What does SEGM do?
Young people with gender dysphoria deserve respect, compassion, and high-quality, evidence-based care. The first and most fundamental principle of evidence-based medicine (EBM) is that medical decision-making must be based on the best available evidence, which comes from systematic reviews of evidence. Once quality systematic reviews of evidence specify what is known about the benefits and harms of a given treatment, understanding how the patients themselves weigh the benefits against harms should inform treatment decisions.
SEGM was formed in response to a proliferation of treatment guidelines that promote medicalized youth gender transition without the benefit of systematic reviews of evidence. Instead, the prevailing guidelines rely on a limited selection of studies that suffer from a high risk of bias, and have low applicability to the current population of gender-dysphoric youth. Such non-evidence-based guidelines risk promoting suboptimal and harmful care.
From our inception, SEGM's mission has been to promote evidence-based principles in the field of youth gender medicine. To date, we have collaborated with hundreds of researchers and clinicians from over 20 countries. Our objectives include critically appraising primary studies, translating, analyzing, and disseminating international practice guidelines and society position statements, and, importantly, developing new quality systematic reviews of evidence in partnership with major research universities. In addition to evaluating the endocrine and surgical intervention pathways (known as "gender-affirming care"), we support the development of non-invasive approaches for the care of young people with gender dysphoria.
SEGM is free from political, ideological, religious, or financial influences. Please join us in our mission to promote evidence-based care for gender-dysphoric children, adolescents, and young adults that prioritizes long-term outcomes, is rooted in ethical principles, and is based on fully informed consent.
SEGM is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Contributions to SEGM are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. SEGM’s tax identification number is 84-4520593.
2026 Advisors
Roberto D’Angelo, PsyD, MMed, MBBS, FRANZCP. President and founding board member (Australia).
Dr. Roberto D'Angelo is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. He is a training and supervising analyst at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis, Los Angeles. He has written and contributed to publications raising ethical questions about gender-affirming therapies. Dr. D’Angelo has an interest in non-medicalized approaches to gender issues and has written about the psychotherapeutic treatment of gender dysphoria. He is in private practice in Sydney and Byron Bay, Australia, where he sees adolescents and adults with gender issues.
William Malone, MD. Co-founder and founding board member (US).
Dr. William Malone is a board-certified endocrinologist. He is a graduate of Stanford University (B.A., Human Biology) and New York University Medical School. He completed residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center. He’s been in clinical practice since 2008 and holds an appointment as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Endocrinology from the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Julia W Mason, MS MD FAAP. Founding board member (US).
Dr. Julia Mason is a board-certified pediatrician and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois (MS in Nutritional Science, MD). She completed residency training in Pediatrics at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Dr. Mason has a busy pediatrics practice; in the past several years she's encountered increasing numbers of gender dysphoric adolescents, most with neurodevelopmental challenges or psychiatric comorbidities. Dr. Mason contributes to KevinMD on the topic of gender dysphoria.
Evgenia (Zhenya) Abbruzzese, Co-founder and Senior Advisor (US).
Zhenya Abbruzzese is a healthcare researcher, co-founder of SEGM, and the author of widely-read peer-reviewed publications in gender medicine. Her landmark publication, The Myth of "Reliable Research" in Pediatric Gender Medicine, mounted a significant challenge to the claim that youth gender medicine is based on a solid scientific foundation, contributing to the international debate about how best to care for gender dysphoric youth worldwide.
Before co-founding SEGM, Abbruzzese led analytics efforts for a major insurer to identify low-value care, misuse, and overuse of invasive and non-beneficial interventions. She also developed and led a venture-backed healthcare startup to help patients with medically unexplained symptoms. Prior to 2004, Abbruzzese conducted research for high-tech companies. Today, she continues to use her skills to champion and advocate for safe, evidence-informed, effective medical care, especially for vulnerable, marginalized, and underserved populations.
Michael Biggs, PhD. Advisor (UK).
Michael Biggs was born in New Zealand, took his undergraduate degree at Victoria University of Wellington, and then pursued doctoral study at Harvard University. Currently Associate Professor of Sociology and Fellow of St Cross College at the University of Oxford. Biggs’ research focuses on social movements and collective protest. The transgender movement first attracted his attention for its extraordinary success in changing social norms and government policies. When he looked for empirical evidence to justify medical interventions on children and adolescents, he was surprised that there was so little and it was of such poor quality. His research on Britain’s experiment with puberty blockers has been widely reported in newspapers and on the BBC.
Richard Byng, MB BCh MPH PHD MRCGP. Advisor (UK).
Dr. Richard Byng works in Plymouth in general practice and in a mental health team for young people. He is also a Professor in Primary Care Research at the University of Plymouth, leading the Community and Primary Care Group and specializing in the development and evaluation of person-centered care for individuals with complex health and social needs.
Anna Hutchinson, Clinical Psychologist. Advisor (UK).
Dr. Anna Hutchinson is a clinical psychologist with 25 years of frontline experience, specialising in adolescent mental health and physical health. She serves as the Clinical Director at the Integrated Psychology Clinic in London. From 2013 to 2017, Anna worked at the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at The Tavistock Clinic, where she observed significant changes in patient demographics, referral numbers, and an evolving evidence base that challenged practice at the time. Since leaving GIDS, Anna has been working to raise awareness of the complex needs faced by young people experiencing gender-related distress. She continues to educate and write on the subject, co-leading the induction training for the new NHS Children and Young People Gender Hubs in collaboration with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in the UK. She is currently co-authoring a book on developmentally-informed psychotherapy for gender-related distress in children.
Karla Solheim, MD. Advisor (US).
Dr. Karla Solheim is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College and earned a Master’s degree in City Planning at M.I.T. before attending medical school at the University of California-San Francisco. After completing her Ob/Gyn residency at the University of Iowa, she has continued to practice in the state. She has been dedicated to women’s health advocacy her entire career and served in several statewide roles before becoming the Chair of the Iowa Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) from September 2024 through March 2026. She has written extensively about women’s health as well as the evidentiary basis for gender medicine.
Anastassis Spiliadis, Psychotherapist. Advisor (UK, Greece).
Anastassis Spiliadis is a psychotherapist (MSc, PGCert), a psychologist (MSc, Doctoral C.) and an organisational consultant (MSc) based in London & Athens. He works with individuals, couples, families, and teams, and has held senior clinical and training roles in leading UK institutions, including the Maudsley Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital. From 2015 to 2019, he served as a psychotherapist, supervisor, and trainer at the Tavistock GIDS, where he founded the first Family Therapy & Consultation Service and raised concerns about clinical practices. He introduced the concept of Gender Exploratory Therapy in 2018 and continues to work clinically, publish, and train on gender-related distress and co-occurring difficulties through a systemic and developmental lens.