WPATH GEI Journal Club

Kai Jacobsen (they/them) is a trans nonbinary person and a PhD student in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. They hold a BA Honours in Sociology from the University of Victoria, where their research explored gender euphoria. They also hold an MA in Sociology from Carleton University, where their thesis focused on trans autistic experiences of gender-affirming care in Ontario, Canada. Their current research broadly focuses on improving gender-affirming healthcare using strengths-based, patient-centered approaches. They are co-chair of the recently formed nonprofit Centre for Research, Education, and Action for Trans Equity (CREATE) and serve on the Stewardship Committee of Trans PULSE Canada, a community-based survey of the health and well-being of trans and nonbinary people in Canada.

Drew Burchell (they/them) is a nonbinary trans person from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They hold a B.Sc (Hons) from Dalhousie and an MA in Community Psychology from Wilfrid Laurier University, where their thesis was a qualitative study focused on the experiences of non-binary individuals in healthcare. They currently work as a Research Coordinator at IWK Health, where their projects span several topics including health equity, youth mental health, trans health, sexual health and gender affirming services, implementation science, and patient safety. Drew was part of the non-binary consultation group for Trans PULSE Canada, which was how they met Kai. They sing in a social change choir called Polaris and have a cat named Ducky.

Emily Asti is a final-year medical student at the University of Nottingham, set to graduate in the summer of 2025 before beginning her career as a doctor. She initiated the project titled “Transgender and Gender Diverse Older People: Health, Ageing, and Dementia” alongside Tom Dening as part of her BMedSci dissertation project, later collaborating with Nat Thorne and Naomi Beale to develop the published paper.

Emily is passionate about patient advocacy and delivering inclusive healthcare, with specific interests in palliative and acute medicine.

Naomi Beale is a final year medical student at the University of Nottingham, expected to graduate in the summer of 2025 before starting work as a doctor in the Trent region. After enjoying research as an undergraduate, and completing a project around attention deficits and listening, Naomi joined this team to assist in writing the revised paper ‘Transgender and gender-diverse older people; health, aging and dementia’.

Naomi’s clinical interests include a range of holistic and medical specialties including psychiatry, palliative medicine, and healthcare of later life.

Dr Nat Thorne was an LGBT+ journalist for 16 years before leaving to complete a Master’s in Psychology Research Methods at the University of Nottingham. While completing the Masters, Nat met Prof. Jon Arcelus who became their supervisor for a PhD exploring the link between language and mental health in non-binary individuals. After their PhD, Nat took a position at the Nottingham Centre of Transgender Health, one of the UK’s largest NHS-funded gender identity clinics. In this role, they have explored several subjects, and issues facing older patients and have contributed to several projects relating to age and dementia in the transgender population.

Tom Dening is Professor of Dementia Research, University of Nottingham; and Honorary Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Tom was appointed to his current post in 2012. His interests include a wide range of clinical topics and psychosocial aspects of dementia, and his main current research collaboration is around dementia and hearing conditions. He is one of the editors of the Oxford Textbook of Old Age Psychiatry, the leading international work in this field, 4^th edition due in 2025. He is chair of the trustees of Trent Dementia Welcome – Trent Dementia – Helping people live well with dementia.