Judge Bios

In this section, you will find bios and photos of each of the jury members, so you can get a sense of who they are and the perspective they will bring to the judging process.  

Dr. Debby Herbenick's Links to an external site. research has focused on understanding how people experience their bodies and sexual lives. Among her 190+ scientific publications, she has developed and validated measurement scales to assess genital self-image, the quality of sexual experiences, and has consulted on the development of a number of other measures. Her research has addressed women's sexual pleasure and masturbation, vibrator use, couples communication, consensual non-monogamy, diverse sexual behaviors, condom use, sexual satisfaction, sexually explicit media use, and the use of consumer sexual health and enhancement products (e.g., vibrators, condoms, lubricants, etc.). Most recently, she has turned her attention to studying population-level increases in what some call rough sex behaviors, with a particular focus on understanding people's experiences with sexual choking, which is a form of strangulation, and also understanding its health sequelae.

Dr. John Shea Links to an external site. is a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology. He has held various academic positions, including Chair of the Department of Kinesiology at Indiana University and Associate Dean at Florida State University. Dr. Shea is a Fellow of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education and a Senior Scholar of the North American Society for Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity. His research interests include motor skills, motor control, cognitive ergonomics, human factors, and workplace wellness.

Dr. Barbara Hocevar Links to an external site. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. Her research focuses on understanding the environmental agents that cause the disease or that contribute to disease pathology. She most enjoys spending time in the lab, either performing bench research, or guiding the research progress of lab members to pass along that love of basic research to the next generation of researchers. 

Dr. Corey Kalbaugh Links to an external site. is an epidemiologist and health services researcher with over 20 years of experience. He is an National Institutes of Health - and American Heart Associated - funded scientist with an extensive history of collaborative work in the health sciences. The animating objective of his current research is to provide clinicians with the best evidence to support the care of patients with peripheral artery disease. His work broadly aims to reduce racial disparities in peripheral artery disease-related treatment and outcomes.

Dr. Danny Valdez Links to an external site. is a big data scientist, primarily leveraging social media data and computational informatics algorithms to study, visualize, and interpret applied health behaviors, including mental health markers from social media data, persuasive digital marketing, sexual health attitudes, and misinformation's effect on positive health outcomes.