Transgender Health Collaborative

The goals of the collaborative are to:

• Advance respectful, inclusive, and patient-centered care for the transgender community
• Promote research productivity related to transgender health
• Train future health care professionals to be competent in gender-inclusive practices through clinical education

Our guiding principles include meaningful engagement with the transgender community; an interdisciplinary approach to research and clinical practice; partnership with on-campus and community-based organizations; Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam; Cura Personalis.

The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) recently offered a paper that reflects on the compassionate accompaniment of individuals on our campuses with diverse gender identities. SLU’s Transgender Healthcare Collaborative seeks to align with AJCU’s guidance in our purpose and practice.

AJCU Paper (PDF)

Transgender Health Collaborative Strategic Map (PDF)

Active Collaborators: SLU faculty actively involved in research and/or clinical practice with the transgender community 

• Katie Heiden-Rootes, Ph.D., Division of Diversity & Innovative Community Engagement, Department of Family and Community Medicine
• Whitney Linsenmeyer, Ph.D., Department of Nutrition and Dietetics
• Rabia Rahman, Ph.D., Department of Nutrition and Dietetics
• Theresa Drallmeier, M.D., Department of Family and Community Medicine
• Shelly Dalton, Ph.D., Department of Family and Community Medicine
• Michael Thomure, M.D., Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health
• Annie Garner, Ph.D., Department of Psychology
• Madeline Stenersen, Ph.D., Department of Psychology
• Farzana Hoque, M.D., Department of Internal Medicine

Affiliated Members: SLU faculty and staff and offices who enthusiastically support the work of the Collaborative 

• Patrick Cousins, Division for Mission and Identity
• Katie Skosky, Student Health Center
• Knieba Jones-Johnson, University Counseling Center
• Kira Banks, Ph.D., Department of Psychology
• Tim Randolph, Ph.D., Department of Clinical Health Sciences
• Jeff Scherrer, Ph.D., Department of Family and Community Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience
• Leslie Hinyard, Ph.D., Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research
• Luke Stephens, M.D., School of Medicine  
• Chris Rayle, M.D., Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
• Michael Donovan, M.D., Department of Family and Community Medicine, Southhampton Community Healthcare  

Community Partners: Individuals and organizations from the broader St. Louis community who partner with the Collaborative on research, teaching, and other projects

•  TransParent
• SQSH 
• The Spot 
• Project ARK
• Willow Rosen, Mx. Willow Consulting
• Beth Gombos, Trans Housing Initiative St. Louis
• Ben Greene, BGTransTalks.com
• Christopher Lewis, M.D., Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital
• Sarah Garwood, M.D., Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital
• Andrea Giedinghagen, M.D., Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital
• Chelsea Trotter, Ph.D.

Those interested in joining the Collaborative or receiving updates about our work can contact Whitney Linsenmeyer at whitney.linsenmeyer@health.slu.edu

The Interprofessional Transgender Health Education Day (PDF) (ITHED) is a full-day training designed by faculty members to provide foundational knowledge on transgender health and gender-inclusive communication for students in clinical education or training programs at Saint Louis University.

This work is supported by the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) and the Saint Louis University 1818 grant. Findings on the impact of the ITHED supported that students had high baseline knowledge, attitudes and beliefs towards the transgender population and that centering transgender voices was a powerful learning experience. As future healthcare providers who will one day be caring for trans patients, they see: 1) The Power to Help or Harm, 2) The Responsibility to Provide Health CARE, and 3) A Posture of Humility: Listen and Learn.

Clinical education programs are positioned to train future health care professionals to provide excellent health care for transgender and gender-diverse patients. Co-authored by clinical educators and community partners, Advancing Inclusion of Transgender and Gender-Diverse Identities in Clinical Education: A Toolkit for Clinical Educators, facilitates critical inquiry among clinical educators regarding their approach to teaching about sex, gender, the historical and sociopolitical context of transgender health, and how to prepare their students to apply standards of care and clinical care guidelines set forth by national and international professional organizations. Learn more about the toolkit development here.

Family acceptance and support is suicide prevention and seeds of health and hope for LGBTQ youth. Through a community-engaged project, faculty researchers sought to bring evidence-based family therapy practice to Missouri to equip mental health professionals to engage the families of LGBTQ adolescents to improve acceptance and support. This project is funded by the Missouri Foundation for Health. A research report can be found here. 

Researchers and mental health professionals can access published articles about the connection between family acceptance and mental health, disordered eating and body image for trans youth and adults, and psychotherapy needs of LGBTQ young people.

New research and educational projects are underway to improve the clinical education of healthcare professionals to be a source of support and compassion for LGBTQ youth and their families. 

Nutrition considerations for transgender patients are both clinical and psychosocial in nature.  Psychosocial considerations include the intersection of eating and body image, nutrition and physical activity as a source of empowerment, and food insecurity.  

Registered dietitians can provide excellent nutrition care for their transgender patients and clients.  Common considerations include strategies to manage sex-specific data in a nutrition assessment; screening for food insecurity and disordered eating, and a sex- and gender-informed approach to the nutrition care process.  

Many nutrition surveillance programs in the United States conflate or omit sex and gender.  A sex- and gender-informed approach to study design, analysis and reporting can ensure all participants, especially gender minority populations, are captured accurately.  

The Missouri LGBTQ Political Climate Survey documents the impact of Missouri LGBTQ legislation and the political climate on the mental health, stress, and intent to leave or stay in the state for three populations of Missourians: 1) LGBTQ adults, 2) parents of LGBTQ youth, and 3) mental and medical healthcare providers who serve LGBTQ people. The first survey was launched by the Transgender Health Collaborative at SLU in the fall of 2023 and will be repeated annually.

Sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity (SOGI) data are often conflated or omitted in clinical and research settings.  In the SSM Health database, sex was available for the majority of the population (99.9%), while data on gender identity and sexual orientation were reported for smaller proportions (7.4% and 4.5%).  Sex and gender are conflated in nutrition surveillance programs such as NHANES, which undermines construct validity and obfuscates essential demographic data.  Researchers can use the two-step approach to separately query sex and gender while ensuring privacy and confidentiality.  

Free to Flex is an initiative at the Cherokee Rec Center to support the safety and inclusion of transgender youth and their families. This is a collaboration with the City of St. Louis, TransParent, Washington University in St. Louis, and Saint Louis University. Changes included establishing gender-neutral bathrooms and locker rooms, posting gender-inclusive signage, updating policies and registration procedures, and staff training. Free to Flex was in response to the Mayoral Executive Order No. 77.

Read more about this initiative

Discover how the Free to Flex Initiative at Cherokee Rec is advancing inclusion for transgender and gender-diverse community members at St. Louis recreation centers. This comprehensive report highlights key findings, community feedback, and actionable steps taken to create a more welcoming and affirming environment.

The clinic provides services related to speech, language and hearing, including feminizing and masculinizing voice therapy for gender-diverse patients. As part of the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences graduate program, the Reinert clinic is a training site where clients are seen by student-clinicians under the supervision of a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist. There is no fee charged to clients for services. 

McGannon Hall Suite 32
3750 Lindell Blvd.
St. Louis MO 63110
Provider: Emily Buxbaum, MS, CCC-SLP
To make an appointment: Call 314-977-3365 and request an appointment with Emily Buxbaum. 

Michael Thomure, M.D., is a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist and surgeon who provides gender-inclusive healthcare for patients at SLUCare’s Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health. 

1031 Bellevue Ave, Suite 400, St. Louis MO 63117
Provider: Michael Thomure, M.D.
To make an appointment: Call 314-977-7455 and request Dr. Thomure. 

The mission of Family Care Health Center is to provide affordable and accessible comprehensive primary care services to anyone, with emphasis on the medically underserved. No health insurance is required. Theresa Drallmeier, M.D., provides respectful, inclusive, and patient-centered healthcare for transmasculine and transfeminine patients. 

401 Holly Hills Ave, St. Louis MO 63111
Provider: Theresa Drallmeier, M.D.
To make an appointment: Call 314-353-5190 and request Dr. Drallmeier.

The Queer and Trans Wellness Clinic @ SLU seeks to be a safe haven and advocate with the LGBTQIA+ community of Missouri. We strive to promote flourishing for LGBTQIA+ people that builds a life and world worth living in through psychotherapy services. These services include individual, couple, family and group therapy for queer and trans people of all ages. The cost of services is based on a sliding scale, down to $10 per session. Services are provided by graduate students in the family therapy, clinical psychology, and social work graduate programs at Saint Louis University in the Center for Counseling and Family Therapy. 

Center for Counseling and Family Therapy
3700 Lindell Blvd, Morrissey Hall, Suite 1100, St. Louis MO 63108
Supervisor: Katie Heiden-Rootes, Ph.D., LMFT
To make an appointment: Call 314-977-2505 and request The QT Clinic.