Kristi Gamarel, PhD, Ed.M.

Dr. Gamarel is a Social Psychologist with training and experience in psychological counseling and public health. Her work seeks to apply social psychological and relationship science theories and community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles to develop and improve behavioral health interventions. Dr. Gamarel is engaged in community-centered, interdisciplinary research focused on stigma, close relationships, and LGBTQ+ health. Dr. Gamarel’s current NIH-funded projects seek to understand and address inequities in HIV and substance use among transgender women and gay and bisexual men. She is a founding member of the “Love Her Collective” which is a community-academic partnership between the Trans Sistas of Color Project (TSoCP) and the University of Michigan School of Public Health with the expressed mission of holistically addressing the health needs of transgender women of color in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Gamarel is the John G. Searle Assistant Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education. In 2019, she was awarded the Early Career Investigator award from the Society of Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Gamarel has published a review of the literature on firearms among LGBTQ+ populations in the US to help guide suicide prevention efforts as the lethality of firearms creates a higher risk of mortality in a suicide attempt with a firearm compared to other means.