AJ Eckert, DO

AJ Eckert, DO, is Connecticut’s first out nonbinary trans doctor and serves as the Medical Director of our Gender & Life-Affirming Medicine (GLAM) Program. Dr. Eckert has over 17 years’ experience in LGBTQ health care, with 9 years as a provider of primary care and gender-affirming services.

After Dr. Eckert completed their education at Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine and residency at NEOMEN/Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine Program, they specialized in LGBTQ health. Dr. Eckert is board certified in family medicine.

Outside of their clinical work with patients, Dr. Eckert is active in education and advocacy. He is an assistant clinical professor of family medicine at Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University and has piloted a 4th-year medical student rotation at Anchor Health. Since 2021, Dr. Eckert has published nine articles in Science-Based Medicine, was a reviewer for the Journal of Medical Ethics, and had a quote in the 2nd edition of “The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals.” They were on the 2021 Abstract Review Committee for the United States Professional Association for Transgender Health, or USPATH.

In 2022, Dr. Eckert helped revise the Hartford Board of Education Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth Policy, and worked closely with the Connecticut Department of Social Services to change and update HUSKY Health policies on gender-affirming surgery. He provided testimony for bill SB 1022 in favor of telehealth service access. Under Dr. Eckert’s leadership, Anchor Health earned “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Top Performer” designation in the Human Right Campaign Foundation’s 2022 LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Index.

Dr. Eckert is bilingual in English and Czech. They are a classically trained pianist but mostly plays Elton John and Queen now.