Louis J. G. Gooren is a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 endocrinologist known for his work with transsexual and transgender

Transgender

Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....

 people. He has treated over 2,200 transsexual people and was one of the first physicians to treat transgender youth

Transgender youth

Transgender youth are children and adolescents who identify as transgender and/or transsexual. Because transgender youth are usually dependent on their parents for care, shelter, financial support, and other needs, and because most doctors are reluctant to provide medical treatments to them,...

.

Life and career

Gooren was born in Wanssum

Wanssum

Wanssum is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Venray.Wanssum was a separate municipality until 1969, when it merged with Meerlo.-External links:*...

. He earned his medical degree from the Catholic University of Nijmegen

Radboud University Nijmegen

Radboud University Nijmegen is a public university with a strong focus on research in Nijmegen, the Netherlands...

 in 1970, then specialized in internal medicine

Internal medicine

Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...

 and endocrinology at the Vrije Universiteit

Vrije Universiteit

The Vrije Universiteit is a university in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch name is often abbreviated as VU and in English the university uses the name "VU University". The university is located on a compact urban campus in the southern part of Amsterdam in the Buitenveldert district...

 in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

. He founded the gender clinic there in 1975, and he graduated in 1976. Gooren then studied with John Money

John Money

John William Money was a psychologist, sexologist and author, specializing in research into sexual identity and biology of gender...

 at Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

 in Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

. He earned his board certification in internal medicine and endocrinology in 1977, and completed his Ph.D. on testicular hormones in 1981.

In 1988 he became Professor of Endocrinology and held the special position Professor of Transsexuality at the Vrije Universiteit. He was featured in the 2005 documentary, Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She

Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She

Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She is a 2005 American TV-documentary by Antony Thomas.-Cast:*Gore Vidal as Narrator*Calpernia Addams as Herself*Milton Diamond as Himself *Alice Dreger as Herself Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She is a 2005 American TV-documentary by Antony Thomas.-Cast:*Gore...

.

Gooren has been professor emeritus at Vrije Universiteit since 2008, and he works as a consultant in Chiang Mai, Thailand. His work also covers gender identity

Gender identity

A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...

 and human sexual differentiation

Sex determination and differentiation (human)

Human sex refers to the processes by which an individual becomes either a male or female during development.-The Jost Paradigm:Under typical circumstances, the sex of an individual will be determined and expressed through the following mechanisms:...

.

Gooren has also published research on male menopause. He holds an honorary professorship in male health at Hang Tuah University in Surabaya, Indonesia.

External links

• Gooren, Louis (April 16, 1993). Closing speech at Transsexualism, medicine and law speech (via Press for Change)