The Lesbian Health Fund Reveals the 2025 Grant Recipients!
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2025
Contact: Eli Duffy
Director of Communications & Strategic Partnerships
eduffy@glma.org
WASHINGTON, DC - The Lesbian Health Fund (LHF), a fierce advocate for promoting the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ women and girls, is excited to unveil the recipients of its 2025 grant program. The Lesbian Health Fund is a program of GLMA.
Since its inception in 1992, LHF has funded 137 research projects, awarding over $1.2 million in grants. These grants are crucial catalysts to larger, multi-million dollar studies funded by federal agencies. And today, LHF remains the only research fund dedicated solely to advancing the understanding of the unique health needs of LGBTQ+ women and girls.
Over the past three decades, the LHF community has evolved to reflect the growth and increased visibility of the LGBTQ+ community. While progress has been made, LHF remains committed to prioritizing research conducted by and for LGBTQ+ women and girls, striving to address the ongoing disparities that persist within this population.
The 2025 grant cycle underscores LHF and GLMA’s steadfast commitment to health justice. This year’s selected projects aim to empower communities impacted by sexism, misogyny, transmisogyny, and misogynoir; centering evidence-driven approaches to equity and care.
“The landscape of LGBTQ+ health research is at a pivotal moment,”
Beth Oller, MD, FAAFP, GLMA’s VP of Membership & Development and LHF Committee Member. “Years of neglect—and now active rollback—have created a crisis that threatens both current knowledge and future innovation. The Lesbian Health Fund is proud to step in to fill some of those gaps, making strategic investments to preserve essential research and drive new discoveries, but much more is needed. This is about survival, but it’s also about progress.”
Congratulations to the 2025 Lesbian Health Fund Recipients:
Navigating Gender-Affirming Care: Barriers and Protective Factors for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Individuals Traveling for Out-of-State Care in the Midwest
PI: Rylee Beltran, BA, MPH
“This funding provides an important opportunity to collect and share the stories of community members who are experiencing extreme harm and bodily politicization under the current administration. I see this as an opportunity to ensure that this moment in time is not lost, and we have sound scientific backing to ensure that it is never repeated. Additionally, I am an early career scientist and receiving funding for this project will act as a catalyst for my future professional endeavors.”
Co-PI: Asha Hassan, BA, PhD, MPH
“This funding supports my commitment to reproductive justice by enabling research that centers the voices and experiences of trans patients navigating hostile legal and medical landscapes. Personally, it affirms my dedication to amplifying the stories that are too often ignored. Professionally, it strengthens my goal of building an inclusive evidence base that drives equitable, affirming policy and care models.”
Assessing Cardiovascular Health in Sexual Minority Participants of the BU Black Women’s Health Study
PI: Carl Streed, Jr MD, MPH, FACP, FAHA
“With the support of LHF and GLMA, we will be able to explore overlooked populations and describe the unique experience of sexual minority Black women in one of the largest and oldest studies of Black women's health. In the current political moment, support for LGBTQ+ health is critical to assess and address the well-being of lesbian and bisexual women.”
eSense TRANScend: A Pilot Trial of an Adapted Mindfulness-Based Online Sexual Wellbeing Intervention for Transgender Women
PI: Katherine Kabel, MA
“Trans women are under attack in the current political climate, and now more than ever, they deserve access to affirming, evidence-based care. Funding from the LHF is a powerful opportunity to support the trans community by testing eSense TRANScend, a sexual wellbeing intervention that was co-adapted with trans women. On a personal level, as a graduate student, the future of my work in LGBTQ+ research has felt increasingly uncertain amid devastating funding cuts. This pilot trial will form the foundation of my dissertation and allow me to continue this deeply meaningful line of research. More than anything, this funding gives me hope. It signals that organizations like GLMA are committed to uplifting research that centers LGBTQ+ lives. Wellbeing is not only the absence of suffering; it is the presence of joy, pleasure, and agency. I am extremely grateful to engage in work that promotes wellbeing for a community that urgently needs it.”
We look forward to seeing the progress and achievements of these remarkable grantees throughout the year. You can learn more about this year's grantees and their projects
here.
About the Lesbian Health Fund:
Since its inception in 1992, the Lesbian Health Fund has awarded more than $1 million in grants, supporting research and initiatives that aim to improve the health of LGBTQ+ women and girls. The LHF is committed to promoting research and services that improve the overall health, wellness, and quality of life for all individuals in the LGBTQ+ community.
www.lesbianhealthfund.org
About GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality
GLMA is a national organization committed to ensuring health equity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) communities and equality for LGBTQ+ health professionals in their work and learning environments. To achieve this mission, GLMA utilizes the scientific expertise of its diverse multidisciplinary membership to inform and drive advocacy, education, and research.
www.glma.org