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Michael Absoud vs. transgender people

Michael Absoud is a British pediatric neurologist and anti-transgender activist. Absoud spoke at a 2024 conference held by anti-trans hate group Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine.

Absoud was selected by the UK NHS Children and Young People’s Gender Dysphoria Research Oversight Board as Joint Lead Applicant for the puberty blocker clinical trial named Puberty suppression And Transitional Healthcare with Adaptive Youth Services (PATHWAYS).

Absoud specializes in neurodiversity, which anti-trans activists frame as a “comorbidity” for some gender diverse people.

Background

Michael Absoud was born in October 1976. Absoud earned a medical degree in Dublin in 2000, then trained in pediatrics at King’s College Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital, and Oxford Children’s Hospital until 2009. In 2012, Absoud earned a doctorate at the Institute of Child Health, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, University of Birmingham. Absoud has been practicing at Evelina London Children’s Hospital since 2012. Absoud is founder of Paediatric Neurodevelopment Ltd.

Anti-trans activism

On October 4, 2024, Absoud “Autism spectrum disorders and gender dysphoria and adolescents: at the Athens conference held by anti-trans hate group Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine.

In November 2025, TransActual outlined concerns about the proposed PATHWAYS puberty blocker trial:

“The potential for bias in this study is increased by its choice of senior personnel. Of particular concern are the links between Deputy Chief Investigator Dr Michael Absoud’s links and the anti-trans group known as SEGM. This is an SPLC-designated anti-LGBTQ+ hate group which promotes pseudo-scientific theories about trans people, acts as a lobby group for the restriction of access to care for trans people across the US, has connections to the anti-vaccine Trump-aligned Department of Health and Human Services led by RFK Jr, and is a hub for many people and organisations who actively promote conversion abuse.” 

2025 ESCAP meeting

In the summer of 2025, anti-trans hate group Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) helped organize five symposia at the European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (ESCAP) conference in Strasbourg, France, in collaboration with the ESCAP Policy Division:

Absoud’s and Simonoff’s abstract stated:

Abstract: Early in the present decade, concerns were raised about the type and range of care offered to children and young people (CYP) with gender incongruence. Multiple issues underpinned the concerns, including the increasingly large number presenting to services, changes in the demographic profile of patients, and the interventions that were offered. The Cass Review, commissioned to address these concerns, and the 7 systematic reviews accompanying its publication, highlighted the lack of robust evidence to support clinical practice. The PATHWAYS (Puberty suppression And Transitional Healthcare with Adaptive Youth Services) research programme combines a number of studies focussed on children and young people attending the new CYP Gender Services in England. Funded for 6 years, the programme’s aims are:

  • To determine the short/medium-term benefits and risks of GnRHa for puberty suppression, across
    psychosocial, physical, cognitive and brain outcomes, in CYP with gender incongruence.
  • To understand the care needs and experiences associated with using GnRHa or not through longitudinal
    quantitative and qualitative studies.
  • To involve CYP and their parents in designing, implementing and interpreting the research to ensure this
    programme addresses their needs.

The research programme includes a longitudinal observational cohort study, a randomized controlled trial, a study of cognition and brain development and a qualitative exploration of young people’s experiences of making decisions about and starting puberty suppression. This is underpinned by an advisory group of CYP/adults with gender incongruence and parents who will advise on all aspects of the programme. We highlight the opportunities for, and value of, wider international collaboration with the possibility of accelerating our understanding of evidence-based care for gender-incongruence.

    References

    Russell, John (January 20, 2026). Trans advocates blast upcoming puberty blocker studies as unethical & biased. LGBTQ Nation https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/01/trans-advocates-blast-upcoming-puberty-blocker-studies-as-unethical-biased/

    Webberley, Helen (December 3, 2025), The Pathways Study and Its Impact on Transgender Children. GenderGP https://www.gendergp.com/blog/the-pathways-study-transgender-children/

    Editors (November 22, 2025). TransActual statement on launch of puberty blocker trial. TransActual https://transactual.org.uk/blog/2025/11/22/transactual-statement-on-launch-of-puberty-blocker-trial/

    HealthDay (August 5, 2025). U.K. Begins Major Research Effort Into Trans Youth Health. U.S. News & World Report https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2025-08-05/u-k-begins-major-research-effort-into-trans-youth-health

    Ring, Trudy (August 2, 2025). U.K. to begin major study on health of transgender youth. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/health/uk-major-study-transgender-youth

    Monteil, Abby (August 1, 2025). A Year After Banning Puberty Blockers, the U.K. to Conduct Major Study on Trans Health Care. them https://www.them.us/story/uk-study-trans-youth-puberty-blockers-nhs

    Reed, Erin (October 3, 2024). NHS Trans Care Officials Speak At Anti-Trans Hate Group SEGM’s Conference. Erin In The Morning https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/nhs-trans-care-officials-speak-at

    Anti-trans coverage

    Cohen, Deborah (December 18, 2025). “This is why the trial is necessary”: experts behind the puberty blockers study respond to mounting opposition. BMJ, 391, r2660. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r2660

    Staff report (November 28, 2025). Autistic children and the puberty blockers trial. Transgender Trend https://www.transgendertrend.com/autistic-children-puberty-blockers-trial/

    Ryan, Benjamin (November 21, 2025). UK to Launch Long-Awaited Puberty Blocker Trial. Hazard Ratio https://benryan.substack.com/p/uks-nhs-to-launch-long-awaited-puberty

    Parkin, Elizabeth (July 31, 2025). World’s biggest trans children study to include British toddlers. GBNews https://www.gbnews.com/news/trans-children-study-include-british-toddlers

    Pickstone, Joe (July 31, 2025). World’s biggest study of trans children to include toddlers treated by NHS. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/31/worlds-biggest-study-trans-children-include-toddlers-nhs/

    Hayward, Eleanor (July 29, 2025). Health of transgender children tracked for years in major study: Researchers will investigate key aspects of children’s health and wellbeing, including school performance, relationships, and conditions such as ADHD or autism. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/health-transgender-children-study-mt0vkbs2j

    Staff report (August 29, 2025). No minimum age for children in ‘biggest ever’ study on trans treatment. The Christian Institute https://www.christian.org.uk/news/no-minimum-age-for-children-in-biggest-ever-study-on-trans-treatment/

    Bowie, Kate (August 1, 2025). Transgender youth health and wellbeing to be monitored in major study. BMJ, 390, r1620. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1620

    Shakin, Chloe W. (July 31, 2025). Major Study on Transgender Youth Health Care to Begin in U.K. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/world/europe/transgender-children-health-study-uk-nhs.html

    Ryan, Benjamin (March 18, 2025). The UK Will Spend $13.9 Million On a Puberty Blocker Study—But to What End? Hazard Ratio https://benryan.substack.com/p/the-uk-will-spend-139-million-on

    Lane, Bernard (Feb 27, 2025). Safety gap: The brittle reassurances of the puberty blocker boosters. Gender Clinic News https://www.genderclinicnews.com/p/safety-gap

    Selected writing by Absoud

    Simonoff, Emily; Absoud, Michael (June 30, 3025) Programmatic research on Gender Incongruence in England and Wales. https://www.escap.eu/uploads/Events/Strasbourg%202025/250711.cap25.abm.abstract-book-escap2025.pdf

    Camp, J., Kashirsky, N., Pinckard, S., Hambleton, S., Oliver, A., Smith, L., Badrick, E., Bhopal, S. S., Baudinet, J., & Absoud, M. (2026). Socio-Demographic and Health Data of Adolescents Identifying as Transgender or Gender Diverse in the Born in Bradford’s Age of Wonder Cohort. Wellcome Open Research, 10, 413. https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.24147.2

    Resources

    Guy’s and St Thomas’ Specialist Care (guysandstthomasspecialistcare.co.uk)

    • Michael Absoud
    • guysandstthomasspecialistcare.co.uk/specialists/michael-absoud

    Evelina London (evelinalondon.nhs.uk)

    • Michael Absoud
    • evelinalondon.nhs.uk/our-services/hospital/consultants/absoud-michael.aspx

    King’s College London (kcl.ac.uk)

    National Institute for Health and Care Research (nihr.ac.uk)

    Google Scholar (scholar.google.com)

    ResearchGate (researchgate.net)