GAIL ELIZABETH WYATT, Ph.D.

Gail Elizabeth Wyatt, Ph.D. was the first African American woman to be licensed as a psychologist in California. She is also a sex educator and has developed curricula for school-age children regarding human sexuality, a trained sex therapist, a Diplomat of the American Board of Sexology, and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and of the American Academy of Clinical Sexologists.

Dr. Wyatt has been a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Research Scientist Career Development Awardee Research and Scientist for the past 17 years, the first African American woman to be so honored. Her research examines the consensual and abusive sexual relationships of African American and White women and the effects of these experiences on their psychological well-being and their risk for STDs, including HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Wyatt has been principal investigator (PI) of several grants: “AIDS Related Sexual Decision Making Among Jamaicans,” a 5-year Multidisciplinary collaborative project with UCLA and the University of the West Indies funded by Family Health International; “AIDS-Related Sexual Making Among Women,” a 5-year NIMH funded project examining socio cultural and other factors increasing the risk of unintended pregnancies and STDs, including HIV/AIDS. Another 5-year project, “Risk Taking and Adjustment in African American, Latina, White, Asian, and Native American HIV-Positive Women,” is a longitudinal study of HIV-positive and HIV-negative women, their partners, and children. Dr. Wyatt is also PI of a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) intervention to increase medical adherence and decrease sexual and drug-related risk among HIV-infected men and women; and a 4-year intervention for HIV-positive women with histories of child sexual abuse, and PI of a grant to identify sociocultural factors related to HIV among married women in India.

Dr. Wyatt is a Silver Achievement Honoree from the Greater Los Angeles YWCA for her research. She is the first African American Woman honored for distinguished contributions to research on public policy by the American Psychological Association (APA). She was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters degree from the California School of Professional Psychology and was honored for Distinguished Research by the Society for the Study of Ethnicity and Culture of APA. She is the 1995 Carolyn Sherif awardee for the Psychology of Women of the American Psychological Association. The Association of Black Psychologists gave her an award for Scholarship. The UCLA Black Staff and Faculty and Women of Color in Psychology gave her an award for her book, “Stolen Women.” Dr. Wyatt has over 100 publications in journals and book chapters.

In 1998, Dr. Wyatt received the Helen Marguiles Award from the California State Psychological Association and in 1999 she received the Dalmas Taylor Award from APA for Leadership, Scholarship, and Advocacy. She also received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the California State Psychological Association in 1999 and the Distinguished Contribution to Psychology Award in 2000. She has testified before Congress eight times on issues related to health policy and led a support group for African American medical students at UCLA and the Drew Medical Center for 10 years.

Dr. Wyatt is Associate Director of the UCLA AIDS Institute and coordinates a core of behavioral scientists that consult with other researchers to recruit underserved populations and conduct research that effectively incorporates sociocultural factors in HIV/AIDS research.

Dr. Wyatt has been happily married for 36 years to Dr. Lewis Wyatt, an Obstetrician/Gynecologist in private practice. They have two children, both of whom are physicians. She is also a grandmother. The family enjoys a commitment to health and to each other.