It is with great sadness that we share the news that Dr. Judy Bradford passed away this weekend after a long and courageous battle with cancer. As Co-Chair of The Fenway Institute from its inception in 2001, Judy played a key role in building a framework for LGBT-focused research and teaching. She was the first research scientist to head a National Institute of Health (NIH) funded population studies center focused on sexual and gender minority health, and the first to receive NIH funding to support a summer institute to train the next generation of LGBT health researchers, held right here at Fenway. Judy was a key influencer of NIH policy as a member of the Council of the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities.
She had the distinction of serving on the first Institute of Medicine (IOM) panel focused on lesbian health almost 20 years ago, and then was key in the IOM’s recent landmark report on sexual and gender minority health disparities. She was a passionate believer in improving the health of our community by performing sound research and by teaching others how to do this research.
Judy was an activist, mother, scientist, wife, adventurer, kayaker, investigator, mentor, and charming and engaging presence whose loss will be felt by many throughout our immediate, national and global communities. She will be sorely missed, but her legacy will live on through her lifetime of accomplishments.