Heino F. L. Meyer-Bahlburg (born 1940) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

-born

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

best known for his work on biology of sexual orientation,

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

intersexuality Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...

, and

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

Education and career

Meyer-Bahlburg earned his

Diplom A ''Diplom'' (, from grc, δίπλωμα ''diploma'') is an academic degree in the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and a similarly named degree in some other European countries including Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus ...

from

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...

in 1966 and his Dr. rer. nat. in

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

from

University of Düsseldorf A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

in 1970. He took a position at State University of New York, Buffalo and at Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, New York in 1970. Since 1977 he has held appointments at

New York State Psychiatric Institute The New York State Psychiatric Institute, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, was established in 1895 as one of the first institutions in the United States t ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

where he has been Professor of Clinical Psychology since 1990. In 1978, he took a position at

New York Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools, Cornell University and Columbia University. The hospital comprises seven distinct campuses located in the New ...

and has been a Full Professional Psychologist there since 1990. Since 1987, he has been affiliated with the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies. Meyer-Bahlburg believes

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

may be an issue of brain chemistry.Kotulak, Ron (November 17, 2003). Homosexuality may be issue of brain chemistry. ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' He has observed that women who took the synthetic estrogen

Diethylstilbestrol Diethylstilbestrol (DES), also known as stilbestrol or stilboestrol, is a nonsteroidal estrogen medication, which is presently rarely used. In the past, it was widely used for a variety of indications, including pregnancy support for those with a ...

when pregnant were more likely to have daughters with

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

or homosexual tendencies.Staff report (February 5, 1995). Estrogen medication linked to homosexual tendencies. ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-De ...

'' His research interests include the effect of biological factors, medical treatments, gender assignment, and rearing conditions in the development of gender-related behavior, temperament,

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

, and

in various forms of

. He has published on the effect of genital ambiguity and genital surgery on later sexual functioning in 46,XX

congenital adrenal hyperplasia Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a group of autosomal recessive disorders characterized by impaired cortisol synthesis. It results from the deficiency of one of the five enzymes required for the synthesis of cortisol in the adrenal cortex. ...

. Meyer-Bahlburg published with

John Money John William Money (8 July 1921 – 7 July 2006) was a New Zealand psychologist, sexologist and author known for his research into sexual identity and Sex determination and differentiation (human), biology of gender. He was one of the first ...

and others on the topic of psychoneuroendocrinology and its effects on sexual orientation and gender identity. In collaboration with

Maria New Maria Iandolo New is a professor of Pediatrics, Genomics and Genetics at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. She is an expert in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a genetic condition affecting the adrenal gland that can af ...

, Meyer-Bahlburg published a long term analysis of the psychological effects of the use of prenatal dexamethasone to treat Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia. Meyer-Bahlburg served on the

American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 37,000 members are involve ...

DSM-III The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langu ...

Gender Identity Disorder Committee, and the DSM-IV Subcommittee on Gender Identity Disorders. Bradley SJ, Blanchard R, Coates SW, Green R, Levine SB, Meyer-Bahlburg HFL, Pauly IB, Zucker KJ (1991). Interim report of the DSM-IV Subcommittee on Gender Identity Disorders. ''

Archives of Sexual Behavior The ''Archives of Sexual Behavior'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in sexology. It is the official publication of the International Academy of Sex Research. History The journal was established in 1971 by Richard Green, who served as its e ...

'' Volume 20, Number 4 / August, 1991 He was also Adviser to the Sexual Disorder Text Revision Work Group for DSM-IV-TR. He treats

gender identity disorder in children Gender dysphoria in children (GD), also known as gender incongruence of childhood, is a formal diagnosis for children who experience significant discontent ( gender dysphoria) due to a mismatch between their assigned sex and gender identity. T ...

, taking about ten cases a year in the 1990s.Osborne, Duncan (October 28, 1997). An Attack On Our Most Vulnerable: The Use and Abuse of Gender Identity Disorder. ''Lesbian and Gay New York'' He has written that gender identity depends largely on postnatal environmental influences, while sex-dimorphic behavior and temperamental sex differences appear to be modified by prenatal sex hormones.AA Ehrhardt and HF Meyer-Bahlburg (March 1981). Effects of prenatal sex hormones on gender-related behavior. ''Science'' 20 March 1981: Vol. 211. no. 4488, pp. 1312–1318 Meyer-Bahlburg notes that when parents bring in children for treatment, the “basic fear in this homophobic country is usually homosexuality." His research interests in the field of HIV include psychosexual assessment, development and determinants of sexual risk behavior, and the effects of HIV on sexual functioning. Meyer-Bahlburg was President of the

International Academy of Sex Research The International Academy of Sex Research (IASR) is a scientific society for researchers in sexology. According to John Bancroft, retired director of the Kinsey Institute, IASR "can claim...most of the field's leading researchers." IASR is uni ...

from 1990 to 1991 and since 2002 has served on the Committee on Intersexuality for the

Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), formerly the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA), is a professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender identity and ...

Selected publications

*Meyer-Bahlburg HFL (1990–1991). Will prenatal hormone treatment prevent homosexuality? ''Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology.'' v.1 n. 4, 279-283. *Meyer-Bahlburg HFL (1984). Psychoendocrine research on sexual orientation. Current status and future options. ''Prog Brain Res.'' 1984;61:375-98. *Ehrhardt AA, Meyer-Bahlburg HFL, Rosen LR, Feldman JF, Veridiano NP, Zimmerman I, McEwen BS (1985). Sexual orientation after prenatal exposure to exogenous estrogen. ''

'' Volume 14, Number 1 / February, 1985. *Sandberg DE, Meyer-Bahlburg HFL, Yager TJ (1991). The Child Behavior Checklist Nonclinical Standardization Samples: Should They Be Utilized as Norms? ''Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry''. 30(1):124-134, January 1991. *Cournos F, Guido JR, Coomaraswamy S, Meyer-Bahlburg HFL, Sugden R, Horwath E (1994). Sexual activity and risk of HIV infection among patients with schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry. 1994 Feb;151(2):228-32. *Trautman PD, Meyer-Bahlburg HFL, Postelnek J, and New MI (1995). Effects of early prenatal dexamethasone on the cognitive and behavioral development of young children: Results of a pilot study. ''Psychoneuroendocrinology'' Volume 20, Issue 4, 1995, Pages 439-449. *Susser E, Valencia E, Miller M, Tsai WY, Meyer-Bahlburg HFL, Conover S (1995). Sexual behavior of homeless mentally ill men at risk for HIV. ''Am J Psychiatry''. 1995 Apr;152(4):583-7. *Meyer-Bahlburg HFL, Ehrhardt AA, Rosen LR, Gruen RS, Veridiano NP, Vann FH, Neuwalder HF (1995). Prenatal estrogens and the development of homosexual orientation. ''Developmental Psychology'' vol. 31, no 1 (140 p.) (1 p. 1/2), pp. 12–21. *Rosario M, Meyer-Bahlburg HFL, Hunter J, Exner TM ''et al.'' (1996). The psychosexual development of urban lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths. ''Journal of Sex Research''. Vol. 33(2) 113-126. *Wisniewski AB, Migeon CJ, Meyer-Bahlburg HFL, Gearhart JP, Berkovitz GD, Brown TR, Money J (2000). Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome: Long-Term Medical, Surgical, and Psychosexual Outcome1 (2000). ''The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism'' Vol. 85, No. 8 2664-2669. *Meyer-Bahlburg HF (2001). Gender and sexuality in classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia. ''Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am.'' 2001 Mar;30(1):155-71, viii. *O'Sullivan LF, Meyer-Bahlburg HFL, Watkins BX (2001). Mother-Daughter Communication about Sex among Urban African American and Latino Families. ''Journal of Adolescent Research'', Vol. 16, No. 3, 269-292. *Migeon CJ, Wisniewski AB, Gearhart JP, Meyer-Bahlburg HFL, Rock JA, Brown TR, Casella SJ, Maret A, MD*, Ngai KM, Money J, Berkovitz GD (2002). Ambiguous Genitalia With Perineoscrotal Hypospadias in 46,XY Individuals: Long-Term Medical, Surgical, and Psychosexual Outcome. ''Pediatrics'' Vol. 110 No. 3 September 2002, pp. e31.

References

External links

Heino F. L. Meyer-Bahlburg profile
via Columbia University

via New York State Psychiatric Institute
Heino F. L. Meyer-Bahlburg profile
via KS&A {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer-Bahlburg, Heino 1940 births Living people German sexologists Transgender studies academics Psychology writers on LGBT topics HIV/AIDS researchers Intersex and medicine University of Hamburg alumni Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf alumni State University of New York faculty German emigrants to the United States