End of 2025 Review

2025 has been a challenging year for trans communities and allies, with unprecedented efforts to restrict the rights and healthcare of trans people internationally and within Australia, with the ban on reversible puberty suppression prescription for trans young people  in Queensland, and the withdrawal of public funding for puberty suppression and gender affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) in the Northern Territory.

Despite such events, as trans people, clinicians, and researchers, we have drawn strength from tremendous displays of trans solidarity witnessed during national protests against the blocker bans. We have also remained hopeful through the drawn out MSAC application process to create Medicare numbers for gender-affirming surgeries, the announcement of the inclusion of sex and gender questions in the 2026 Census, and the publication of version 2 of the AusPATH Informed Consent Guidelines.

Within this climate of increased scrutiny on our research and advocacy, and the broader trans health sector, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to countering disinformation with high-quality research, and elevating trans voices in research and health care. Below are some of the highlights and proudest achievements from 2025.

Community and professional recognition

Prof Ada Cheung was the recipient of the Victorian Young Tall Poppy Science Award of the Year, recognising her outstanding contributions to science and public engagement.

Dr Brendan Nolan was the winner of the Endocrine Society of Australia’s (ESA) Ken Wynne Award 2025, delivering his award presentation on subdermal estradiol implants in gender-affirming hormone therapy, at the ESA Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) in Perth. Brendan was also awarded the Best Clinical Abstract Award at the ESA ASM for an abstract evaluating mental health service utilisation after initiation of gender affirming hormone therapy.

Dr Sav Zwickl was the recipient of Transgender Victoria’s Trans Person of the Year Award, and the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health Best Early Career Researcher Award, recognising their leadership of the TRANSform project and initiatives to build capacity amongst trans researchers.

Dr Lachie Angus received the AusPATH Best Paper by an Early Career Researcher Award for his publication on the effect of spironolactone and cyproterone acetate on breast growth in trans people.

MD, master's and PhD student progress

A big congratulations to Lachie Angus who recently completed his PhD exploring the effects of anti-androgens in gender affirming hormone therapy!

Our other student researchers have continued to progress in their research degrees. Toan Tang gave his final PhD presentation for his research on scalp hair changes with gender-affirming hormone therapy, and Eli-Ward Smith and Arden Wong both passed their PhD confirmation, for their research on low-dose testosterone, and cardiac health, respectively. Sam Ronfeldt completed her MD research project on subdermal estradiol implants, and Silver Argentum is looking toward completing a master's degree in the first half of 2026, focusing on rates of access and desire for gender-affirming care.

Peer-reviewed publications

The team had a prolific year, with over 20 publications across various topics and highly regarded journals during 2025. This includes peer-reviewed publications on the world-first Gender Euphoria Scale, barriers and bullying experiences in sport and fitness settings, functional neurological disorder, scalp hair changes in people starting gender-affirming hormone therapy, body composition changes with anti-androgens, and laboratory monitoring in trans people.

TRANSform celebrates 5 years

May this year marked 5 years since the launch of TRANSform, our trans-led project which has grown to be Australia’s largest and longest-running trans adult health study. TRANSform has included several world-firsts, including the first published study on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on trans communities, the development of a Gender Euphoria Scale, and the largest ever study sample on pelvic pain in trans people using testosterone.

This milestone was celebrated with the publication of a report overviewing the studies achievements and impacts, and a recorded webinar.

TRANSform has ongoing recruitment. Trans and gender diverse people aged 16+ and living in Australia are welcome to join any time!

Social media, research blog posts, and news media

Over the past 12 months, social media has been a core pillar of the Trans Health Research Group’s science communication strategy, enabling timely, evidence-based engagement with trans and gender diverse communities, clinicians, researchers, community organisations, policymakers, and sector leaders. Our platforms are used to disseminate peer-reviewed research findings, explain complex clinical and policy issues in accessible language, counter misinformation, and provide context during periods of heightened public and political scrutiny.

Facebook remains our largest channel, with approximately 27,500 views per month, facilitating broad community reach and engagement through posts highlighting new publications, service developments, community resources, and research participation opportunities. Instagram reaches around 20,000 views per month, supporting visual science communication and amplifying messages to younger audiences and community members through research highlights, infographics, and lived-experience-informed content.

We published six new blog posts this year, covering topics such as the effects of GAHT on the body’s biology and bone health, understanding transsexual identities, reflections from the AusPATH conference, and practical guides to chest binding and pelvic health on testosterone. Key updates were also made to our “Trans Women in Sport: What Does the Science Say?” post which has been viewed over 11,700 times.

Our website has averaged over 5,500 visits per month and our research has received over 300 media mentions across 7 countries in 2025, including ABC and CNN.

Collectively, these platforms allow the Group to bridge research, clinical practice, and policy, strengthening trust, visibility, and impact of trans health research beyond academic settings.

Trans people in sport

Over the past year, there has been a marked increase in mis/disinformation and oversimplified claims regarding the inclusion of trans people in sport, particularly around testosterone, performance, and fairness. In response, the Trans Health Research Group has published an evidence-based blog post, and Ada has delivered multiple invited presentations and media engagements - including the Pride in Sport Summit, Proud 2 Play Roundtable, Cricket Australia, and outlets such as Triple J Hack, The Sports Ambassador podcast, and ABC Radio National - focused on correcting the scientific record and supporting informed, proportionate policy discussion.

Education of health professionals

Our science communication prioritises equipping health professionals with the knowledge and confidence required to deliver best-practice, evidence-based gender-affirming care. Over the past year, members of the Trans Health Research Group have delivered multiple invited educational sessions to specialist colleges, hospitals, professional societies, and trainee cohorts, including expert sessions on metabolic health in trans individuals for the Endocrine Society of Australia (Brendan Nolan), chronic pain in trans people for the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (Sav Zwickl), and physician-focused education on transgender health for the Internal Medicine Society (Lachie Angus).

We have also engaged subspecialty and institutional audiences through invited talks at the Baker Heart Institute on trans health, cardiovascular risk and hormones, the Royal Children’s Hospital Gender Service on management of androgen-associated hair loss, and Singapore General Hospital on adult gender-affirming care (Ada Cheung), as well as national teaching for medical students at AMSA QueerCon.

Complementing this educational activity, Julian Grace has published peer-reviewed research demonstrating that the six-hour training on trans health offered by Thorne Harbour Health for general practitioners, significantly improves GP confidence and access to gender-affirming care, providing empirical evidence that structured clinician education translates into meaningful service-level impact.

Most recently, as outlined in this blog post, several team members volunteered to help with the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH) education day, chairing multiple workshops across themes of complex case discussion, allied health utilization, hormone therapy, and trans health frameworks beyond clinical care.

Thank you to research participants and collaborators

All our research wouldn't be possible without the generosity of the many trans and gender diverse people who have given their time and shared their stories with us in 2025, including online surveys, research interviews and clinic visits. We cannot thank you enough!

We are always looking for more research participants, and you can find more information about our current studies here.

Thank you to our many collaborators – other research groups, individual researchers, clinicians, and community organisations – for working with us to improve the health and wellbeing of trans people. Your time, dedication, and expertise are deeply appreciated!

We look forward to working with you more in 2026 and beyond!