My research interests lie at the intersection of behavioral neuroscience, social/personality psychology, and clinical psychology with a focus on human sexuality and stress. Broadly, I am interested in the interactions that occur between the social environment, biological responses, and behavior. In particular, I am interested in the reciprocal relationship between behavior, adrenal and gonadal hormones, and the autonomic nervous system. My main research focus is on the relationship between stress and sexual functioning in sexually healthy men and women. I am interested in how different types of stressors (acute vs. chronic; psychological vs. physical) affect sexual function. My overarching goal with this line of research is to understand 1) How acute and chronic stress affect the nervous system, 2) How changes in physiological and cognitive function resulting from stress alter sexual response and 3) How individual differences in stress sensitivity affect the relationship between stress and sexual function.

I also have secondary interests in the neural and social correlates of monogamy and nonmonogamy and the social factors involved in sexual health behaviors.