Together Forward Research Group

About Us: Together Forward Research Group is a collaborative research team determined to move transgender and gender diverse (TGD) health research forward. We are committed to community engagement, health equity, and an interdisciplinary team approach to science. We partner closely with local community organizations serving TGD populations. The research interests of our team represent various aspects of health across the lifespan.

Mission: Move transgender and gender-diverse health research forward through community-engaged and rigorous scientific investigation.

Vision: Advance transgender and gender-diverse health knowledge and health equity across the lifespan.

Starting Together Forward: Our Ongoing GenSight Study

Transgender and gender expansive people are affected by social and structural determinants of health that are distinct from those affecting cisgender people (individuals whose gender identity aligns with their birth sex) and that play a direct role in their ability to access and use health care services. These social and structural determinants are driven by systemic inequities, such as legal, economic, and social deprivation; discrimination and stigmatization; and marginalization and lead directly to worse health outcomes.

Much of the health data of transgender individuals was either collected nationally or in large coastal cities such as New York and San Francisco. Thus, we know very little about how social and structural determinants of health and the systemic injustices that drive them affect the health of transgender adults living in the middle of the country. This leaves scientists and healthcare providers with limited ability to develop interventions that prioritize the real needs of this community.

To address this, we are enrolling 200 transgender and gender expansive adults located in Denver, Colorado into a research cohort. To facilitate representativeness, we will oversample BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals and will leverage a mixed-methods approach to characterize the cohort on individual, structural, and social determinants of health. Additionally, our study is available for English- and Spanish-speaking individuals. The overarching purpose of the study is to identify community priorities and areas of need for transgender and gender expansive adults in the GenSight cohort upon which future studies should intervene.

We are still enrolling!

If you are transgender or gender expansive, living in the Denver metro area, and interested in participating, please visit the link/QR code below to learn if you are eligible: https://redcap.link/GenSight