Jason Nagata 

Jason Nagata
Class of 2021 BEQ Pride LGBTQ Leader Under 40
(He, Him) is 34

The year 2020 feels like a worldwide wake-up call in so many ways. As a leader, I realize the most important thing I have learned and will take forward is…

“As a physician leader, 2020 has taught me to adapt practices and guidelines to new situations (COVID-19), address determinants of health such as food and job insecurity and support vulnerable and minority (including LGBTQ+) populations to have equitable access to healthcare.”

Jason Nagata, MD, MSc is an advocate and healthcare professional conducting cutting-edge research on LGBTQ+ health disparities in medicine. Nagata is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics specializing in adolescent health at the University of California, San Francisco, and a practicing physician working with LGBTQ+ youth. He is co-founder and co-chair of the International Association for Adolescent Health Young Professionals Network and led the World Health Organization’s research priorities for global adolescent health through 2030. Nagata holds a Master of Science in Medical Anthropology from the University of Oxford and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of California, San Francisco.

Through his global health leadership, Jason Nagata has advocated for LGBTQ+ health care providers who work in countries with anti-LGBT laws and guided global health policy.

He has served as a keynote speaker for Stanford University’s Out in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (oSTEM) and Queer and Asian programs. He also received the 2019 Emerging Leader in Adolescent Health Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is a respected, cutting-edge researcher, publishing over 100 peer-reviewed articles in leading medical journals and serving on the International Advisory Board of The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health and the Editorial Board of the Journal of Adolescent Health.

In 2020, Nagata published the first study identifying a higher risk of migraines in LGB people in JAMA Neurology, which received national press coverage including NBC Out, US News, Reuters, The Advocate, LGBTQ Nation, PinkNews and Queerty. 

Nagata published a study in the Journal of Adolescent Health showing high rates of job insecurity, depression and anxiety among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. National press coverage and interviews included KCBS and the Miami Herald. Nagata was also interviewed by ABC News on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth mental health.

As the lead author of several national studies, he published the first studies developing normative data of the most commonly used eating disorder assessment tool among LGBTQ+ populations. This research has been featured in the New York Times and NPR. 

Nagata has also published essays advocating for LGBTQ rights including same-sex marriage and same-sex parenting in leading medical journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association.