Gregory W. Rouan Professor of Internal Medicine

Dr. Fichtenbaum is the Gregory W. Rouan Professor of Internal Medicine and Vice Chair for Clinical Research, Department of Internal Medicine. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Combined BA/MD Program and completed an Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency at Bridgeport Hospital-Yale University. He completed post-doctoral training in AIDS and Infectious Diseases at Yale and Washington University, respectively. He joined the faculty at the University of Cincinnati in 1999. He is the Principal Investigator of the AIDS Clinical Trials Unit where he has an active clinical research program focused on HIV infection and inflammation. He helped to lead research efforts for Covid-19 for the Academic Health Center 2020-2022. He has authored more than 175 peer-reviewed scientific publications and book chapters. He is actively involved in the mentoring of students, residents, fellows and faculty. He provides ongoing care for 250 persons with HIV and also provides HIV prevention therapy for patients in his clinical practice. (he/him)

Associate Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Complex Family Planning

Dr. Gursahaney’s practice is focused on providing comprehensive and inclusive reproductive health care for all patients, including family planning services, preventive and routine obstetrics and gynecologic care, and gender affirming surgery. She specializes in minimally invasive approaches to hysterectomy, salpingectomy for sterilization or cancer risk reduction, and oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries). (she/her)

Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine Program Director, Infectious Diseases Fellowship Medical Director, Transplant Infectious Diseases

In his scope as an infectious diseases physician, Dr. Luckett sees many patients in the LGBTQ+ community for visits encompassing sexual health, STI treatment and prevention, PrEP, and HIV. (he/him)

Speech Language Pathologist, Voice Pathologist

As a speech language pathologist within the Department of Otolaryngology, Renee specializes in providing gender affirming voice therapy services. She is dedicated to training incoming ENT resident physicians, speech pathology graduate clinicians and medical students in the foundations of gender spectrum communication therapies. She regularly gives lectures on gender affirming voice care to speech language pathology graduate programs to better equip soon-to-be clinicians in providing competent and informed voice therapy to gender diverse individuals. Renee also participates on an active team of researchers at the University of Cincinnati who are dedicated to bridging the gap in the science by studying voice, speech and overall health outcomes for local gender diverse population. (she/her)

Associate Professor, Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery

As a laryngologist at the University of Cincinnati with an interest and focus on transgender voice care, Dr. Dion engages the LGTBQ+ community as an educator and advocate for the importance and impact of vocal congruence. He works closely with Speech Language Pathology in a multidisciplinary clinic and educate patients, healthcare providers, and the community on the anatomy of the larynx, vocal physiology and the physics of phonation, and pitch-altering surgery. He also performs pitch-altering surgery and reduction chondroplasty in the appropriate setting and leverage the latest research and outcomes data to optimize patient results. As healthcare continues to build transgender voices in surgical care, Dr. Dion is leveraging years of experience developing a multi-service Department of Defense transgender voice surgical practice at Brooke Army Medical Center and Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgery Center in San Antonio, TX. (he/him)

Adjunct Community Instructor

Jonah is a registered nurse with well over a decade of experience working with the LGBTQ+ community. He currently works at Equitas Health in research and educates healthcare professionals on improving the experience and outcomes for LGBTQ+ people in health care settings. As a queer transmasc person, he brings a personal note to educational offerings he is involved in. Jonah has provided training for entities across the United States, from local hospital systems to the US Food and Drug and Social Security Administrations. (he/him)

Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery

As a plastic surgeon, Dr. Gobble’s role is to help patients achieve a greater sense of well-being with their bodies. He primarily supports the transgender population by performing top surgery and of course support the entire LGBTQ+ community with any other plastic surgical needs. He finds great satisfaction in helping patients to be able to live as their true selves and to help patients have a positive view of their bodies. (he/him)

Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry

Stephen Rush, MD (he/him) is an associate professor of clinical psychiatry and medical director of ambulatory services in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience. Prior to medical school he trained at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, studying sex, sexuality, gender, relationships, and well-being. Dr. Rush’s clinical work is focused in the ambulatory setting where he has treated LGBTQ+ patients for more than 10 years, whether providing psychotherapy or focusing on medication management of psychiatric illnesses in this patient population. As medical director, he has engaged in focused efforts to educate faculty and staff about the unique challenges encountered by LGBTQ+ patients when engaging in psychiatric treatment and is an advocate for coordinated care, across specialties, for this patient population. As a member of the LGBTQ caucus of the American Psychiatric Association, he participates in advocacy, on a national level, for inclusion and equitable access to care for all patients.

Assistant Professor Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience

Melanie Thomas-Castillo, PsyD, (she/her) is a clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor as well as the Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience. She provides clinical care in the ambulatory setting at UC Health. Dr. Thomas-Castillo runs a psychotherapy clinic for the LGBTQIA+ community. Within this clinic she provides therapy to individuals working through issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity, minority stress, transitioning, relationship concerns, and other mental health needs. She consults with other clinicians to ensure patients have access to the resources and care needed. She also completes assessments and letters of support for gender-affirming care. Dr. Thomas-Castillo provides educational didactics and presentations on LGBTQIA+ topics throughout UC College of Medicine and within the community. Additionally, Dr. Thomas-Castillo is a member of World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and of the Ohio Psychological Association LGBTQIA+ committee. (she/her)

Assistant Professor Division of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Associate Residency Program Director Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Tsung-Yen Hsieh, MD is a double board-certified surgeon in Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and Otolaryngology, and an assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati. His scope of practice encompasses providing support and healthcare resources to the LGBTQ+ community through a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach. He specializes in gender-affirming procedures including facial feminization and masculinization surgeries. He aims to promote inclusivity and offer a safe space for discussing health-related concerns faced by the LGBTQ+ community. (he/him)

Assistant Professor; Associate Residency Program Director

Dr. Downing is an obstetrician-gynecologist. Her goal is to create a safe space for everyone to receive whatever scope of gynecologic care they need. She provides routine gynecologic care, including pap smears and STI screening. She offers full-scope contraception for anyone who needs it. She offers hormonal management for menstrual suppression. She also provides gender-affirming hysterectomies. Everyone is welcome in her office. (she/her)

Assistant Professor

Dr. McKenna is an assistant professor and director of the Voice & Swallow Mechanics Lab in the College of Allied Health Sciences. She is the lead PI on the Gender Diversity Project, which encompasses a collaborative group of scientists, clinicians, and physicians with the mutual goal to improve treatment access and outcomes for transgender patients. Her current projects investigate how gender-affirming voice therapy and laryngeal surgery improve quality of life, overall wellbeing, and vocal congruence. She is also working closely with engineering scientists to develop vocal training exercises on a smartphone app that she hopes will be freely available to all patients. (she/her)

Associate Professor Medical Director - Infectious Diseases Center

Dr. Robertson is the medical director for the UC Health Infectious Diseases Center. The Center is the only Ryan White funded center for HIV care in the Greater Cincinnati area serving approximately 1900 - 2000 patients annually. Approximately 54% of their clinic population are gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men making this the largest HIV risk demographic that they serve. In addition to HIV care, they are a provider of HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis and Dr. Robertson provides anal cancer screening for their patients. The Center has a small population of transgender patients for whom they are developing a program to ensure access to gender affirming care, appropriate health maintenance, and behavioral health care. They have an integrated collaborative behavioral health team consisting of a psychiatrist, counselor, behavioral care manager, and a social worker. Many of their patients have increased risk for behavioral health disorders, exposure to trauma, or healthcare disparities related to race, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The Center is continually looking for opportunities to improve patient advocacy and improve health outcomes by alleviating health disparities. (he/him)