Where in the World is APF with Dr. Fay Guarraci

Welcome to “Where in the World is APF”, our recipient highlight series where we catch up with our grant, scholarship, and award recipients all over the world!

Today, we’re speaking with Dr. Fay Guarraci, who received the 2021 Division 1 Society for General Psychology and Interdisciplinary Inquiry Mary Whiton Calkins Grant for the project, “Development of an Animal Model of Transgender Puberty Delay: Adolescent GnRH Agonist Treatment and the Development of Reproductive Physiology and Behavior.”

Can you give us an update on your career and research since being awarded the Division 1 Society for General Psychology and Interdisciplinary Inquiry Mary Whiton Calkins Grant in 2021?

I continue to study the health outcomes of puberty suppression using an animal model. I am currently investigating how neural pathways might be affected by exposure to leuprolide, which is the drug we use to suppress the emergence of puberty in rats; it is commonly prescribed to adolescents questioning their gender identity. We also have continued to explore the effects of opposite-sex hormones to mimic gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) for masculinization in trans men and estrogen for feminization in trans women.

In what aspects has your APF-funded research impacted your career as a researcher and your contributions to the field of gender-affirming psychology?

The funding I received from APF was critical for conducting the research. In general, studying adolescence across time is expensive and leuprolide is very expensive. It is my hope that our research adds to the small body of research being conducted to better understand the consequences of puberty suppression – when puberty suppression starts at the very earliest aspect of pubertal development and continues into adulthood as is the case in GAHT. I was able to publish our research, share the findings at conferences, and I presented at the European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology. Our research has been well-received in these venues. 

Have you received subsequent funding, awards or other significant accomplishments since receiving your APF grant?

We applied for an R15 grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, however we have not yet received our reviews. Recent accomplishments include four presentations at the Society for Neuroscience and the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, as well as a manuscript in Biology of Sex Differences.

How did, or how will, your APF-funded research positively influence or make significant contributions to transgender & gender-diverse communities?

Given that very little research has been conducted in animals modeling the use of GAHT, everything we are doing is contributing to this area of research. It is my hope that more labs will explore our model, investigating other endpoints or effects on development.

How have you used the outcomes, or how do you plan to use the outcomes from your APF-funded research to inform future projects or initiatives?

We continue to use the model I have recently published to explore the development of neural pathways when puberty is suppressed and followed by GAHT (opposite-sex hormones in rats).

What inspired your interest in supporting the LGBTQIA+ community through psychology?

It was very upsetting when I learned that there was almost no research, especially in animals, that has investigated the long-term effects of using leuprolide to suppress puberty or administering opposite-sex hormones on the physiological and behavioral development. Our two papers represent some of the first research on the topic in animals. Adolescents and their caregivers need more information when they make important health decisions. It is important to know what the specific effects of leuprolide are on reproductive physiology and behavior when used in the context of GAHT. 

Guarraci, F.A., Avendano, L.*, Kelly, M.*, Estoestra, C.*, Frohock, B.*, Gale, A.*, Yepez, L.*, Jasmine B. Belfield*, Sencherey, B.*, Carter, K.M.*, Wiliams, N.*, Gore, A.C. (2023) Chronic periadolescent leuprolide exposure affects the development of reproductive physiology and behavior of female and male rats differently, but both mature after treatment termination. Biology of Sex Differences, 14(1): 1-14. doi.org/10.1186/s13293-022-00485-5

Guarraci, F.A., Avendano, L.*, Kelly, M.*, Estoestra, C.*, Candelario, I.*, Davis, L.K.*, Oevermann, M.*, Sencherey, B.*, Toro, E.*, Valdivia, H.S.*, Frohock, B.*, Gore, A.C. (2022) Daily administration of GnRH agonist treatment effectively delayed puberty in female rats without long-term effects on sexual behavior or estrous cyclicity. Physiology & Behavior, 254:1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113879

Do you have any words of wisdom for future APF applicants doing similar work in the field?

Don’t be intimidated or too scared to venture into this area of research! We need people who care about trans health, even from a basic level. Do not avoid research in this area because it is not in line with state politics governing public institutions or with conservative donors at private colleges. There are sources of funding out there like APF.

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