MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (07/06/2022) — The University of Minnesota Medical School announces Greta R. Bauer, PhD, MPH, as the incoming director of the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH). 

Over the past 50 years, ISGH has been on the forefront of every major development in sexuality and gender health research and education as well as assisting and saving the lives of countless patients. Dr. Bauer has a personal connection to ISGH, having served as a research coordinator when the Institute was the Program in Human Sexuality. 

“My vision is for the Institute to be a venerated and vibrant leader in sexual and gender health education and promotion among individuals, couples, families, and communities; and for innovative and high-impact research and knowledge generation to advance policy and practice locally, nationally and internationally,” says Dr. Bauer. “It is an honor to return to the University of Minnesota to helm ISGH, which continues to innovate and lead with a new master’s program and many stellar clinical faculty and dedicated staff."

A long-time champion of sexual and gender health, Dr. Bauer brings nearly two decades of experience to this directorship. She is a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics within the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University in Canada and holds a Sex and Gender Science Chair from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. She leads a large research program that includes national clinical and population studies of transgender and non-binary health, as well as methods research on how to better incorporate intersectionality into quantitative health research methods.

“The Medical School is delighted that Dr. Greta Bauer, a prolific researcher and respected activist with a long record of working to improve healthcare for transgender and non-binary patients, is returning to Minnesota to lead our Institute for Sexual and Gender Health,” says U of M Medical School Dean Jakub Tolar, MD, PhD.

She will begin on November 15, succeeding Eli Coleman, PhD, who has served as director for over three decades. 

“We look forward to a smooth transition as I step down as the Institute director and take on different roles and responsibilities within the Institute,” shares Dr. Coleman. “Our amazing faculty have produced important research; educated thousands of medical students, residents, and postdoctoral fellows; and cared for tens of thousands of patients. Overall, we have helped create a better sexual and gender health climate for all. While these accomplishments have earned us the recognition of the preeminent sexual and gender health institute in the country, I am so pleased that through philanthropic efforts, we have secured a strong base of support for the future. Moreover, I could not be more pleased that Greta Bauer will be leading us to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow and achieve even greater heights.” 

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The University of Minnesota Medical School is at the forefront of learning and discovery, transforming medical care and educating the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and faculty produce high-impact biomedical research and advance the practice of medicine. We acknowledge that the U of M Medical School, both the Twin Cities campus and Duluth campus, is located on traditional, ancestral and contemporary lands of the Dakota and the Ojibwe, and scores of other Indigenous people, and we affirm our commitment to tribal communities and their sovereignty as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with tribal nations. For more information about the U of M Medical School, please visit med.umn.edu

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