Welcome

One of the most defining moments of our lives is when, in the womb, we embark on a male or female path. Disruption of typical male or female development, whether mild or severe, results in a spectrum of Differences of Sex Development (DSD), which occur quite frequently, in about 1% of the human population.

DSDs can be stressful for families, and are often accompanied by additional medical and psychological problems, yet little is known about the causes of DSD and what healthcare teams should do in the short and long term.

In the beginning, four medical centers (UCLA, University of Michigan, UCSF and Seattle Children’s Hospital) joined forces and designed a way to learn about the genetic causes and the psychological consequences of DSD. Our goal from the beginning has been to use these data to provide healthcare teams with procedures to evaluate and improve care for these patients and their families. The network has continued to expand and change since then; you can see our current partnerships in the right hand menu and visit their local websites.

The National Institute of Health has funded 2 five-year grants “DSD-Translational Research Network” (or “DSD-TRN”) to improve our knowledge and care for patients with DSD. This website provides information for patients, families, providers, researchers about our research endeavor.

To learn more about the specific aims of the NIH-supported grant, click here.

To obtain a referral to one of our clinical teams, click here.