Dr. Jill Blumenthal, MD MAS
Jill Blumenthal (she/her/hers), MD MAS, is a Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health in the Department of Medicine at the University of San Diego (UCSD) California. She went to college, medical school and residency at Cornell in New York and completed her Infectious Diseases fellowship at UCSD in 2014.
She conducts clinical research on HIV prevention using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in cisgender men who have sex with men, cisgender women and transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) individuals at risk for HIV. She cares for adolescents and adults living with HIV and is the Director of PrEP Services at the Owen Clinic.
In 2018, she co-founded the Transgender and Nonbinary Community Advisory Board to help engage and empower the TGNB community in research. Jill led the development and implementation of the UCSD Gender Health Program, to support and optimize the usage of health system’s offerings to TGNB individuals in a culturally responsive environment of care and serves as the co-Medical Director of the Program. She also co-led the creation of an LGBTQ+ elective for medical students, internal medicine and family medicine residents and infectious diseases and endocrinology fellows, which was designed to improve trainee knowledge and comfort with LGBTQ+ healthcare and included community engagement activities with several local community based organizations.
Jill has served as the co-chair of the UC San Diego Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Issues since 2020 and was a 2022 UCSD LEAD (Leaders for Equity Advancement and Diversity) Fellow, campus champions who engage and lead crucial conversations around improving organizational learning and campus climate. Her approach to medical care, research, and advocacy for emphasizes the importance of person-centered harm reduction principles and treatment as prevention in LGBTQ+ persons and other individuals made vulnerable by the effects of systemic health disparities.