Lisa Diamond, distinguished professor of developmental psychology, health psychology, and gender studies at the University of Utah, has been named the fiftieth president of the International Academy of Sex Research. The International Academy of Sex Research is a major academic organization for sexuality research. Members are composed primarily of psychologists, sociologists, public health professionals, anthropologists, and clinicians. The first annual meeting of the International Academy of Sex Research was held at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in September 1975. It is the publisher of the journal Archives of Sexual Research.
“I’m both honored and daunted,” Dr. Diamond said. “It has always struck me as paradoxical that sexuality is one of the most central, universal, and important aspects of human experience, and yet sexual science is often dismissed as a ‘niche’ topic, unserious and unimportant. I have never met anyone who views their sex life as unserious and unimportant!”
Dr. Diamond joined the faculty at the University of Utah in 1999. She was promoted to associate professor in 2005 and to full professor in 2012. Professor Diamond’s research focuses on sexuality, gender and intimate relationships, and their implications for health and well-being over the life course. She is the author of Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women’s Love and Desire (Harvard University Press, 2008).
Dr. Diamond is a graduate of the University of Chicago, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in human development from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.