Dr. Shumer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatric Endocrinology. He is the founder and clinical director of the Child and Adolescent Gender Clinic at Mott Children’s Hospital, a clinic for transgender and gender nonconforming youth. Dr. Shumer’s research has specifically focused on improving mental health disparities in the transgender community. He has clinical expertise in this area, as well as disorders of sex development and general pediatric endocrinology and diabetes.

Chromosomes and hormones work in fetal life to differentiate males and females; these are the biological determinants of sex. But what about gender identity? What makes us feel like a boy or a girl, a man or a woman? Dr. Shumer will review what is currently known and unknown regarding the origins of gender identity.
He will also discuss epidemiology, disparities faced by transgender individuals, and current standards of care in the medical setting.

This is the fourth in a six-lecture series. The subject is Changing Gender Roles. The next lecture will be May 2, 2019. The title is: Three Hypotheses for Explaining the So-Called Oppression of Men.