Russell Toomey

Dr. Russell Toomey is University of Arizona Distinguished Scholar and Associate Professor of Family Studies and Human Development at the University of Arizona. He is also the Chair of the Youth Development and Resilience research initiative of the Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth, and Families, as well as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Adolescent Research. Dr. Toomey received his Ph.D. in Family Studies and Human Development from the University of Arizona and completed an NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowship at Arizona State University in the Prevention Research Center and the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics. In 2016, he was awarded the Early Career Research Award by the Society for Research on Adolescence. He studies the processes by which transgender and sexual minority youth thrive and are resilient despite the barriers and challenges they encounter in society (for example, discrimination). His focus is on health-related outcomes, such as suicidality, among youth who identify or express non-privileged sexual orientation, gender identities and expressions, and ethnicities, and the intersections among these identities. His research identifies ways to support school and family resources, and coping mechanisms that contribute to health, well-being, and educational outcomes. At the University of Arizona, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on adolescent development, human sexuality, and advanced graduate-level applied statistics, and has mentored over two dozen undergraduate and graduate students.