Dr. Jack Turban
Jack Turban MD MHS is an assistant professor of child & adolescent psychiatry at The University of California San Francisco and affiliate faculty at the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, where he is the founding director of the Gender Psychiatry Program.
His research focuses on the mental health of transgender and gender diverse youth, particularly as these topics relate to public policy. His peer-reviewed work has appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, JAMA Pediatrics, JAMA Psychiatry, The American Journal of Public Health, and The Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, among others. His research has been cited in major court cases regarding the civil rights of transgender people in the U.S., in state legislative debates around the country, and in the United Nations’ independent expert report on conversion therapy. He is co-editor of the textbook Pediatric Gender Identity: Gender-affirming Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth.
In addition to his research, he is a frequent op-ed writer with work featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, The Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, and STAT. He teaches opinion writing for the Harvard Medical School masters degree program in media, medicine, and health. He is a member of the communications council of The American Psychiatric Association, the media committee of The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, and the NCAA’s Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports.
Dr. Turban is regularly consulted by the media to comment on issues regarding mental health and topics related to LGBTQ health. He and his work have been quoted over 100 times for outlets including NPR’s All Things Considered, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, ABC’s 20/20 with Diane Sawyer, The New York Times, NBC News, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, Vox, Reuters, GQ, Vogue, CBC, and Vanity Fair, among others. He has consulted for television shows including 60 Minutes, The Problem with Jon Stewart, and Last Week with John Oliver. He has consulted for the U.S. Department of Defense and major tech companies on issues related to LGBTQ mental health. He currently serves on the scientific advisory board for The Upswing Fund, a collaborative fund created by Melinda Gates to support adolescent mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Turban graduated from Harvard University magna cum laude with a B.A. in neurobiology. He earned his MD and MHS degrees from Yale School of Medicine, where he was an HHMI medical research fellow and graduated with highest honors with an award winning thesis entitled, “Evolving Treatment Paradigms for Transgender Youth.” He completed his adult psychiatry training at MGH/McLean (Harvard Medical School) and his child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he served as chief fellow.