Research | Queen’s University Canada

Sari van Anders

Sari van Anders

Interdisciplinary study of human sexuality, gender, and sex: this research will help us to better understand sexuality as an important phenomena in people’s lives and our culture.

[Dr. Sari van Anders]
Canada 150 Research Chair in Social Neuroendocrinology, Sexuality, and Gender/Sex

Defining New Fields: Social Neuroendocrinology

Sari  Michelle  van  Anders is a leader in feminist bioscience and sex research. Her award-winning research spans across natural, social and health sciences, to the arts, and humanities. The research contributes to our understandings of sexual phenomena like orgasm, fantasy, desire, and pornography – as well as larger related constructs like gender and sexual diversity.

Having led and established the new field of “social neuroendocrinology,” van Anders is asking new groundbreaking questions. For example, van Anders is researching how gendered experiences modulate testosterone, how testosterone responds when a person marginalizes others, and why certain sexual phenomena change a person’s hormones and immunity.

With the creation of sexual configurations theory, van Anders’ work will next explore how the experiences of those from sexual and gender minorities and majorities can better be thought about and understood – in science, and in our lives.