Ethan Cicero, PhD, RN, FAAN is an Assistant Professor, tenure track, in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholar and a Butler-Williams Scholar. Prior to joining Emory in August 2020, Dr. Cicero completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in the Biobehavioral Research Training in Symptom Science Program at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing. He earned a PhD from the Duke University School of Nursing in 2018 and a BS in Nursing with Highest Honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2014. Dr. Cicero’s research advances methodological knowledge around conducting studies with transgender, nonbinary, and other gender expansive communities and seeks to identify pathways for healthy aging and reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias among these communities.

Alpert, A. B., Hernandez, T., Ruddick, R., Manzano, C., Adams, S., Rivers, L., Ramos-Pibernus, A., Sevelius, J., Poteat, T., Obedin-Maliver, J., Cicero, E. C., Radix, A., Lett, E., Operario, D., Chapman, B., Wittink, M., Cupertino, P., Murchison, G. R., Nunez-Smith, M., & Cartujano-Barrera, F. (2024). Reinforcement and resistance of conflations of gender, sex, and biology: A mixed methods study of gender identity data collection tools. Patient Education and Counseling. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2024.108473 (Article in press)

Cicero, E. C., Dillard-Wright, J., Croft, K., Rodriguez, C., & Bosse, J. D. (2024). Nurses supporting women and transfeminine clients navigating non-inclusive standing orders. Nursing Clinics of North America. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cnur.2024.07.016 (Article in press)

Maestre, G., Hill, C., Griffin, P., Hall, S., Hu, W., Flatt, J., Babulal, G., Thorpe, R., Henderson, J. N., Buchwald, D., Manson, S., Cicero, E., Gilmore-Bykovskyi, A., Gamaldo, A., Glover, C., Barnes, L. L., Kind, A., James, B., Al Hazzouri, A. Z., Wharton, W., Carmelli, P., Szanton, S., Whitmer, R., Torres, J. B., Deters, K., Okonkwo, O., Das, R., Martinez-Gonzalez, K., & Carrillo, M. (2023). Promoting diverse perspectives: Addressing health disparities related to Alzheimer’s and all dementias. Alzheimer's and Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13752

Cicero, E. C., Bosse, J. D., Ducar, D., Rodriguez, C., Dillard-Wright, J. (2023) Facilitating gender-affirming nursing encounters. Nursing Clinics of North America, 59(1), 75-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cnur.2023.11.007

Cicero, E. C. (2023). Anti-transgender legislation and gender-affirming care bans: Are position statements without subsequent nursing action the equivalent of thoughts and prayers. Nursing Outlook, 71(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2023.102022

Flatt, J. D., & Cicero, E. C. (2023). Advancing equity in Alzheimer’s disease and mental health research for LGBTQIA+ older adults. Nature Mental Health, 1(6), 385-387. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-023-00077-1. +Shared co-first authorship

Cicero, E. C., Lett, E., Flatt, J. D., Benson, G. P., & Epps, F. (2023). Transgender adults from minoritized ethnoracial groups in the U.S. report greater subjective cognitive decline. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbad012

Adkins-Jackson, P. B., George, K. M., Besser, L. M., Hyun, J., Lamar, M., Hill-Jarett, T. G., Bubu, O. M., Flatt, J. D., Heyn, P. C., Cicero, E. C., Kraal, A. Z., Zanwar, P., Peterson, R., Kim, B., Turner, R. W., Viswanathan, J., Kulick, E. R., Zuelsdorff, M., Stites, S. D., Arce Renteria, M., Tsoy, E., Seblova, D., Ng, T. K.S., Manly, J. J., & Babulal, G. (2022). The structural and social determinants of Alzheimer’s disease related dementias. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13027

Cicero, E. C., Lunn, M. R., Obedin-Maliver, J., Sunder, G., Lubensky, M. E., Capriotti, M. R., & Flentje, A. (2022). Acceptability of biospecimen collection among sexual and gender minority adults in the United States. Annals of LGBTQ Public and Population Health, (4)4, 311-344. https://doi.org/10.1891/LGBTQ-2022-0021

Anderson Joel, G., Flatt Jason, D., Cicero, E. C., Kittle, K., Myers Carole, R., Rose Karen, M., & Wharton, W. (2022). Inclusive care practices and policies among sexual and gender minority older adults. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 48(12), 6-15. https://doi.org/10.3928/00989134-20221107-03

Flatt, J. D., Cicero, E. C., Lambrou, N. H., Wharton, W., Anderson, J. G., Bouldin, E. D., McGuire, L. C., & Taylor, C. A. (2021). Subjective cognitive decline higher among sexual and gender minorities in the United States, 2015–2018. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, 7(1), e12197. https://doi.org/10.1002/trc2.12197

Flatt, J. D., Cicero, E. C., Kittle, K. R., & Brennan-Ing, M. (2021). Recommendations for advancing research with sexual and gender minority older adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, gbab127. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbab127

Bonds Johnson, K., Brewster, G. S., Cicero, E. C., Hepburn, K., Clevenger, C. K., Daniel, G., Pak, V., Paul, S., & Epps, F. (2021). Promoting caregiver mastery in Black american dementia caregivers. The Gerontologist. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnab147 

Flatt, J. D., Cicero, E. C., Lambrou, N. H., Wharton, W., Anderson, J. G., Bouldin, E. D., McGuire, L. C., & Taylor, C. A. (2021). Subjective cognitive decline higher among sexual and gender minorities in the United States, 2015–2018. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, 7(1), e12197. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/trc2.12197

Flentje, A., Clark, K. D., Cicero, E., Capriotti, M. R., Lubensky, M. E., Sauceda, J., Neilands, T. B., Lunn, M. R., & Obedin-Maliver, J. (2021). Minority stress, structural stigma, and physical health among sexual and gender minority individuals: Examining the relative strength of the relationships. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaab051

De Santis, J. P., Cintulova, M., Provencio-Vasquez, E., Rodriguez, A. E., & Cicero, E. C. (2020). Transgender women's satisfaction with healthcare services: A mixed-methods pilot study. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppc.12514

Cicero, E. C., Reisner, S.L., Merwin E., Humphreys, J.C., & Silva, S. G. (2020). The health status of transgender and gender nonbinary adults in the United States. PLoS ONE 15(2): e0228765. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228765

Cicero, E. C., Reisner, S. L., Merwin, E. I., Humphreys, J. C., & Silva, S. G. (2020, Published ahead of print). Application of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System sampling weights to transgender health measurement. Nursing Research, 69(4), 307-315. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNR.0000000000000428. 

Alpert, A., & Cicero, E. (2020). Removing barriers to health care for transgender people with and without cancer. Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, 13, 100468. doi.org/10.1016/j.jemep.2020.100468

Bell, L.M., Brennan-Cook, J., Sisson, J., Steigerwald, M., Cook, C., Cicero, E. C., Cary, M.P. (2019) Learning about culturally humble care of sexual and gender minority patients. Teaching and Learning in Nursing. 14(3), 216-218. doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2019.04.006

Cicero, E. C., Reisner, S. L., Silva, S. G., Merwin, E. I., & Humphreys, J. C. (2019). Health care experiences of transgender adults: An integrated mixed research literature review. Advances in Nursing Science. doi:10.1097/ans.0000000000000256.

Muckler, V. C., Leonard, R., & Cicero, E. C. (2019). Transgender simulation scenario pilot project. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 26, 44-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2018.10.007

Cicero, E. C., & Wesp, L. M. (2017). Supporting the health and well-being of transgender students. The Journal of School Nursing, 33(2), 95-108. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840516689705. [Featured article]

Cicero, E. C., & Black, B. P. (2015). “I was a spectacle…a freak show at the circus”: A transgender person’s ED experience and implications for nursing practice. Journal of Emergency Nursing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2015.08.012.

• Evolution of Nursing Science (NRSG 700)

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Dr. Cicero’s program of research is focused on evaluating the interrelationship between social inequities and the effects of adverse and affirming social conditions on the health and well-being of transgender, nonbinary, and other gender expansive adults, with a particular interest in promoting healthy aging and reducing the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

His scholarly work, supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Nursing Research, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has led to national and international attention with media outlets like CBS News, Huffington Post, and Hospitals & Health Networks; shaped the position statements of several professional nursing organizations; and served as scientific evidence in multiple U.S. Supreme Court cases. The most notable case, Grimm v Gloucester County School Board, set legal precedent that Title IX protections extend to transgender students. Dr. Cicero has influenced the incorporation of transgender health-related topics into the curriculum of multiple schools of nursing, and he has presented on the topic at international and national nursing and research conferences.

• Carolina Nursing Outstanding Alumni Award, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Nursing (2025)
• Fellow, American Academy of Nursing (2024)
• The Brain Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse Adults: An Examination of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (PI, 1K23AG084851), National Institute on Aging (2023-2028)
• Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias in Gender Minority Adults (PI, 23AARGD-NTF-1028973), Alzheimer’s Association (2023-2026)
• An Intersectional Approach Linking Minority Stressors Experienced by Transgender and Gender Diverse Adults to Alcohol and Drug Use and Comorbid Mental and Physical Health Outcomes (Co-I, 1R01AA030275), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2023-2028)
• Center for Healthcare History and Policy Summer Teaching Fellow, Center for Healthcare History and Policy, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University (2023)
• Social Responsibility Award, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University (2023)
• Trailblazer, Duke University School of Nursing (2022)
• Butler-Williams Scholar, National Institute on Aging (2022)
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholar Postdoctoral Fellowship Research Award (2018-2020)
• Duke University School of Nursing Commencement student speaker (2018)
• The Health Status of Gender Minorities (F31NR017115), National Institute of Nursing Research (2017-2018)
• World Professional Association for Transgender Health Student Initiative Grant awardee (2017)
• Named a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholar (2015)
• Best Undergraduate Work in Sexuality Studies. University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Program in Sexuality Studies (2014)
• Highest Honors Distinction. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2014)
• Chancellor’s Award. The Robert B. House Distinguished Service Award, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2014) Pauline W. Brown Diversity Scholarship Award. The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Nursing (2014)