Faculty Profile
Sari L. Reisner, ScD, MA
- Associate Professor, Epidemiology
- Faculty Affiliate, Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health
- Faculty Affiliate, Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg and Family Depression Center
Trained as a social and psychiatrist epidemiologist, Dr. Reisner’s research focuses
on understanding and mitigating health inequities for LGBTQIA+ populations, particularly
in mental health and substance use, HIV infection, and healthcare access and quality
outcomes. Dr. Reisner brings deep expertise in transgender and gender diverse population
health, community-engaged research methods and peer-delivered interventions, cohort
study and clinical trial design, and social determinants of health. His work utilizes
a “participatory population perspective” (Reisner et al., Lancet, 2016) to work “with”
not “on” communities to promote health equity.
Dr. Reisner is/has been PI of multiple research investigations funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and others in domestic and global contexts. He has co-authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and led a chapter in the WPATH Standards of Care Version 8, the preeminent guidelines for healthcare of transgender people globally. Dr. Reisner was appointed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) as a Committee Member to conduct a national consensus study on the health of sexual and gender minorities which was published in 2020. In 2022, he became an elected Board Member for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). He is a founding Associate Research Editor of the PubMed-indexed journal Transgender Health.
Dr. Reisner is/has been PI of multiple research investigations funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and others in domestic and global contexts. He has co-authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and led a chapter in the WPATH Standards of Care Version 8, the preeminent guidelines for healthcare of transgender people globally. Dr. Reisner was appointed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) as a Committee Member to conduct a national consensus study on the health of sexual and gender minorities which was published in 2020. In 2022, he became an elected Board Member for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). He is a founding Associate Research Editor of the PubMed-indexed journal Transgender Health.
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Harvard School
of Public Health, 2015
ScD, Social and Psychiatric Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 2013
MA, Gender and Cultural Studies, Brandeis University, 2006
BA, English Literature and Women's Studies, Georgetown University, 2001
ScD, Social and Psychiatric Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 2013
MA, Gender and Cultural Studies, Brandeis University, 2006
BA, English Literature and Women's Studies, Georgetown University, 2001
Research Interests:
Transgender and gender diverse population health, LGBTQIA+ health inequities, mental health and substance use, HIV prevention, social determinants of health, community-engaged research methods and interventions, healthcare access and quality, global health, health-related sequelae of stigma.
Research Projects:
Dr. Reisner's currently funded research portfolio as lead/co-lead includes the following projects:
I AM: Evaluating co-location of gender-affirming care, HIV prevention services, and strengths-based peer navigation to increase pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for transgender women at 4 US sites and 1 Brazil site. This is the first transgender-specific protocol conducted in the global HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN 091).
LEAP: Assessing the effectiveness of an HIV status neutral intervention to address health-harming legal needs, economic needs, and gender affirmation needs in the USA. This is a transgender-specific protocol in the national Adolescent Trials Network for HIV Interventions (ATN).
ENCORE: Estimating HIV incidence and associations with mental health, violence, and structural syndemics in a hybrid in-person/online cohort of transgender women and trans feminine adults in the USA (R01).
TransHealthGUIDE: Testing the efficacy of a multilevel intervention package with healthcare providers, transgender and gender diverse youth and their families, to reduce suicidality among transgender and gender diverse youth in the USA (U01).
TOGETHR: Testing the efficacy of peer-delivered strategies to reduce HIV acquisition risk among transgender men and transmasculine people who have sex with men (R01).
Trans/Forming Genomics: Working collaboratively with national stakeholder board to conduct a sequential mixed-methods study on the risks and benefits of genomics research with transgender and gender diverse populations (R01).
Additional Information
Dr. Reisner is a long-time affiliate of The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health, a federally qualified community health center in Boston, and on the Faculty Advisory Board Member of the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center at Fenway.
Prior to the University of Michigan, Dr. Reisner was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He retains an adjunct appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard.
Transgender and gender diverse population health, LGBTQIA+ health inequities, mental health and substance use, HIV prevention, social determinants of health, community-engaged research methods and interventions, healthcare access and quality, global health, health-related sequelae of stigma.
Research Projects:
Dr. Reisner's currently funded research portfolio as lead/co-lead includes the following projects:
I AM: Evaluating co-location of gender-affirming care, HIV prevention services, and strengths-based peer navigation to increase pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for transgender women at 4 US sites and 1 Brazil site. This is the first transgender-specific protocol conducted in the global HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN 091).
LEAP: Assessing the effectiveness of an HIV status neutral intervention to address health-harming legal needs, economic needs, and gender affirmation needs in the USA. This is a transgender-specific protocol in the national Adolescent Trials Network for HIV Interventions (ATN).
ENCORE: Estimating HIV incidence and associations with mental health, violence, and structural syndemics in a hybrid in-person/online cohort of transgender women and trans feminine adults in the USA (R01).
TransHealthGUIDE: Testing the efficacy of a multilevel intervention package with healthcare providers, transgender and gender diverse youth and their families, to reduce suicidality among transgender and gender diverse youth in the USA (U01).
TOGETHR: Testing the efficacy of peer-delivered strategies to reduce HIV acquisition risk among transgender men and transmasculine people who have sex with men (R01).
Trans/Forming Genomics: Working collaboratively with national stakeholder board to conduct a sequential mixed-methods study on the risks and benefits of genomics research with transgender and gender diverse populations (R01).
Additional Information
Dr. Reisner is a long-time affiliate of The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health, a federally qualified community health center in Boston, and on the Faculty Advisory Board Member of the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center at Fenway.
Prior to the University of Michigan, Dr. Reisner was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He retains an adjunct appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard.