Justin Garcia: IU Bicentennial Speaker Program

Dr. Justin Garcia joins us as part of the IU Bicentennial Speaker Program to discuss his research on the impact of social media on relationship development. 

Dr. Justin R. Garcia is Acting Executive Director and Research Director of the Kinsey Institute, Ruth Halls Endowed Associate Professor of Gender Studies, and IU Bicentennial Professor at Indiana University, Bloomington. He holds affiliate faculty appointments in Network Science, Cognitive Science Program, Public Health, and Medicine, and serves as Co-Chair of the Interdepartmental Graduate Committee on Human Sexuality at Indiana University. Dr. Garcia earned an MS in biomedical anthropology and a PhD in evolutionary biology from Binghamton University, and then completed an NIH postdoctoral research fellowship. His research interests focus on the evolutionary foundations of variation in monogamy, intimacy, and sexual behavior, with emphasis on biocultural approaches to sex, gender, dating, and reproductive strategies. He has coauthored dozens of academic articles and book chapters and is co-author of Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior (Harvard University Press) and co-editor of Evolution’s Empress: Darwinian Perspectives on the Nature of Women (Oxford University Press). An award-winning researcher and educator, Dr. Garcia has lent his expertise to a variety of industry partners, serving as a scientific consultant to K-Y Brand, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and others, and as an expert witness for the U.S. Department of Defense. Since 2010, he has been Scientific Advisor to the world’s largest relationship company, Match. His next book is titled The Intimate Animal.