IU's Kinsey Institute at center of sex research in week's conference

This week, the Kinsey Institute will play host to the 29th annual conference for the International Academy of Sex Research. Lectures and seminars in the Indiana Memorial Union will cover a broad range of topics in the field of sex research, and a poster session will allow researchers to share their knowledge with each other. Participants also will have access to the Kinsey art gallery and library.\n"It's a very positive thing for the Kinsey Institute," said Nancy Lethem, director of development at the Kinsey Institute. "The world's prominent researchers are coming to the Kinsey Institute to collaborate about their research and inform each other about what's going on in various parts of the world."\nJennifer Bass, head of information services for the Kinsey Institute, said the institute is honored to play host to the event for the second time. She said the conference will take a very interdisciplinary look at sex research and that individuals from many different departments will have ideas to share.\n"Sex research is one of the most isolated fields in social science research and medical research, because there are few places like the Kinsey Institute dedicated to sex research," she said.\nIn accordance with this year's celebration of the 50th anniversary of Alfred Kinsey's book, "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female," female sexuality will be highlighted at the conference as well. Cynthia Graham, an assistant professor of Psychology and director of graduate education at the Kinsey Institute, will present a symposium called "Researching women's sexuality: New initiatives from the Kinsey Institute."\nMeredith Chivers, who studies female sexuality at Northwestern University and traveled to the conference from Toronto, said she is particularly interested in the exploration of this topic.\n"What I'm most looking forward to is having an opportunity to see where research in female sexuality is in lots of disciplines," Chivers said. "I'm interested in seeing the contributions being made in the field of female sexuality and enriching my own ideas."\nChivers said conferences like this are important because it is a chance to come face to face with other people in the field and see who is behind the research they have been reading.\n"Sitting down and shooting ideas to each other is the real exciting part of conferences," Chivers said.\nThe IASR conference will continue until Saturday. \nFor more information about the International Academy of Sex Research, visit www.iasr.org.