Dr. Jack Turban
Jack Turban MD MHS is a double board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist and founding director of the Gender Psychiatry Program at the University of California, San Francisco.
Writing
Dr. Turban is the author of Free to Be: Understanding Kids & Gender Identity (Simon & Schuster, 2024), an authoritative guide to understanding the science, medicine, and politics of transgender youth, which Chelsea Clinton called “a must-read for anyone seeking to better understand how we can truly help all our children thrive.” In addition to a starred review from Publishers Weekly, the book received praise from The New York Times, USA Today, PBS NewsHour, and NPR.
Dr. Turban is also a frequent op-ed contributor, including for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, Scientific American, and Vox. 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 and the media committee of The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. He is also co-editor of the textbook Pediatric Gender Identity: Gender-affirming Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth.
Research
Dr. Turban’s 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.
Forensic Work
Dr. Turban has served as an expert witness for federal and state courts around the United States. Please see here for additional information and to contact Dr. Turban about forensic work.
TV/Film Work
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.
Education & Training
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.