The California state budget signed by Governor Gray Davis last month provides $100,000 for UCSF's groundbreaking Center for Lesbian Health Research (CLHR).

"I am delighted to see UCSF taking the lead in this important new health arena," said Assemblywoman Carole Migden, who sponsored the grant. "This funding represents an historic and unprecedented partnership, and it will make a fundamental difference in the health care that lesbian, bisexual and transgender women receive in California and nationwide."

As the only center of its kind in the country, the CLHR is a leader in the emerging field of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health. The center was formed in September 1999 after the Institute of Medicine published a landmark report urging increased attention to lesbian health concerns.

CLHR's faculty and affiliated researchers study a wide range of issues related to lesbian health, including breast cancer risk factors in lesbians, the types of health care providers sought by lesbians, and HIV transmission between women. CLHR researchers will also follow the children of lesbian couples from infancy to grade school to learn how their academic performance and social adjustment compare to those of other children.

The center is housed in the UCSF Institute for Health and Aging.

"This grant recognizes lesbian, bisexual and transgender women as a medically underserved community within California," said center co-director Suzanne L. Dibble, RN, DNS. "We are grateful to the governor and Assemblywoman Migden for their support in obtaining the funding."

"The grant represents a significant step toward defining the health issues of California's lesbian citizens, studying them in depth, and ultimately improving the health of lesbians everywhere," said Patricia A. Robertson, MD, co-director of the center and professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences. "It will be used for research projects, fellowships, and trainings aimed at educating California health care providers about the special needs of this substantial group of women."