LGBT Policy Lab

Actor George Takei shared his journey from "Star Trek" to human rights activism during the Chancellor's Lecture on Oct. 2. (Joe Howell/Vanderbilt)

Takei shares powerful journey to social advocacy in Chancellor’s Lecture, encourages others to take action

Oct. 4, 2019—During his Oct. 2 Chancellor’s Lecture, actor George Takei shared how the challenges he endured from his family’s wrongful imprisonment during World War II have propelled his human rights activism.

Tara McKay (second from left) will lead the study in collaboration with (l-r) Christopher “Kitt” Carpenter, Lauren Gaydosh and Gilbert Gonzales. All four work with the LGBT Policy Lab, an initiative funded through a 2017 Trans-Institutional Programs award. (Vanderbilt University)

VU faculty receive $1.9M to study LGBT social networks, health issues among older adults

Oct. 4, 2019—The National Institute on Aging has awarded a five-year, $1.9 million grant to Vanderbilt faculty members Tara McKay, Kitt Carpenter, Lauren Gaydosh and Gilbert Gonzales to study the health effects of social and support networks on sexual and gender minorities 50 to 70 years old in the South.

Interracial gay couple celebrates wedding with loved ones

Legalizing same-sex marriage increased health care access for gay men: Vanderbilt study

Jul. 11, 2018—One of the first studies to examine the health impacts of legal marriage for LGBT individuals has found gay men were more likely to receive routine medical care following marriage legalization.

TIPs grant funds groundbreaking LGBT policy lab

Dec. 12, 2017—Funded by a 2017 TIPs grant, the Vanderbilt LGBT Policy Lab connects interdisciplinary faculty and students to study the impact of LGBT-related public policies. In the VU BreakThru blog, Tara McKay, assistant professor of medicine, health and society, discusses how she uses her research to influence health, legal and social policies in both the domestic and global arenas.

Kitt Carpenter, professor of economics, presents at the Fall Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management in Chicago on Nov. 3, 2017.

New LGBT Policy Lab off and running with TIPs funding

Nov. 10, 2017—The new TIPs-supported Vanderbilt LGBT Policy Lab is just five months old and has already launched an Internal Seminar Series and presented at a prestigious national conference. The lab brings together faculty from five schools and 10 departments and is focused on research to understand the causes and consequences of LGBT-targeted public policies. Read more about the lab and other internally funded projects at the VU BreakThru blog.