Phillip W. Schnarrs, PhD, professor in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences and co-director of the Center for LGBT Health Research at Pitt Public Health, has been selected as the next editor-in-chief of the Springer Nature Annals of LGBTQ+ Public and Population Health.
After previously serving as an associate editor, Schnarrs will assume the role on Sept. 1, 2026. As editor-in-chief, he will oversee the journal’s overall direction and growth while building its editorial board. Day to day, his responsibilities will include reviewing manuscripts and assigning them to editors for peer review and making decisions with associate editors about the direction and scope.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for me,” he said. “I love doing research, and I also have a deep commitment to the communities I work with. There’s a great opportunity for Pitt Public Health and the Center for LGBT Health Research to have a journal led from within its community.”
As editor-in-chief, Schnarrs hopes not only to maintain the journal’s scope but also to expand it.
“We want to strengthen the journal’s international perspective by encouraging manuscript submissions from researchers around the world,” he said. “We’ll also reshape the editorial board to increasing the number of associate editors from outside the United States.”
He also hopes to double the number of issues published each year, increasing from four to eight during his tenure.
“I’d love to see us include commentaries from community partners who are engaged in research, not just researchers,” he said. “I want the journal to place a greater emphasis on community-engaged scholarship, implementation science, real-world effectiveness trials and other applied research, and ensure that community voices are central to the journal and articles published in it.”
Schnarrs said another opportunity the role provides is to help continue to advance sexual and gender minority health research during “this challenging time,” specifically noting the targeting of federal grants and the redefining of gender identity, as well as the intentional exclusion of transgender and gender minority individuals from research. He is committed to ensuring that this gender minority health research will continue to be published as it is “critical to the growth of our field.”
“I want to make sure there’s space for everyone at the table with this journal, and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to help make that happen,” he said.
-Ava Dzurenda