SGMRO: COLLABORATIONS
The following is an archive of the groups and committees listed on the SGMRO's website.
Due to the evolving nature of the current administration and political climate, member rosters have been omitted.
The NIH Sexual & Gender Minority Research Coordinating Committee (SGM RCC) provided a trans-NIH forum for discussing the diverse health research issues of SGM communities and serves as a catalyst for developing additional research and research training initiatives in these areas across the agency.
Responsibilities
- Facilitate and coordinate collaborations and other activities related to SGM health research across the NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices, as well as with other federal agencies.
- Develop potential research and research training activities for NIH and ICO leadership to consider as a result of recommendations from the Institute of Medicine report on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender health.
- Provide advice to the SGMRO on implementation and evaluation of the NIH SGM Research Strategic Plan.
Background
In 2009, at the request of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convened a consensus committee to conduct the first-ever comprehensive study on the state of the science on the health status of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations, resulting in the 2011 publication, The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding. One of the major conclusions of the IOM report was that too little is known about the health needs of LGBT persons in the United States, and the report issued a call to the NIH to support and conduct additional research.
In response to the report, the NIH created the NIH LGBT Research Coordinating Committee (RCC), currently named the Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) RCC. The committee was charged with “developing and coordinating possible research and training opportunities to be undertaken at NIH as a result of recommendations from the IOM report on LGBT health issues.” The RCC conducted a portfolio analysis on LGBT health research and identified gaps and opportunities in the research areas supported by the NIH. An initial report (Drive link) was released in January 2012 and the recommendations paralleled the IOM report recommendations, which then led to the development of the SGM health research strategic plan (Drive link). The goals and objectives of the strategic plan encourage the advancement of basic, clinical, behavioral, population, and social sciences research to improve the health of SGM individuals. Goal 3, objective 1, asked the NIH to establish an SGM Health Research Working Group of the NIH Council of Councils, to provide subject matter expertise and strategic perspective for extramural and intramural NIH-funded SGM health research and related efforts.
To meet this objective, the NIH established the Sexual & Gender Minority Research Working Group in the summer of 2016.
Charge
The Council of Councils (Council) Sexual and Gender Minority Research Working Group (SGM RWG) will provide input to the Council on activities of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI) that relate to sexual and gender minority research including activities of the Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO).
In response to the DPCPSI and SGMRO Directors, the SGM RWG will provide scientific expertise and input to the Council on:
- Opportunities for trans-NIH research collaborations;
- Strategies for increasing the number of SGM investigators and the number of investigators conducting SGM-relevant research;
- Approaches for optimizing outreach to the SGM research and stakeholder communities;
- Priorities for the most needed and promising areas of SGM-related research; and
- Other activities requested by DPCPSI.
The SGM RWG will consist of no less than five members, selected by the Director of DPCPSI. The Co-Chairs of the SGMRWG will be the SGMRO Director and one current member of the Council. Membership of the SGM RWG may be drawn in whole or in part from the Council and include any ad hoc attendees as appropriate. Terms will be for three years; DPCPSI leadership may ask members to extend their service, should their expertise be needed for longer.
Meetings of the SGM RWG will be held at the request of the Director, DPCPSI in consultation with the Director, SGMRO. Meetings will take place no less than once per fiscal year. A quorum for the SGM RWG will be more than half of the working group members.
In FY 2020, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Intramural Research Program (IRP) and the SGMRO formed the NIH SGM Health Scientific Interest Group (SGM Health SIG) to provide a forum for scientists, investigators, and trainees who share a mutual research interest in SGM health research and to foster new collaborations across the NIH and beyond within this area of inquiry.
This group was open to both intramural and extramural stakeholders. It encouraged participation from other federal agencies, universities, researchers centers, etc.
Meeting & Joining Information
The SIG had scheduled meetings every 2-3 months, beginning in January 2021. Meetings virtually featured presentations by invited NIH staff, extramural researchers, and SIG members, as well as discussions about research ideas and relevant publications. Meetings were split format, in which half of the meetings will be held for internal agency stakeholders, and the rest for both internal and external members of the SIG.
All interested persons were to sign up for the official SGM Health SIG Listserv to join the SIG and to receive meeting invitations.
Goals & Objectives
The goals of the SGM Health SIG were:
- to provide a forum to connect individuals trained in different scientific disciplines across the NIH engaged or interested in conducting SGM health research;
- to provide intramural researchers and trainees a venue to share and receive feedback on their proposed research, their preliminary results, their published findings, and discuss publications related to SGM health; and
- to provide opportunities for career development, networking, and community engagement.
The overall objectives of the SGM Health SIG were:
- to provide a space to discuss topics and research questions related to SGM health;
- to explore the intersections of individual, interpersonal, social, and structural factors impacting SGM health; and
- to provide a platform to allow members to learn and educate one another about SGM health research.