PSI-I LAUNCH EVENT 1
PRESENTERS’ AND ORGANISERS’ BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Dr. Meoded Danon is a sociologist specialized in the fields of medicine, body, sex/gender relations and bio-politics. She affiliated to the Medical faculty of Bar-Ilan University. Her studies focuses on the dynamics between the bio-medical knowledge, and the patients' physical and emotional experiences, as well as socio-cultural perspectives on normative/pathological bodies. She was a post-doc fellow at the Martin Buber Society of Fellows of Humanities and Social sciences between 2015-2019. Her post-doc research compares between the German and the Israeli medical policy on intersex/DSD bodies, and she published different articles in scientific journals. Currently Meoded Danon is working on several collaborative projects, the first is an international comparison study on the prenatal genetic diagnoses of intersex/DSD in Israel, Germany and the UK; and the second focuses on the socio-cultural and physical aspects of uterus transplants and the parental journeys of intersex people.
Michelle Ernst, PhD is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and a pediatric psychologist in the Division of Behavioral Medicine at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio. Her clinical and research specialties include differences of sex development (DSD), pediatric cardiology and pediatric migraine.
Charlotte Jones (she/her) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health, University of Exeter, UK. Her research addresses issues of gender, sexuality, disability, and health, and particularly the intersections of these areas. In 2016, she was awarded her PhD on the impact of VSC diagnoses on relationships, identities, and recognition in the UK. Since then, she has coordinated collaborative research focusing on VSCs, reproductive support, and relationships.
Lih-Mei Liao PhD was a co-founder of the original European Network for Psychosocial Studies in Intersex (EuroPSI), currently being (re-) launched as PSI International. A critical clinical and health psychologist, her academic interests have been broad and included variations in reproductive and sex development. She has co-authored international care guidances on the topic, served on strategic committees and editorial boards, and consulted to groups and institutions in the UK and abroad. She is a recipient of an achievement award from the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and a fellow of the British Psychological Society. Currently, she works independently as a practitioner and supervisor, serves as a trustee of Interconnected UK and is in the final phase of completing her book on psychological approaches in intersex.
Matthew Malouf PhD is a Baltimore, MD-based counseling psychologist with a background in LGBTQI research and counseling and in cultural competency training and supervision. Having served previously on the faculty in Pediatrics at UCONN and as the training manager for an LGBTQI-focused federally qualified health center, Dr. Malouf now operates a group practice specializing in issues related to sexuality and gender. He is the author of multiple journal articles and book chapters on intersex health and provides training and consultation to a range of audiences. He was a member of SAMHSA’s “National Workgroup to Address the Needs of Children and Youth Who Are LGBTQI2-S and Their Families” for nearly a decade, served on the medical advisory board for the AIS-DSD Support Group (now InterConnect) and is currently a member of the WPATH’s revision committee.
Surya Monro, PhD, is a Professor in Sociology and Social Policy based at the University of Hudderfield, UK, email s.monro@hud.ac.uk. Surya has published substantially in the fields of gender and sexuality, notably on LGBT and Intersex issues. She is the author of Gender Politics: Citizenship, Activism, and Sexual Diversity (Pluto Press 2005) co-author of Sexuality, Equality and Diversity (Palgrave MacMillan, 2012), author of Bisexuality (Palgrave MacMillan, 2015), co-author of Intersex, Variations if Sex Characteristics and DSD: The Need for Change (University of Huddersfield 2017) and co-editor of Queer in Africa (Routledge 2018). She leads the Intersex: New Interdisciplinary Approaches project (INIA) in collaboration with intersex activists and academics.
Dr. Danielle Moyer is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Oregon Health & Sciences University within the divisions of psychology and endocrinology. Danielle is a pediatric psychologist and the Director of Psychology for the OHSU Doernbecher Gender Clinic and she also serves the multidisciplinary team for youth with differences in sex development (DSD). Her work involves clinical service, individual and systemic advocacy, training and education, consultation to medical and mental health providers, and clinical research.
Kristina Suorsa-Johnson, PhD is a research associate in the Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Center at the University of Michigan. Kristina recently completed a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan School of Medicine focused within the field of pediatric differences of sex development (DSD). Kristina’s current research interests include understanding the elements of psychosocial and medical decision making in DSD.
Amy Tishelman, Ph.D.I is a clinical psychologist on the faculty at Boston College in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, with expertise in research, teaching and clinical work with youth and young adults with DSD. She is the former Director of Clinical Research in the Behavioral Health, Endocrinology and Urology (BE-U) Program and Gender Multispecialty Service (GeMS) at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH), as well as a former Senior Attending Psychologist in both programs. The BE-U program provides multidisciplinary clinical services to youth and young adults with DSD and related diagnoses, while the GeMS program serves transgender and gender diverse children, adolescents and young adults. Dr. Tishelman is the international lead in developing standards of care for prepubescent gender diverse children for WPATH and co-chairs an American Psychological Association Task Force on DSD.
Katie Traino, M.S., is a fourth-year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Oklahoma State University under the mentorship of Larry Mullins, Ph.D. Katie’s research interests broadly include short- and long-term child, parent, and family adjustment and functioning outcomes in the context of multiple pediatric complex medical populations. Katie also conducts collaborative research with families of children with diverse sex development, examining the role of factors such as stigma and cognitive appraisals (e.g., uncertainty) on family adjustment outcomes.
Erica Weidler is a Research Associate with Phoenix Children's Hospital, Assistant Professor with the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, and Executive Director with Accord Alliance. She has her master's in Counseling Psychology and began working with individuals living with differences of sex development (DSD) in 2014 when she joined the team at Phoenix Children's. She currently administers psychosocial assessments and provides psychoeducation to patients and families in the DSD clinic. Erica is a member of the Society of Counseling Psychology as well as the Society of Pediatric Psychology. Her current research efforts involve improving outcomes for individuals with DSD as well as the cleft palate and craniofacial population.