Dr. Ilan Meyer is a preeminent scholar whose career has fundamentally advanced the understanding of minority health disparities through rigorous scientific inquiry. He currently serves as the Williams Distinguished Senior Scholar of Public Policy at the Williams Institute of UCLA School of Law, where his research directly informs critical policy discussions regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. Prior to joining UCLA in 2011, he held the position of Professor of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences and Deputy Chair for MPH Programs at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Meyer earned his Ph.D. in Sociomedical Sciences/Social Psychology from Columbia University in 1993, following a Master's degree from the New School for Social Research and undergraduate studies at Tel Aviv University, with additional postdoctoral training in Health Psychology at CUNY and as an NIMH Research Fellow in Psychiatry at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Dr. Meyer's seminal contribution is the development of the minority stress model, a theoretical framework that systematically explains how social stressors related to prejudice and discrimination contribute to mental health disparities among sexual and gender minorities. His research has demonstrated that the chronic stress associated with minority status leads to significantly increased risks of mental health disorders and adverse health outcomes in LGBTQ populations. Meyer served as an expert witness in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the landmark federal case that overturned California's Proposition 8, applying his scientific findings to demonstrate how discriminatory policies harm LGBTQ individuals. He is Principal Investigator of the Generations Study, a national probability study examining stress, identity, and health across three cohorts of sexual minorities, and TransPop, the first national probability sample of transgender individuals in the United States, both of which have generated influential data for the field.
Dr. Meyer's contributions have been recognized with prestigious awards including the Outstanding Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association's Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns and the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from APA's Division 44. He co-edited the influential text The Health of Sexual Minorities: Public health perspectives on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations, which has become a foundational resource in LGBTQ health research. His recent publications continue to advance understanding of mental health disparities, with significant work on psychological distress among transgender young adults and substance use patterns across gender identities. As a leading expert in LGBTQ health, Meyer's research consistently shapes public policy debates and has contributed to more equitable healthcare approaches for sexual and gender minorities. His ongoing work promises to further illuminate the complex intersections of identity, stress, and health outcomes in marginalized communities through rigorous population-based studies.
