About

I am a sex and relationships researcher, educator, and therapist passionate about improving our scientific understanding of the intersection of sex and relationships. I hold the Endowed Chair in Sexual Health and am the Director of the Eli Coleman Institute for Sexual and Gender Health at University of Minnesota Medical School, where I am also the Director of the Center for Women’s Health Research. I am a tenured Full Professor in the Department of Family Medicine & Community Health.

As a behavioral health scientist with an academic background in psychology and public health, I approach all of my work from an interdisciplinary lens. I study many aspects of sexual health including, but not limited to: women’s sexual health, sexual desire and desire discrepancies, sexual satisfaction, sexual well-being, sexual functioning, and sexuality education. I am particularly interested in the way all of these topics impact sexual pleasure and intertwine with dynamics of the couple relationship.

My Training

I earned a PhD in Health Behavior at Indiana University with a concentration in Human Sexuality from the Kinsey Institute, where I remain an affiliate faculty member. My research was conducted at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion in the School of Public Health. I also completed an MPH in Biostatistics at Indiana University, an MS in Human Development at University of Guelph, and an undergraduate degree in Psychology with a certificate in LGBT Studies at Queen’s University. My clinical training was developed through the University of Guelph’s Intensive Sex Therapy Program and later through a Clinical Fellowship at University of Kentucky’s Individual, Relational, and Financial Therapy (I-RAFT) Clinic

My Professional Involvement

I am an elected member of the International Academy of Sex Research and elected to the Advisory Council for the World Association for Sexual Health where I am on the executive as the Chair of their Scientific Committee. I am also a professional member of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and the Society for Sex Therapy and Research. I am a certified sexuality educator and sexuality educator supervisor through the American Association for Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists. My research is widely published in several academic journals such as Journal of Sexual Medicine, The Journal of Sex Research, and Archives of Sexual Behavior and I have presented my work widely nationally and internationally. I am regularly relied upon to provide expert opinion about sex and relationships for writers and producers of broadcast, print, and online media and I value the opportunity to translate sex and relationship science to the public through these means. My CV further outlines my professional involvement.