Annual Lectures within the Division of General Internal Medicine

"The Hidden Cost of Social Inequities: Addressing the Toll of Transphobia on Health"

Tonia Poteat, PhD, MPH, PA-C is a Professor in the Duke University School of Nursing, Co-Director of the Duke Sexual and Gender Minority Wellness Program, and Associate Director of the Duke Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Developmental Core. Her research, teaching, and clinical practice focus on LGBTQ health and HIV with particular attention to the health of transgender and gender diverse communities. She directs the RISE Lab where her community-engaged research attends to the role of intersectional structural stigma in driving health inequities and seeks to identify strategies to advance health justice. Certified as a Gender Specialist by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and HIV Specialist by the American Academy of HIV Medicine, she is a leader in research and care with transgender persons. As a certified PA, she has 30 years of experience providing medical care for transgender adults and people living with HIV. She currently cares for adults living with HIV at the UNC Infectious Diseases Clinic and mentors medical students in the SHAC Gender Affirming Care Clinic. She is an associate editor for the journal LGBT Health and has served on consensus panels for the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine including Sex and Gender Identification and Implications for Disability Evaluation and Understanding the Status and Well-Being of Sexual and Gender Diverse Populations. She is deeply committed to community-engaged research with actionable findings.

Registration required.

Dr. Branch is an innovator and pioneer in medical education of trainees and practitioners with a focus on primary care. The purpose of the William T. Branch Innovation in Primary Care Lectureship/Seminar/Series will be to offer innovative, interactive presentations that promote the life-long learning of humanism in medicine, support the development of professional identity, and foster collaborative, collegial relationships among health professionals.

Past Branch Lectures Titles and Lecturers 

• 2023: "Social Media and Medicine: Connectivity and Disconnects." Paul N. Williams, MD
• 2022: "Can We Educate Physicians to be Trustworthy? It Depends." Adina Kalet, MD, MPH
• 2021: "Realizing Our Potential as Healers: Professional Identity Formation." Dennis H. Novak, MD. View recording of virtual lecture.
• 2020: "What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear." Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD. View recording of virtual lecture.

The purpose of the Paul W. Seavey Distinguished Lecturer in General Internal Medicine series is to highlight the role of the internist as a diagnostician, emphasize the importance of the physician-patient relationship, recognize innovative trends in medicine and public health as they relate to the field of ambulatory practice, and inspire individuals choosing to practice within the field of internal medicine. This lecture series provides a forum for scholarly discourse on the practice of medicine and recognizes dynamic leaders at the crossroads of medicine and public health.

Past Seavey Lectures Titles and Lecturers 

• 2024: Helene Gayle, MD, MPH, President of Spelman College in conversation with M. Daniele Fallin, PhD, James W. Curran Dean of Public Health, Rollins School of Public Health
• 2023: "Dialogue with the Makers: 'The Only Doctor' Film Screening and Creator Q&A." Karen Kinsell, MD & Matthew Hashiguchi
• 2020-2022: canceled due to COVID-19
• 2019: "Individualizing Cancer Screening in Older Adults." Louise Walter, MD
• 2018: "HealthPolicy: Does Evidence Really Matter?" Victor Wu, MD, MPH
• 2017: "Presentation Skills for Physicians." Scott C. Litin, MD
• 2016: "A Tale of Two Brains: How to Rekindle the Artist Within." Salvatore Mangione, MD
• 2015: "The National Institutes of Health: Undiagnosed Diseases Program and Network." William A. Gahl, MD, PhD