Navigating Diversity: Considerations in Healthcare, Communication, Decision-Making and Society for Individuals with Differences in Sex Development (DSD)/Intersex

Dr. Janeane N. Anderson (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in the College of Nursing at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) in Memphis, TN. Dr. Anderson completed postdoctoral research fellowships in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and the College of Medicine at UTHSC. She earned a PhD in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and a Master of Public Health degree with an emphasis in health communication from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. Dr. Anderson’s research targets the relationship between patient-clinician communication practices and clinical and quality of life outcomes among Black adolescents and adults. She studies the ways in which patients and clinicians share power and responsibility to achieve patient health goals in sexual health and chronic disease management. Extramural funding from the National Cancer Institute has supported studies that explore patient-clinician communication, treatment adherence, and sexual health challenges among Black and sexual minority women with breast cancer (3R01CA218155-01S1 and 5R01CA218155-02). She is also the research consultant for an ongoing NIH/NIMH-funded K01 grant project to develop a multi-component intervention to increase HIV risk perception and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) initiation among Black sexual minority men in Baltimore, MD.

Dr. Anderson’s professional activities also include developing faculty resources and university-level programing to address diversity, equity, and inclusion goals and objectives. Some of her more recent efforts include developing pedagogical resources for UTHSC faculty to implement inclusive learning strategies in clinical learning environments and conducting professional communication workshops for College of Nursing and College of Medicine faculty to improve critical consciousness and communication with diverse students, patients, and community members.

Dr. Lacretia Carroll (she/her) joined the faculty of the UTHSC College of Nursing in October 2019. Her research focuses on social determinants of health, health equity and disparities, and health outcomes in sexual and gender minority adolescent populations.

Dr. Carroll earned her Bachelor’s Degree in nursing in 2011 from the University of Alabama-Huntsville and her Master’s Degree in nursing from the University of Memphis in 2013. She has clinical experience in pediatric intensive care and endocrinology and research expertise as a clinical research coordinator in pediatric allergy, immunology, and endocrinology. She received her PhD in 2018 from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center for her dissertation titled “Health-Related Quality of Life of Female Children with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia: A Mixed Methods Study.” Prior to assuming her faculty role, Dr. Carroll completed postdoctoral training at UTHSC.

Dr. Carroll has received several small grants from organizations such as Sigma Theta Tau and the CARES Foundation. She is a member of Southern Nursing Research Society and Pediatric Endocrinology Nursing Society. Dr. Carroll has authored and co-authored peer-reviewed papers and regularly presents at scientific meetings.

Dr. Alicia Diaz-Thomas (she/her) earned her Medical Degree and Masters in Public Health from Tulane University in 1997. She completed her Residency training at Tulane Medical Center and her Fellowship training in Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of South Florida.

Dr. Diaz-Thomas currently serves as Associate Professor and Program Director of Pediatrics and Peds Endocrinology at the UTHSC College of Medicine. Areas of research focus include general pediatric endocrinology, clinical service delivery for children with disorders of sexual development, and pediatric bone health. She also serves as a member of the university’s Pediatric Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council.

Dr. Diaz-Thomas is also an attending physician at Le Bonheur Children’s and Regional One, specializing in Pediatric Endocrinology.

Noi Liang (she/her) is an intersex woman and a patient advocate and educator on intersex variations. She strives to connect intersex people and their families to support and education, help the public understand intersex and related concerns, and advocate with the medical community for improvements in patient care. Noi is also a mid-career business professional with expertise in strategic alliances and high-tech marketing. Her business experience spans major corporations like Microsoft and HP.

Noi is a volunteer patient advocate at Children Hospital Colorado’s SOAR Clinic, serves on a DSD Task Force of the American Psychological Association (APA), and is involved with several other projects related to sex and gender diversity. She has spoken both independently and as a panelist at events of the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology and the Society for Pediatric Urologists (SPU), as well as done intersex educational sessions for businesses and non-profits.

Noi has lived and worked throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, and is now based in Colorado.