Patricia A. Robertson, MD, FACOG

Patricia Robertson MD is a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, in the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine. She has been an activist in women’s health since she attended Mount Holyoke College (South Hadley, MA). In medical school at the University of Texas, San Antonio, she initiated an advocacy program for victims of sexual abuse, and while a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at University of California, San Francisco, she co-founded Lyon-Martin Clinic which continues to serve lesbian, homeless, trans and other women today. Following the completion of her residency, she was in private practice in Santa Monica, CA, for five years, when she started giving lectures on lesbian and bisexual women’s health care and when she co-founded the Women in Medicine Conference, which is an annual scientific meeting for lesbian and bisexual women physicians and their families. She then returned to UCSF to direct the medical student education program in her department, as well as to complete a fellowship in maternal fetal medicine. She served for many years as the Co-Director of Lesbian Health Research Center at UCSF. In 2010, she co-edited the first textbook in lesbian health: Lesbian Health 101, a Guide for Clinicians. She has served for many years on the Advisory Board of the Lesbian Health Fund (within the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association), which funds pilot projects in research in lesbian and bisexual women’s health. She co-founded and co-directs the UCSF/Kaiser Permanente pipeline program for pre-med under-represented-in-medicine students from the University of California, Berkeley, which involves a summer research project, didactics and clinical shadowing experiences. She currently serves as the interim Associate Director of her Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine at UCSF, and has a special interest in maternal mental health.