Graduate Students

Fernanda is a psychologist and she is completing her PhD at the Federal University of Paraná – Brazil. She is doing part of her doctorate with the lab through a student exchange financed in part by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel – Brazil (CAPES). She will continue her studies on psychotherapeutic treatment of female sexual dysfunction by analyzing some of the lab’s data on homework tasks that were completed by study participants during group therapy treatment.

Fernanda’s experience studying female sexuality includes working as a clinical psychologist, carrying out research in the area of human sexuality, and participating as a member of several associations that study human sexuality, such as the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS), International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM), Sociedad LatinoAmericana de Medicina Sexual (SLAMS), Brazilian Society for Studies in Human Sexuality (SBRASH) and Brazilian Association of Medicine and Sexual Health (ABEMSS). She is also responsible for a Brazilian communication channel focused on sexuality education called Prazer em Saber.

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Flex Student

Ashley completed her BSc and MSc in Biochemistry and is currently studying medicine at the University of British Columbia. She will be working on the eSense RCT study in the summer as part of FLEX. Ashley is excited to learn more about sexual health research, with focus on making treatments available to those in need. She is interested in sexual health education and would like to help make positive sexual education more accessible to people from all demographics.

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Graduate Student

Geneviève is currently doing her MSc in Women+ and Children’s Health Sciences (WACH) under the supervision of Dr. Brotto. In 2022, she graduated from McGill University after completing her BA as a double major in Psychology and Gender, Sexuality, Feminist and Social Justice Studies as well as a minor in Behavioural Science. Through her studies at McGill, Geneviève developed a marked interest for women, sexuality, and health, and it is with the goal of having a direct impact on women’s health that she applied for the WACH program. Genevieve’s focus at UBC and in the Sexual Health Research Laboratory is centered on treatments for sexual dysfunction in cancer survivors. Specifically, she works on eSense-Cancer, a branch of the eSense study, which seeks to adapt the original digital therapy modules to ovarian cancer survivors’ lived experiences with female sexual dysfunction. Geneviève hopes to continue onwards doing work related to sexual health and advocacy once she is done her master’s degree. 

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Sonia is a PhD student in the Clinical Psychology program. She joined our lab in 2015 and has been the coordinator for the EYES, TRACE, and JUNIPER studies. She is currently working on the BRACE study which is a large-scale, online study examining sexual identity. She is a co-investigator on the IMMERSIVE study investigating women’s subjective sexual response and user experience with virtual reality erotica. She is also a co-investigator on the COVERS study which examines the short- and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual and relationship well-being.

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Graduate Student

Claire is a first-year MSc student in the Reproductive and Developmental Sciences program at UBC. She previously completed her BHSc at McMaster University in the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) program. At McMaster, Claire was involved in several clinical research projects in the field of perinatal mental health. As an MSc Student at UBC she will continue to apply her interest in this field by working on the SUPPORT study, which seeks to develop and evaluate a safe and effective web-based resource for postpartum depression and anxiety. As part of the Sexual Health Laboratory, Claire looks forward to contributing to research projects that have real-life impacts on women in their everyday lives.

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Graduate Student

Faith is a MA student in the Clinical Psychology program at UBC. She completed her BA in Anthropology in 2014 and a BA in Psychology in 2017. Her master’s research, the APPROACH study examines how sexual motivation influences sexual wellbeing and attentional processes to sexual stimuli. She is a co-investigator on the IMMERSIVE study, which examines women’s subjective sexual response and user experience with virtual reality erotica, which may help inform future treatment for women’s sexual concerns. Faith is also a co-investigator on the COVERS study, which examines the short- and long-term impact of the COVID-19 social distancing measures on sexual health, motivations for sex, and sexual coercion. She also works as a study coordinator on the DESIRE study that examines the efficacy of two kinds of group therapy for women with Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder.

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Graduate Student

Natalie is a first-year PhD student in the UBC Clinical Psychology program, working under the supervision of Drs. Lori Brotto and Alan Kingstone. She completed her BA in Psychology at Queen’s University in 2017. Natalie’s MA thesis explores the cognitive mechanisms underlying sexual attraction and desire, with a specific focus on asexuality and Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder. She is also involved with IMMERSIVE, a study investigating women’s subjective sexual responses to virtual reality erotica, and she plans to evaluate virtual reality as a clinical tool for women with genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder (GPPPD) in her PhD. Natalie is involved with the COVERS study, which investigates the short- and long-term impacts of COVID-19 related social changes on sexual and reproductive health. Overall, her research program aims to improve our understanding of sexual difficulties and develop evidence-based interventions for individuals with distressing sexual concerns.