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This study examines the use of low-dose testosterone for the purpose of gender affirmation.

Email to Join

lowdose-t@unimelb.edu.au

  • Eli Ward-Smith, a non-binary person, standing indoors and smiling happily. They are light-skinned with short, wavy black hair, wearing wire-rimmed glasses and a sweater. A bookshelf is available behind them.
  • Brendan Nolan, a light-skinned man, standing outdoors and smiling happily. He has short, straight brown hair and brown stubble. He is wearing brown-rimmed glasses and a jacket. A tree is visible in the blurred background.

Research Team

This study involves a team of endocrinologists with extensive experience in trans health and lived experience researchers. It is led by Dr Brendan Nolan. Interviews will be conducted by Eli Ward-Smith, a trans non-binary PhD candidate.

Two tall rectangular, small boxes lying on a plain white surface. It is packaging containing a pump bottle medication. The boxes are blue with white text and a green-and-blue logo on each side. The logo reads, "Testogel," and other text reads, "16.2 mg/g, gel, testosterone".
Transdermal testosterone.

Aims, Process

Many trans and gender diverse people recorded female at birth seek testosterone doses lower than those currently described in trans healthcare guidelines, to achieve slower or lesser degrees of masculinisation in line with their identity. However, there is no research evaluating low-dose testosterone therapy.

This world-first study is looking at the effects of low-dose testosterone on gender dysphoria, gender euphoria, and mental health outcomes in people who are commencing low-dose testosterone for the first time.

A dark-skinned non-binary person standing outdoors, smiling happily. They have a short, closely-cropped black afro which is dyed with light blue tips. They are wearing several silver facial piercings, blue eyeshadow, silver earrings, a black leather choker, silver necklaces, fishnet sleeves, and a purple chequered shirt. A graffiti-covered wall is visible in the blurred background.
Non-binary person. Cultura Creative, Adobe Stock.

Process

Research participants will be randomly allocated to either start low-dose testosterone immediately or to a standard care 3-month waitlist before starting low-dose testosterone.

All participants will be followed up for 12 months after commencing low-dose testosterone, with 5 study visits over the study period.

This type of study design is called a randomised controlled trial (RCT). You can read about our previous full-dose testosterone RCT study and the importance of RCTs in trans health research here.

Some participants may also opt in to take part in an interview about their experience starting low-dose testosterone.

Join

You may be eligible to participate if you are trans, recorded female at birth, aged 18-70yrs, planning on commencing low-dose testosterone for the first time, and are eligible to commence hormones via the informed consent pathway.

We are looking for people who are planning on continuing low-dose testosterone for at least 3 months from the time of commencement.

We Acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Lands and Waterways on which we work and pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders, past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded. This always was, and always will be, Aboriginal land.

E: gender-research@unimelb.edu.au

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FB: @TransHealthResearch

LI: Trans Health Research

All information provided on this website is intended as a guide only. Please see your doctor for specific health advice for your individual circumstances. © 2026 Trans Health Research.
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