Dr. Rhonda Nicole Balzarini is an Assistant Professor at Texas State University and an Affiliate Faculty member with the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University. She received a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Women’s and Gender Studies from Sonoma State University in 2009. She assisted in labs at Harvard, University of Massachusetts Boston, and Boston College from 2010–2012 before completing a Masters in Science from Stony Brook in 2013. Dr. Balzarini pursued a Ph.D. from Western University from 2014 to 2018 and received the prestigious Trillium Award to fund her doctoral studies. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at York University from 2018–2019 before beginning at Texas State as an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department. She is a social psychologist studying the interpersonal processes that enhance and detract from the quality of romantic and sexual relationships. Her recent research focuses on how diverse couples can have satisfying and passionate relationships and successfully navigate challenges and distressing situations.
Dr. Amy Muise is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, York Research Chair in Relationships and Sexuality, and the Director of the Sexual Health and Relationships (SHaRe) lab at York University. Her research focuses on how couples can ignite and maintain sexual desire in their relationships, how sexuality is associated with relationship happiness and maintenance, and how couples can more successfully navigate challenges and transitional periods. She has 130 publications and more than $3 million in grant funding to support her research. She received seven early career awards including the Sage Young Scholars Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) and the Caryl E. Rusbult Award from the Relationship Research Interest Group. Her research is also regularly cited in the media, including the Wall Street Journal and Time Magazine. For more information about her research visit www.amymuise.com or follow her lab @share.research on Instagram.
