About ISGMH
Vision
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We are a leader in research that fosters understanding of the development and experiences of LGBTQ individuals and improves the health and wellbeing of the LGBTQ community. Sexual and gender minorities include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people – anyone whose sexual or gender identity does not conform to social majority categories of sexual orientation or gender.
History
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The Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing (ISGMH) was founded in 2015 and is the first university-wide institute in the country focused exclusively on research to improve the health of the LGBTQ community. ISGMH grew from director Dr. Brian Mustanski’s IMPACT LGBT Health and Development Program, which has been conducting state-of-the art translational research with LGBTQ youth populations since 2008. It was founded with the support of the Office of the Provost, the Office of Research, and the Feinberg School of Medicine. Research administration is coordinated with the Department of Medical Social Sciences.
Mission
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As a university-wide institute, our mission is to connect scholars from numerous disciplines with the LGBTQ community to forge collaborations and stimulate innovative research to improve LGBTQ health and wellbeing. ISGMH provides unique opportunities for high-level research and training for the next generation of LGBTQ scholars. The institute utilizes innovative modalities to disseminate knowledge widely to the LGBTQ community, the public at large, scholars, service providers, educators, and policymakers.
Meet the Researchers at ISGMH
Brian Mustanski, Ph.D. (he/him) is a Clinical Psychologist, Professor of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University, Founding Director of the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing, and Co-Director of the NIH Third Coast Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). For the past 20 years his research has focused on the health and development of LGBTQ youth and the application of new media and technology to sexual health promotion and HIV prevention. He has been a Principal Investigator of nearly $60 million in federal and foundation grants and has published over 300 journal articles that are cited in the top 1% of citations in public health and social science. Dr. Mustanski led the development of the SMART program and is passionate about how this program can provide teens the knowledge and skills they need to make informed decisions about their sexual health. He has developed other online sexual health education programs, including the Keep It Up! Program which was the first online HIV prevention program for young gay and bisexual men to be classified by the CDC as a “best evidence intervention.” In 2017 NBC News selected him from 1,600 nominees to their inaugural list of 30 changemakers and innovators making a positive difference in the LGBTQ community for his pioneering work in sex education.
Kathryn R. Macapagal, Ph.D., (she/her) is a research associate professor in the Department of Medical Social Sciences and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. She also directs the Social Media Working Group at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing. A licensed clinical psychologist and public health researcher, her work uses qualitative and quantitative methods to shed light on sexual and gender minority adolescents’ and young adults’ sexual health needs (e.g., PrEP, HIV testing, sex education), with the aim of using youth insights to inform technology-enabled programs for sexual health promotion and HIV/STI prevention.
Michael E. Newcomb (he/him), Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University and the Director of the Center for Translational Health Research and Interventions advancing Equity for Sexual and Gender Minorities (THRIVE) within the Northwestern Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing (ISGMH). As co-lead for the methodology working group for SMART, Dr. Newcomb collaborated on data analysis and helped oversee measure selection and data management for the project. Dr. Newcomb’s research broadly focuses on health disparities in sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth, particularly in the areas of HIV/AIDS, alcohol and drug use, and mental health problems.
Dennis Li (he/him) is an implementation scientist at Northwestern University trained in public health, HIV, and digital health. He is interested in figuring out how to effectively and efficiently get digital sexual health programs and resources from researchers into the hands of young people in the real world. On SMART, Dennis studies different settings and strategies for delivering the SMART program as well as potential barriers that may get in the way of implementation. He is passionate about promoting healthy sexuality among LGBTQ+ youth and ensuring research has a public health impact.
Misty Pacheco (she/her) is an Associate Professor in the Kinesiology and Exercise Sciences Department at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Misty, who was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, has nearly 17 years in the health field, having worked in the private and public health sectors, nonprofits, and global public health. Dr. Pacheco’s research focuses on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHOPI) health disparities. In addition to assisting with recruitment of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander AMSM into SMART, Dr. Pacheco, conducted key informant interviews with Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander AMSM near-peers to inform recruitment strategies for future studies with NHOPI AMSM and to identify the barriers for NHOPI AMSM when it comes to engaging in health research. Misty’s service as a public health peace corps volunteer in Kenya ignited her passion and commitment to HIV prevention and research.
Dr. Rodriguez-Diaz (he/him), a native of Puerto Rico, is an experienced bilingual (English and Spanish) and bicultural social community health educator. He develops health promotion interventions that are culturally appropriate to different groups, particularly Latinos/as/x and LGBTQ communities. He uses his experiences and expertise to make health apps useful to Latinxs communities and integrates the diversity of our communities in such a way that resources and tools are useful to as many people as possible.
Dr. Laber (he/him) is a statistician and data scientist with expertise in data-driven decision making.
He develops methodological and computational tools that help clinical and intervention scientists to understand, if, when, what, and for whom treatment should be assigned to optimize health outcomes. In addition to biomedical decision making, he has worked on decision support systems for retail, logistics, defense, and gaming. He is a squash fanatic.
Jonathon Rendina is the Senior Director of Research at the Whitman-Walker Institute. Dr. Rendina and the team at City University of New York (CUNY) – Hunter College delivered motivational interviewing through trained counselors and supported the implementation of SMART Sessions. Dr. Rendina’s research focuses on multilevel and intersectional experiences of stigma and their impact on health inequities for sexual and gender minorities and communities most impacted by HIV.