At Indiana University School of Medicine, the Human Sexuality and Health scholarly concentration offers medical students a unique opportunity to explore how sex, gender and sexuality intersect with health and healthcare delivery. The concentration encourages students to critically examine health disparities and develop best practices for addressing sex and gender-related issues in clinical settings.
Fast facts about the concentration
- Location: Bloomington campus
- Co-directors: Justin R. Garcia, PhD; Jessica Hille, PhD, JD; and Charles N. Rudick, PhD.
Meet the co-directors
The Human Sexuality and Health scholarly concentration is co-directed by Justin R. Garcia, PhD; Jessica Hille, PhD, JD; and Charles N. Rudick, PhD.
Rudick is the assistant director of medical education at IU School of Medicine—Bloomington and administers student involvement in the scholarly concentration.
Garcia is executive director of the Kinsey Institute and oversees the collaboration between the institute and the IU School of Medicine on Human Sexuality and Health.
Hille is the assistant director for education at the Kinsey Institute. She teaches summer courses and facilitates projects for the concentration.
The co-directors said they are excited to continue the partnership between IU School of Medicine and the Kinsey Institute. They look forward to having more medical students involved with the dynamic and timely research being conducted by the interdisciplinary team at the institute.
What students can expect
The Human Sexuality and Health scholarly concentration takes a critical approach to the practice of medicine, incorporating social sciences, history and gender studies into lessons about sex, gender and sexual health.
The concentration is built on a strong partnership between IU School of Medicine and the world-renowned Kinsey Institute, located on the IU Bloomington campus. Students benefit from access to leading researchers in the field of sex and sexuality studies and can tour the institute.
“Students will study not just sex and gender but the context in which those concepts are understood and how they intersect with medicine and medical practice,” Hille said.
The IU School of Medicine’s Bloomington campus is the largest regional campus outside of Indianapolis. Located on the iconic flagship IU Bloomington campus, the medical campus offers medical students the chance to interact with students and faculty in other disciplines and to enjoy a Big 10 collegiate environment.
Is this the right fit?
Any medical student who is interested in thinking critically about medicine and who wants to better understand issues related to sex, gender, sexuality and sexual health will benefit from this concentration. Students develop skills that are essential for effective patient care, including communication, cultural competence and the ability to address health disparities. They learn how to approach conversations about sex, gender identity and sexual orientation with empathy and professionalism — skills that enhance both clinical practice and patient trust.
The co-directors agreed that even if your future practice does not focus specifically on sex, gender or sexual health, such issues are likely to arise for anyone who sees patients. The Human Sexuality and Health concentration will help prepare future doctors for these interactions.
Examples of student research
Students in the Human Sexuality and Health scholarly concentration have completed a wide range of scholarly projects, many of which have been published in peer-reviewed journals. Examples include:
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Kurman, T. M., Ake, S. N., & Hille, J. J. (2024). “Medical students' perspectives on transgender care legislation and its impact on medical residency applications.” Sexuality, Gender & Policy, 7(2), 107-121.
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Chester, E. M., Kolacz, J., Ake, C. J., Thornburg, J., Chen, X., Shea, A. A., Birgisdóttir, B.E., Gunnlaugsson, G. & Vitzthum, V. J. (2024). “Well‐being in healthy Icelandic women varies with extreme seasonality in ambient light.” International Journal of Psychology, 59(3), 486-494.
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T. Campbell, J., Bennett-Brown, M., S. Marcotte, A., M. Kaufman, E., Moscovici, Z., R. Adams, O., Lovins, S., Garcia, J. & Gesselman, A. (2023). “American Singles’ Attitudes Toward Future Romantic/Sexual Partners’ COVID-19 Vaccination Status: Evidence for both Vigilance and Indifference in a National Sample.” Sexuality & Culture, 27(5), 1915-1938.
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Carter, G., Brown, L., Mahnke, B., Ohmit, A., & Woodward, B. (2022). “Sexual communication self-efficacy and PrEP literacy helps to meet HIV prevention outcomes among black and Latinx individuals.” Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 13, 21501319221099789.
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Newsom, K. D., Riddle, M. J., Carter, G. A., & Hille, J. J. (2022). “They ‘don't know how to deal with people like me’: assessing health care experiences of gender minorities in Indiana.” Transgender Health, 7(5), 453-460.
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Newsom, K. D., Carter, G. A., & Hille, J. J. (2022). “Assessing whether medical students consistently ask patients about sexual orientation and gender identity as a function of year in training.” LGBT health, 9(2), 142-147.
