Richard C. Pillard, M.D.

2008 John Fryer Award Recipient

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Richard C. Pillard, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine. He has been active in GLBT health care for 35 years. In 1970 he was a co-founder of the Gay and Lesbian Counseling Service, the first gay-run mental health clinic for lesbians and gays in the U.S. He was an early member of the GLBT Caucus of the APA and was active in the discussions leading to the removal of homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Dr. Pillard has studied patterns of sexual orientation in families, especially among siblings and twins. This research established that sexual orientation runs in families and may have a genetic component. His current research concerns the genealogy of hereditary deafness. He has published over 100 articles, reviews, and editorials in the fields of psychopharmacology and sexuality.