​​​Dr. Tara McKay, PhD (she/her), is a nationally recognized expert in the field of LGBTQ+ population health, policy, and aging. She is co-founder and Director of the Vanderbilt LGBTQ+ Policy Lab, which was recognized by the National Institutes of Health for advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in health research in 2024. Her research examines the social and policy contexts that shape health over the life course, primarily among LGBTQ+ populations in the US and African contexts. In 2024, Dr. McKay received the Vanderbilt University Chancellor's Award for Research on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Her work has been cited over 2300+ times and engaged with by academic colleagues writing from institutions in over 36 countries. Her research has been supported by over $6.6 million in grants as Principal Investigator from the National Institutes of Health and other awards as Principal Investigator/Co-Investigator from the National Science Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Commonwealth Foundation totaling over $1.5 million. She was recently featured on the PBS Aging Matters series (episode: Aging with Pride, June 2022). PBS also produced an 2:30 minute special focusing on the findings of her research. 


ACTIVE STUDIES

  • PI, "Effects of Social Networks and Policy Context on Health among Older Sexual and Gender Minorities in the US South" (R01AG063771)
  • MPI, "A Multimethod Assessment of the Clinical, Economic & Social Impact of the Rejection of Federal HIV Prevention Funds in Tennessee" (R61MD019323)


APPOINTMENTS

Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Health, and Society, Vanderbilt University

Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Director, Vanderbilt LGBTQ+ Policy Lab, winner of the 2024 NIH DEIA Prize

Associate Director, Vanderbilt Center for Research on Inequality and Health



FACULTY AFFILIATIONS

Alzheimer’s Dementia Research Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Center for Child Health Policy, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies, Vanderbilt University
Department of Sociology, Vanderbilt University
Program for LGBTQ Health, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Tennessee Center for AIDS Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

CHECK OUT MY RECENT PAPER ON THE DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON LGBTQ+ POPULATIONS

sociologist. educator. thought leader. 

TARA  MCKAY

CHECK OUT MY RECENT VIEWPOINT ON SANCTURAY LAWS TO PROTEcT access to GENDER AFFIRMING CARE

high-impact research on the social and policy determinants of health for lgbtq+ people, families, and communities

with Samuel Mann and Gilbert Gonzales ​

sociologist. EDUCATOR.thought leader.

with Harry Barbee


**This article is in the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric