Michael Newcomb is Promoted to Tenured Associate Professor

Michael Newcomb, Ph.D., has been promoted to tenured Associate Professor at Northwestern University
Feinberg School of Medicine effective September 1, 2020. Newcomb is a faculty member at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing (ISGMH) and in the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Feinberg School of Medicine.

Newcomb was hired as a research assistant professor in the Department of Medical Social Sciences in 2012. He is also a founding faculty member of ISGMH, where he currently serves as the associate director for scientific development. Newcomb has built an independent, translational program of research focused on understanding and reducing health disparities among LGBTQ youth, particularly in the areas of HIV prevention and substance use among young men who have sex with men (YMSM). A clinical psychologist with expertise in couples therapy and mental health treatment in the context of chronic medical conditions, Newcomb has earned recognition as a leading expert in LGBTQ health research for both his substantive and methodologic contributions to the field. Newcomb’s research focuses on two key areas: 1) understanding how romantic relationships influence health among same-sex couples and developing couples-based approaches to reduce health disparities, and 2) using daily diaries and longitudinal cohort data to understand influences on various health outcomes and behaviors, with a particular emphasis on HIV prevention.

Newcomb works collaboratively to address health disparities in the LGBTQ population as both a principal investigator (PI) and co-investigator on multiple projects at ISMGH, including 2GETHER, RADAR, and FAB400. He is the PI on 2GETHER, an intervention funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) which provides young male couples with relationship skills and information while simultaneously giving them crucial HIV prevention skills. Newcomb received the prestigious Avenir Early Career Innovation Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to conduct a comparative effectiveness trial of 2GETHER with couples across the United States as well as National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism funding to conduct a randomized control trial of 2GETHER with couples in Chicago. These are among the first ever efficacy trials of relationship education interventions for young male couples. In addition to his work on couples’ health, Newcomb has made novel methodologic contributions to longitudinal and prospective diary methods through projects based at ISGMH. He has received three grants from the NIH to understand substance use and HIV risk in YMSM using variations of this experience sampling methodology and has also developed unique expertise in measurement and examination of developmental change in the context of longitudinal cohort studies.

Newcomb is an associate editor at LGBT Health and serves on the editorial boards at AIDS and Behavior and Archives of Sexual Behavior.  He is involved in several organizations, including the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, International AIDS Society, and International Academy of Sex Researchers, and he was chair of the Sexual and Gender Minority Special Interest Group of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies from 2013-17.

Newcomb recently achieved the incredible milestone of publishing his 100th peer-reviewed paper. Highlights from his publications, including his most highly cited paper with over 600 citations, are listed below:

Internalized Homophobia and Internalizing Mental Health Problems: A Meta-Analytic Review
Newcomb and Mustanski, 2010, Clinical Psychology Review

Racial Differences in Same-Race Partnering and the Effects of Sexual Partnership Characteristics on HIV Risk in MSM: A Prospective Sexual Diary Study 
Newcomb and Mustanski, 2013, Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes

Partner Disclosure of PrEP Use and Undetectable Viral Load on Geosocial Networking Apps: Frequency of Disclosure and Decisions about Condomless Sex 
Newcomb, Mongrella, Weis, McMillen, and Mustanski, 2016, Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes

Integrating HIV Prevention and Relationship Education for Young Same-Sex Male Couples: A Pilot Trial of the 2GETHER Intervention 
Newcomb, Macapagal, Feinstein, Bettin, Swann, and Whitton, 2017, AIDS and Behavior

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Use and Condomless Anal Sex: Evidence of Risk Compensation in a Cohort of Young Men Who Have Sex with Men
Newcomb, Moran, Feinstein, Forscher, and Mustanski, 2018, Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes

The Influence of Families on LGBTQ Youth Health: A Call to Action for Innovation in Research and Intervention Development
Newcomb, LaSala, Bouris, Mustanski, Prado, Schrager, and Huebner, 2019, LGBT Health

High Burden of Mental Health Problems, Substance Use, Violence and Related Psychosocial Factors in Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender Diverse Youth and Young Adults
Newcomb, Hill, Buehler, Ryan, Whitton, and Mustanski, 2019, Archives of Sexual Behavior

Congratulations, Dr. Newcomb!