Project Vision

The number of transgender (trans) youth being seen in gender clinics has increased dramatically in the past decade. To bring their bodies in alignment with their gender identities, these youth receive cross-sex hormone therapy. While a lot is known about the physical changes due to hormone therapy, much less is known about how it affects the brain. The PANDA Study aims to fix just that. By studying the effects of hormone therapy on the brain’s development throughout adolescence, the PANDA study will help improve future treatments for trans youth.

In addition to helping trans youth, this study will help improve mental health outcomes for cisgender (cis, or non-trans) youth. Certain mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, typically arise during puberty, suggesting that hormone changes during adolescence might play a role in the development of these disorders. By studying how hormone therapy affects mental health conditions in trans youth and coming those outcomes to cis youth, we will gain insight into how hormones generally influence the brain’s development and psychiatric disorders. Thus, this research is important for both trans and cis youth alike.