Faculty Profile
Kristi E Gamarel, PhD, EdM (she/her)
- Associate Chair and Associate Professor, Health Behavior & Health Equity
Kristi Gamarel’s (she/her) research focuses on LGBTQ+ health, social safety, and health
equity. Her work examines how social, structural, and legal conditions influence health
and well-being, and how stigma, discrimination, economic hardship, and violence create
barriers to care and safety. She identifies opportunities within healthcare, community,
and policy systems to improve access to affirming services and strengthen the conditions
that allow LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender communities and LGBTQ+ youth and
young adults, to thrive.
Dr. Gamarel’s research integrates community-based participatory research principles and dissemination and implementation science to design, test, and scale public health interventions. Her portfolio spans qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies; intervention development and trials; and real-world implementation and evaluation in community settings.
Throughout her career, Dr. Gamarel has held leadership and advisory roles across academia and national research networks. She is a long-term member of the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV Interventions (ATN), serves on the NIH HIV/AIDS Intra- and Inter-personal Determinants and Behavioral Interventions (HIBI) Study Section, and is an Associate Editor for Annals of Behavioral Medicine. At the University of Michigan, she chairs the HBHE Doctoral Curriculum Committee and serves as Training Coordinator for the Population Studies Center Demography T32 program.
Her work has been continuously supported by federal grants, and she has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Gamarel’s contributions have been recognized through her election as a Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine and as a recipient of the NIH Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO) Mid-Career Investigator Award. She is deeply committed to mentorship and routinely supports students, fellows, and early-career scholars advancing community-engaged health equity research.
Dr. Gamarel’s research integrates community-based participatory research principles and dissemination and implementation science to design, test, and scale public health interventions. Her portfolio spans qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies; intervention development and trials; and real-world implementation and evaluation in community settings.
Throughout her career, Dr. Gamarel has held leadership and advisory roles across academia and national research networks. She is a long-term member of the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV Interventions (ATN), serves on the NIH HIV/AIDS Intra- and Inter-personal Determinants and Behavioral Interventions (HIBI) Study Section, and is an Associate Editor for Annals of Behavioral Medicine. At the University of Michigan, she chairs the HBHE Doctoral Curriculum Committee and serves as Training Coordinator for the Population Studies Center Demography T32 program.
Her work has been continuously supported by federal grants, and she has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Gamarel’s contributions have been recognized through her election as a Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine and as a recipient of the NIH Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO) Mid-Career Investigator Award. She is deeply committed to mentorship and routinely supports students, fellows, and early-career scholars advancing community-engaged health equity research.
- PhD, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 2014
- EdM, Teacher's College Columbia University, 2009
- BA, Bard College, 2001
Kristi Gamarel’s research examines how social and structural conditions influence
health and well-being among LGBTQ+ communities. She studies how stigma, discrimination,
economic inequities, and violence affect access to care and how affirming environments,
supportive policies, and community partnerships can improve health outcomes. The goal
of her work is to create systems of care that promote safety, belonging, and equitable
opportunities for LGBTQ+ communities.
Research Interests
Research Interests
- Multilevel drivers of LGBTQ+ health
- Violence, trauma, and social safety
- Community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles
- Dissemination and implementation science
- Strategies to reduce stigma, and address the economic and social drivers of health
- Multi-level interventions to advance health equity
Email: kgamarel@umich.edu
Office: 734-647-3178
For media inquiries: sph.media@umich.edu
Areas of Expertise: Firearm Injury Prevention, Health Equity, Infectious Disease, LGBT Health, Mental Health, Racism, Substance Use
