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INFORMATION FOR

John Pachankis, PhD

David R. Kessler, M.D. '55 Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Professor of Psychology and Professor of Psychiatry
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Additional Titles

Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health

About

Titles

David R. Kessler, M.D. '55 Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Professor of Psychology and Professor of Psychiatry

Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health

Biography

John Pachankis, Ph.D. is the David R. Kessler Professor of Public Health and, secondarily, of Psychiatry and Psychology. As Director of Yale’s LGBTQ Mental Health Initiative, his goals are to: (1) identify the complex reasons that LGBTQ populations experience one of the highest risks for mental health morbidity across all of psychiatric epidemiology and (2) bring effective mental health treatments to LGBTQ people in the US and around the world. His NIH-funded studies span population-based cohorts, clinical trials, and community implementation research. This research first seeks to identify the developmental precursors and biopsychosocial mechanisms of LGBTQ people’s disproportionate mental health burden. These studies then also engage these mechanisms as treatment targets. These treatments have shown efficacy for reducing the co-occurring mental health risks commonly affecting LGBTQ people (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance use disorders) across several randomized controlled trials. He has published 180+ scientific papers on LGBTQ people’s mental health and co-edited the Handbook of Evidence-Based Mental Health Practice with Sexual and Gender Minorities (Oxford University Press). His research has received several awards, has influenced policy, and appears in international media.

You can learn more about his research at https://medicine.yale.edu/lgbtqmentalhealth/

Appointments

  • Social and Behavioral Sciences

    Professor
    Primary

  • Psychiatry

    Professor
    Secondary

Other Departments & Organizations

  • Dean's Advisory Council for LGBTQI Affairs
  • Department of Psychology
  • LGBTQ Mental Health Initiative
  • Psychiatry
  • Research Interest
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences
  • Yale Institute for Global Health
  • Yale Medicine Outlist
  • Yale School of Public Health - NEW
  • Yale-UPR Integrated HIV Basic and Clinical Sciences Initiative

Education & Training

Predoctoral fellow
McLean Hospital / Harvard Medical School (2008)
PhD
State University of New York at Stony Brook (2008)
MA
State University of New York at Stony Brook (2004)

Research

Overview

Medical Research Interests

Anxiety; Behavioral Research; Behavioral Sciences; Depression; Mental Health; Sexual and Gender Minorities; Social Behavior; Social Change; Social Conditions; Social Sciences; Social Stigma

Public Health Interests

Community Health; Global Health; Mental Health; Health Equity, Disparities, Social Determinants and Justice; Stigma and Discrimination

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of John Pachankis's published research.

Publications

2024

See All Publications

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • honor

    2022-23 Scholar

    National AwardFulbright Scholar Program

Get In Touch

Contacts

Email
Academic Office Number

Locations

  • 60 College Street

    Academic Office

    Ste 316

    New Haven, CT 06510

    Get Directions

  • Yale LGBTQ Mental Health Initiative

    Lab

    276 5th Avenue

    New York, NY 10001

    Get Directions