Emil K. Smith, MSW, LCSW (they/them) is devoted to advancing health equity for transgender and gender diverse (trans) populations. Their research centers community engagement throughout all stages of the research process to improve the healthcare experiences of trans adults. Emil’s research is informed by their clinical experience in primary care, outpatient, and intensive outpatient mental health settings. Inspired by disability justice and anti-carceral mental health advocacy, Emil seeks to transform clinical practice to enable the healthcare system to better serve trans communities. Emil’s long-term goals are to (1) develop community-driven multi-level interventions to optimize healthcare delivery for trans adults with eating disorders and (2) build interventions to support primary care providers who serve trans populations. Their dissertation engages qualitative interviews to investigate trans-affirming PCPs’ experiences identifying, addressing, and managing eating disorders and their perspectives on how to improve care for trans adults with EDs. This work builds on their prior research with trans adults with eating disorders about their experiences in primary care. Emil’s dissertation is supported by the University of Pittsburgh’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s TL1 fellowship.
Emil has diverse teaching experience, and has taught at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional level in a range of topics related to clinical practice from conducting crisis assessments to sex and sexuality. They are committed to advancing anti-carceral social work practice, and have developed and disseminated a collaborative, trauma-informed, model for teaching suicide assessment to social work students.
Research Interests
- Transgender and Gender Diverse Health Equity
- Disordered Eating and Weight Stigma
- Integrated Primary Care
- Healthcare Delivery
- Anti-Carceral Social Work Practice
