The Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office: Overview and SGM Research Activities at NIH

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)-commissioned Institute of Medicine report on the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people identified research recommendations and a need for more and improved data and information focused on sexual and gender minorities (SGM).  Responding to this call, NIH took several steps to address the recommendations and increase SGM-related research.

This presentation will describe the current activities of NIH, including the work of the Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO). We will describe SGM research at NIH and the types of projects that are funded pertaining to sexual and gender minorities using FY2015 data. We will also look at trans-NIH efforts of the SGMRO, including the NIH SGM Research Coordinating Committee, as well as collaborations with other federal agencies through the HHS LGBT Issues Coordinating Committee, and the Federal Interagency Working Group for Measuring Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

Finally, we will review the broader sexual and gender minority research strategic plan for NIH.  We will review the goals and objectives and describe the implementation of such to date. We will also discuss public comment on the strategic plan, describe recent funding opportunity announcements, and review next steps.