NIH honors Vanderbilt with prestigious research prize 

Vanderbilt University has been awarded a prize from the National Institutes of Health for its creation of the LGBTQ+ Policy Lab, which advances a culture of inclusion for sexual and gender minority individuals through interdisciplinary research and collaboration. The award—from the NIH Institutional Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility in Biomedical and Behavioral Research Prize Competition—recognizes specific interventions by academic institutions that promote inclusion within institutions and in the workforce at large.  

“Vanderbilt is relentlessly committed to inclusive excellence in pursuit of our academic mission. The LGBTQ+ Policy Lab powerfully underscores the ways that universities can benefit the wider world by bringing together diverse perspectives and experiences through rigorous inquiry and policy analysis. I am so proud that the NIH has honored Vanderbilt with this prestigious prize,” Provost C. Cybele Raver said. 

The NIH competition, announced in 2023, is built on the NIH’s long-standing commitment to overcoming demographic disparities in STEMM workforces. Vanderbilt is one of 10 academic institutions honored and will receive a $100,000 cash prize from the NIH. 

Vanderbilt established the LGBTQ+ Policy Lab in 2017 as an interdisciplinary hub for researchers, students and community members interested in the causes and consequences of LGBTQ+ policies. The lab seeks to advance research in four ways: building an interdisciplinary research network, improving training and retention of sexual- and gender-minority scholars, diversifying the pipeline of high school and undergraduate students interested in careers in LGBTQ+-related research, and enhancing and scaling inclusion programs at the institutional level. Faculty in the lab have received more than $6 million dollars in external funding and published in leading journals and news publications, including Harvard Law Review, The Journal of the American Medical Association, NBC News and The Atlantic. 

“I’m honored that the NIH has awarded us this prize and hope our work at the Policy Lab can serve as a blueprint for other institutions working to increase support for and collaboration in LGBTQ+-related fields of study,” said Kitt Carpenter, University Distinguished Professor in Economics and Health Policy and director of the LGBTQ+ Policy Lab. 

In its prize memo, the NIH celebrated the LGBTQ+ Policy Lab’s interconnected work on multiple fronts, including:  

• Enhanced financial and mentoring support of postdoctoral scholars, graduate students and undergraduate trainees in SGM research.  
• Increased collaboration between SGM-related scholars on campus.  
• Transformative partnerships with allied organizations to advance SGM perspectives in policies and public discourse.  

Faculty from the LGBTQ+ Policy Lab will join other winners of the NIH DEIA Prize Competition at a virtual symposium in June 2024, where they will have the opportunity to present on the LGBTQ+ Policy Lab’s research and practices, as well as learn from other institutions.  

“For those of us engaged in LGBTQ+ health research at Vanderbilt, the NIH prize is a welcome affirmation of our deep, daily commitment to improving the physical and mental health of LGBTQ+ people,” said Tara McKay, associate director of the LGBTQ+ Policy Lab. “This work informs policies that save lives and improve health outcomes for LGBTQ+ people, and I cannot wait to share more about what we do with the other prize winners.” 

Visit the LGBTQ+ Policy Lab online to learn more about the team and their research.