the University of Southern California, where she also did her undergraduate work.

Shalonda Ingram

Pronouns:

Gabe Murchison, MPH

Pronouns: he, him, his

Gabe is a doctoral student in Population Health Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His research interests include mental health and substance use among LGBTQ youth, and the primary prevention of sexual and dating violence in teens and young adults. Previously, Gabe was Senior Research Manager at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, where his publications included Supporting & Caring For Transgender Children, a guide co-published with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians; and Preventing Substance Use Among LGBTQ Teens, co-published with the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. He holds a BA in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and an MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Yale University.

Shyam Patel

Pronouns: he, him, his

Shyam Patel currently serves as the Senior Communications and Education Associate at GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality, a national organization committed to ensuring health equity for LGBTQ and SGM individuals. His work primarily involves directing GLMA's education initiatives promoting LGBTQ health research, as well as driving the organization's advocacy efforts that seek to advance equitable health policy. Prior to joining GLMA, Shyam previously served as the Program Coordinator for the Health Professions Advising Office at University of Maryland. Shyam received a dual Bachelor's of Science in Pediatric Healthcare & Clinical Psychology from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. During his time there, Shyam was involved in clinical research at various institutions such as UMBC, UMSOM, UPenn, and CHOP. He is passionate about public health and optimizing healthcare outcomes for all patients.

Tonia Poteat, PhD, PA-C, MPH

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Tonia Poteat is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a joint appointment in the Department of International Health. Her research, teaching, and practice focus on HIV and LGBT health with particular attention to transgender health. She completed her doctoral dissertation on stigma, HIV risk, and access to health care for transgender adults, co-authored a global meta-analysis examining the burden of HIV among transgender women worldwide, and is lead author of a comprehensive review of HIV among transgender sex workers in The Lancet HIV and Sex Workers series. In addition to her academic work, she provides medical care for people living with HIV at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Dr. Poteat graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology in 1991 and received a Masters of Medical Science from Emory University’s Physician Assistant (PA) Program in 1995. She earned a Masters of Public Health from Rollins School of Public Health in 2007 and completed a PhD in the Social and Behavioral Interventions Program in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in 2012. During her 20 years as a PA, she has devoted her practice to providing medically appropriate and culturally competent care to members of the LGBT community as well as people living with HIV. Dr. Poteat is a certified HIV Specialist by the American Academy of HIV Medicine; and she has provided primary care for trans-identified individuals since 1996.

Asa Radix, MD, MPH, MPhil

Pronouns: he, him, his, they, them, their, theirs

Dr. Asa Radix is trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the University of Connecticut, and also holds postgraduate qualifications in tropical medicine and public health. Previously Dr. Radix held the position of Associate Medical Director at Callen-Lorde. In addition to having a clinical practice (HIV primary care and transgender health), Asa coordinates electives in LGBT health for medical and nursing students and is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at NYU and Yale.

Dr. Radix is of West Indian origin and has a special interest in the needs of LGBT populations of immigrant status. For 7 years, Asa was the director of a public health department in the Netherlands Antilles and assisted in the development of insular strategic plans for HIV prevention as well as federal guidelines for communicable disease prevention. Other positions prior to Callen-Lorde have included being the medical director at the University of Hartford, serving a population of 5,000 undergraduates under 24 years of age and being an infectious disease specialist in private practice in West Hartford, Connecticut. A major focus of Dr. Radix’ work has been the development and dissemination of prevention, treatment and care guidelines for HIV+ and at-risk persons in the Caribbean including provision of LGBT cultural competency training to Caribbean healthcare providers.

Dr. Radix is an associate editor of Transgender Health and member of the editorial boards for the International Journal of Transgenderism and the PRN Notebook. Other contributions include being a consultant for the World Health Organization/PAHO on transgender health issues and the co-chair of the WHO/PAHO HIV/STI technical advisory committee. Dr. Radix is the site-PI/co-investigator for 3 NIH/NIMH studies, including a demonstration project on PrEP.

Javier Ríos, MA

Pronouns: he, him, his

Javier Ríos was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico and is a New Mexican of diverse Irish, Mexican, and LGBTQ background. Javier joined UNM Truman Health Services in the Manzano School Based Health Center as the Health Educator in October 2016, bringing 11 years of non-profit and government experience focused in health equity, HIV/AIDS prevention, harm reduction, immigrant health, and cultural humility. In 2017 and 2013 Javier participated in the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission program Líderes a través de las Fronteras/Leaders across Borders addressing binational and border health. Since 2005 Javier has worked in HIV/AIDS prevention with LGBTQ+ communities of color focusing in community organizing, outreach, and education. His community recognitions include the 2013 Pride and Equality Vincent R. Johnson Models of Hope Award, the 2012 NMCPAG Kahlo Benavidez Leadership Award, and service as a 2012 HIV/AIDS Embajador/Ambassador for the National Latino AIDS Action Network at the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington D.C. Currently Javier is the Communications Chair of the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities Region VI Southwest RHEC, as well as the co-chair for the Immigrant Committee of the City of Santa Fe. Javier earned his M.A. in Spanish: Southwest Studies from the University of New Mexico in 2005 where he taught Spanish as a Heritage Language. Javier received his B.A. from Creighton University in 2001. Javier is excited to be a part of The PRIDE Study team that cultivates health awareness of our diverse LGBTQ+ communities.

Charlie Solidum

Pronouns: he, him, his

Charlie Solidum joins the PRIDEnet PAC with over 12 years of direct service experience in HIV/AIDS and LGBT health. As a lifelong activist and grassroots organizer, Charlie is deeply invested in utilizing participatory research methods to empower vulnerable communities. Before starting his current position as a Research Associate at Hunter College's HIV/AIDS Research Team (HART), he served as the Linkage Coordinator for Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, navigating newly-diagnosed HIV-positive youth into primary care. A firm believer in interventions that come directly from the communities they serve, Charlie co-founded The Tool Shed in 2016, NYC's first and only in-person support group for transmasculine-spectrum individuals dedicated specifically to discussing issues related to phalloplasty, metoidioplasty, and related surgical procedures.

Advisors

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS is the Lee Goldman, MD Endowed Chair in Medicine and Professor of Medicine and of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She is the Director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations at San Francisco General Hospital, a Board Member of UCSF’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), Director of the CTSI Clinical and Translational Science Training (CTST) Program and a faculty member for its K Scholar Program. She is the PI of two collaborative center grants from the NIH/NIMHD - the Center for Health And Risk in Minority youth and adults (CHARM) addressing disparities in chronic disease in youth and young adults, and BUILD an infrastructure and training grant with San Francisco State University. She is also the joint PI of Bring It Down - an NIH/NINDS U54 research center addressing stroke prevention and stroke disparities in collaboration with Kaiser Permanente Northern California. A general internist at San Francisco General Hospital and faculty member in the Division of General Internal Medicine, Dr. Bibbins-Domingo has expertise in cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes risk in young adults. Her work focuses on racial, ethnic and income differences in manifestations of chronic disease; the intersection of biological, behavioral, and environmental factors that influence risk; and effective clinical, public health, and policy interventions aimed at prevention. Dr. Bibbins-Domingo has interest in local, national, and global prevention efforts and has collaborated with investigators in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and China. She has been a member of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) since 2010 and is currently the Chairperson of the USPSTF. She is an inducted member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation.

David Glidden, PhD

Pronouns: he, him, his

Dave Glidden is Professor of Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco with over 20 years of collaborations with investigators in HIV Treatment, HIV Prevention, Pediatrics and Neurology.

Mark Pletcher, MD, MPH

Pronouns: he, him, his

Mark Pletcher, MD, MPH is a Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). As an epidemiologist and a general internal medicine physician, his research is designed to inform clinical decision-making and policy. This work focuses on prevention of cardiovascular disease with particular interests in early life causes of atherosclerosis, primordial and primary coronary heart disease and stroke prevention, clinical decision-making regarding use of preventive medications (statins and anti-hypertensives), and screening for subclinical cardiovascular disease. He serves as a principal investigator for the Health eHeart Study, an online technology-enabled cardiovascular cohort study. Dr. Pletcher has specific expertise in study design, decision and cost-effectiveness analysis, risk prediction, and evaluating the clinical utility of biomarkers. He utilizes this expertise in his leading role with UCSF’s nationally recognized clinical research training programs by teaching clinical research methods as well mentoring students, fellows, and junior faculty members.

Jae Sevelius, PhD

Research Assistant The PRIDE Study

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Leslie Suen, MD is an Internal Medicine Resident in the UC Primary Care track at UCSF. Prior to medical school, she worked for the San Francisco Department of Public Health and Tom Waddell Urban Health Clinic focusing on quality improvement projects for homeless, HIV-positive, and LGBTQ populations. Her research interests include improving health care systems and delivery for underserved urban populations, as well as finding the best public rooftop park in the city. As a native San Franciscan, she is very excited to be a part of The PRIDE Study and is proud to have it jump start in her hometown.

With great appreciation, The PRIDE Study thanks its former team members for their contributions:

Seema Bhaka,
Matthew Beld,
Jeffrey Ferrell,
Katie Katuzny,
Ariane Marcus,
Ruth McFarlane,
Dennis Xiong

A Message from the Directors

My interest in LGBTQ health began in medical school when I became frustrated about how little we knew about the healthcare inequities LGBTQ people face. As an out gay man, I feel connected to LGBTQ populations with a sense of responsibility to improve the quality of the data available with the overarching goal to improve health. Our research showed that medical students are taught little about LGBTQ-related health, but a new question arose: what are the LGBTQ-related health topics that must be taught to the physician workforce? That question requires notable evidence about the disparities, and these data are unavailable.

In 2011, the Institute of Medicine composed a report on LGBT health, which stated: “The relative lack of population-based data presents the greatest challenge to describing the health status and health-related needs of LGBT people.” That quote is particularly powerful to me and serves as a call to action! Unfortunately, sexual and gender minorities remain largely excluded from national demographic assessments, health studies, and clinical trials. Without long-term longitudinal studies, detailing the factors that influence health and disease in the LGBTQ populations will be challenging. But I believe that current scientific and sociopolitical environments are ripe for change!

The time is now for all LGBTQ people to come out for PRIDE! By doing so, we can get the data we need to improve health for everyone!

- Mitchell R. Lunn

I never intended to focus my time on LGBTQ health. But as an out lesbian, I knew that, regardless of what I did professionally, I needed to know how to take care of my friends and the members of my communities that I care so much about. I had lesbian friends who developed cervical cancer even though they “weren’t supposed to.” I had trans friends who were having kids even though medical science said they “couldn’t,” and I had gay friends who were more worried about their risk of heart disease than HIV but couldn’t get the information they needed. So, when the topic of LGBTQ health issues never came up in my medical training, I got fired up to start researching and advocating for LGBTQ health beyond my circle of friends.

But the more I looked, the more I found a lot of dangerous misinformation and unanswered questions. I found that LGBTQ people were categorized and stigmatized, but our experiences were never understood. Medical science seemed blind to the uniquely beautiful and challenging ways that LGBTQ people have navigated and created their lives.

It is time for us to be counted. It is time for medical science to understand our health so we get the care and services we need.

This is what The PRIDE Study is all about, a chance to put LGBTQ lives front and center so we can ask and answer the questions that matter to us.