SEXUAL TIPPING POINT AWARDS PROGRAM

The MAP Education & Research Foundation’s Sexual Tipping Point Award is presented at select professional society meetings in recognition of an excellent accepted abstract submission and presentation most consistent with the Foundation’s Biomedical-Psychosocial & Cultural Approach to the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of sexual disorders. In addition to recognizing the below STP Award winners, the Foundation also provides support to other not for profits that encourage recognition of our Biomedical-Psychosocial & Cultural Model of care, including but not limited to the Weill Cornell Medicine’s “E. Darracott Vaughan Fund of Brady Urology”, the SMSNA Foundation, and the Society for Sex Therapy & Research.

2024 SEXUAL TIPPING POINT AWARD WINNERS

A Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and a $1000 prize were presented to Katrina N. Bouchard, PhD, at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Sex Therapy & Research (SSTAR) in April 2024 in Toronto, Canada. Katrina's presentation was on: "Hold me: A pilot study of cognitive-behavioral couple therapy for sexual interest/arousal disorder.” Pictured is Samantha Dawson, Ph.D. (SSTAR Program Chair) presenting the Award to Katrina N. Bouchard, PhD on behalf of the Foundation.

A Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and a $1000 prize were presented to Stéphanie Gauvin, Ph.D & John Sakaluk, Ph.D at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Sex Therapy & Research (SSTAR), April 2024, in Toronto, Canada. They co-presented: “Towards Accessible Syntheses of Evidence-Based Practices for Treating Sexual Dysfunctions: Preliminary Goals, Design, and Discussion.” Pictured is Samantha Dawson, Ph.D. (SSTAR Program Chair) on behalf of the Foundation to Stephanie Gavin.

A Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and $1000 prize was presented to Elisa Maseroli, MD during the 2024 Annual Meeting of the International Society for Women’s Sexual Health, April, 2024. Elisa's presentation was on: "Inhibition and Excitation in the Sexual Brain: An Useful Tool for the Prediction of the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hypoactive Sexual Desire in Women with Sexual Dysfunction (#001).”

2023 SEXUAL TIPPING POINT AWARD WINNERS

A Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and $1000 prize was presented to Rose Hartzell, PhD, EdS, CHES, LMFT, IF during the 2023 Annual Fall Meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) in San Diego, November 2023. Rose’s presentation was on: "Psychosocial Factors in PGAD/GPD Patients Who Underwent Spine Surgery for Lumbosacral Annular Tear-Induced Sacral Radiculopathy (#097).”

A 2023 Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and $1000 prize was presented to Grace Schwenck, during the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Society for Sex Therapy & Research (SSTAR) in Tampa, May 2023. Grace's presentation was on: "Comparing responses to sexual rejection and sexual and relationship well-being in couples coping with SIAD and community couples.”

A 2023 Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and $1000 prize was also awarded to Elisa Stragapede for her presentation during the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Society for Sex Therapy & Research (SSTAR) in Tampa, May 2023. Elisa’s research presentation addressed, "Dyadic associations of pain catastrophizing and the psychological, physical, and sexual well-being of persons with endometriosis and their partners.”

A 2023 Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and $1000 prize was presented to Michael L. Krychman, MD by Noel Kim, Ph.D during the 2023 Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Scientific Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH) in St. Louis, March 2023. Dr. Krychman received the Award for his excellent presentation, "The Effect of Nipple Neuropathy on Women’s Sexual Health.” Dr Krychman is a Board Certified OBGYN, and a clinical health professor at the University of California Irvine. He maintains a clinical practice of complex gynecology at the Ann’s Center, a High-Risk Breast and Ovarian cancer center.

2022 SEXUAL TIPPING POINT AWARD WINNERS

A 2022 Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and $1000 prize was presented to Natalie Brown, M.A, during the 2022 "Sex Research in a Lab," International Academy for Sex Research Webinar this past November, 2022. Natalie is from the UBC Sexual Health Research & UBC Brain, Attention, and Reality Lab | Psychology, The University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus, Vancouver, Canada. Natalie discussed "Virtual Reality in Sex Research,”during her presentation.

A 2022 Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and $1000 prize was presented to Joana Carvalho, PhD during the 2022 Sex Research in a Lab, International Academy for Sex Research Webinar this past November, 2022. Joana and her co-author Pedro J. Rosa, Ph.D, are from Porto University, Porto, Portugal. Dr. Carvalho discussed “eyetracking in sex research, during her presentation: "Gender Differences in the Emotional Response and Subjective Sexual Arousal Toward Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse: A Pupillometric Study.”

A 2022 Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and $1000 prize was presented to Bibiana Kemerer at the 2022 Joint Fall Scientific meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America & the International Society for Sexual Medicine in Miami this past October. Bibi and her co-authors Flannigan, R; Munro, S; Brotto, L. are from the University of British Columbia. While her other co-authors were Higano, C; Sundar, M; Wu, E; and Zarowsk,C are all from the Prostate Cancer Supportive Care Program. Bibi delivered a presentation on "The Use of Knowledge Translation Methodology to Incorporate Research Results into Clinical Practice: Bringing Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy into a local prostate cancer program."

A 2022 Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and $1000 prize was presented to Dr. Gajanan Bhat, of the Department of Urology, Andrology and Sexual Medicine, TSS Shripad Hegde Kadave Institute of Medical Sciences (TSSSHKIMS). Dr. Bhat’s winning presentation was delivered at the 2022 Joint Fall Scientific meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America & the International Society for Sexual Medicine in Miami this past October. His talk was on the "Evaluation of the Efficacy of the Novel Treatment Strategy to Treat Dhat Syndrome: A Pilot Study." His co-author was A. Shastry also from TSSSHKIMS.

A 2022 Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and $1000 prize was presented to Sophie Bergeron, PhD of Université de Montréal at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Society and Sex Therapy & Research (SSTAR). The title of Dr. Bergeron’s presentation was “Cognitive-behavioral couple therapy versus lidocaine for provoked vestibulodynia: A randomized clinical trial.” Her co-authors were Marie-Pier Vaillancourt-Morel, PhD, Serena Corsini-Munt, PhD, Marc Steben, MD, Isabelle Delisle, MD, Marie-Hélène Mayrand, MD, PhD, & Natalie O. Rosen, PhD

A 2022 Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and $1000 prize was presented to Dr. Mary Lynn of Loyola Medical Center in Chicago, at the 2022 International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH), Dallas, March, 2022). The Award was presented to Dr. Lynn by Dr. Sheryl Kingsberg who is a former President of ISSWSH and also a mapedfund.org Scientific Advisor. The title of Dr. Lynn’s presentation was "A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Treatment of Sexual Dysfunction in Couples.” Her co-authors were Iftekhar, N. Mumby, P. Hakimi, M. and Adam also from Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois.

2021 SEXUAL TIPPING POINT AWARD WINNERS

A 2021 Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and $1000 prize was presented to Christian Nelson, Ph.D at the Fall Scientific Meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America held October 2021 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The winning presentation was titled, "Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Increase Compliance to Intracavernosal Injection Use (ICI) Following Radical Prostatectomy (RP): Preliminary Results from a Randomized Control Trial." Dr Nelson’s co-authors were doctors R. Tutino, H. Pessin, H1; N. Joshi, E. Schofield, and Mulhall all from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

The 4th, Society for Sex Therapy & Research (SSTAR) recipient to receive a $1000 prize and a Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate was Sonia Milani, B.A a student in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia in Canada for her submitted abstract and presentation to SSTAR’s April/May Virtual Annual Meeting on, “It’s Better To Focus On The Positive: Links Between Attention To Sexual Cues During Sex And Sexual Desire Among Expectant Parents.” Her presentation emphasized how erotic cognitions can over-ride sexual inhibition during pregnancy…truly a biomedical-psychosocial perspective!

Pernelle Dalex was presented with a $1000 monetary prize and an STP Award Certificate for her online presentation: "Sexual, Psychological, Interpersonal Well-being and (Unmet) Supportive Care Needs of Couples After a Gynecological Cancer Treatment." The announcement was made during the Awards presentation session of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH), March, 2021. Her co-author was Leen Aerts. Both authors are on the faculty of the Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland. The presentation was an implicit call for greater attention to be paid to the needs of couples after cancer treatment including support for their sexual health needs, consistent with the Foundation’s mission.

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2020 SEXUAL TIPPING POINT AWARD WINNERS

Marisa Gray, MD was presented with a $1000 monetary prize and an STP Award Certificate for her online presentation: "Should Men Presenting with Depression Be Screened for Low Testosterone?" The announcement was made during the Awards presentation session of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America’s First Virtual Fall Meeting, November 2020. Her co-authors were Johnson Yates Congleton, MD, Justin Smith, MD and Ryan Smith, MD. All are from the University of Virginia, where Marisa is a Chief Resident in Urology. A factor in selecting Marisa’s abstract was how it evoked reflection upon the importance of population sample choice. Interdisciplinary disagreements regarding generalizations about etiology are frequently the result of sampling bias suffered by urologists, gynecologists and mental health professionals among others. Such differences often influence the choice of diagnostic tests performed and the nature of interview questions asked. Yet, each group is often consulted by individuals with very different underlying etiologies who present with similar symptoms and diagnoses. This can lead professionals to erroneously generalize about the characteristics of a given disorder. Recognizing how “sampling error” can occur as a result of patient’s self-selection of professionals for initial consultation, is a consistent Foundation message.

An STP Award and $1000 monetary prize was presented to Jeffrey Albaugh, Ph.D for his online presentation, "Sex & Intimacy After Prostate Cancer,” during the first Virtual Annual Meeting of the Society of Sex Therapy & Research, held April 24, 2020 on Zoom. His paper explored the experience of patients and highlights the difference between what patients are often told by their urologists pre-surgery and what they experience post-surgery. A realistic appraisal of risk/benefit is critical to proper “informed consent" and speaks to the role that sex therapists can play in optimizing positive response, as well as validating the often experienced limitations of medical/surgical treatments. That message is consistent with our Foundation’s mission that emphasizes an integration of biomedical-psychosocial & cultural factors to understand and treat sexual issues.

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A STP Award and $1000 monetary prize was presented by ISSWSH President James Simon, MD to Ariel Hardy for her work with Cindy Meston, Ph.D. on "Oral Contraceptive Use Influences Subjective and Physiological Sexual Arousal” at the 2020 Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health in Orlando, Fl. March, 2020.

2019 SEXUAL TIPPING POINT AWARD WINNERS

A 2019 STP Award Certificate and a $1000 prize was presented to Bethany Rhoten, PhD at the Scientific Meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America held October 2019 in Nashville, TN for her presentation “Head and Neck Cancer Survivors’ Perceptions of Self-report Measures Used to Assess Sexuality.” For multi-center studies to be able to investigate these phenomena valid and reliable measures must be identified, and the importance and value of self-report measures are emphasized in this presentation.

A 2019 Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate was presented to Serge Carrier, MD for his work in organizing a superb interdisciplinary meeting as Program Chair and $1000 prize was granted to the SMSNA Foundation in his honor at the Annual Meeting at the AUA of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America, in Chicago, May, 2019.

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A 2019 Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and $1000 prize was presented to Marianne Girard, B.A. for her paper, “Is My Sex Life OK? The Mediating Role of Sexual Anxiety in the Association Between Child Sexual Abuse and Sexual Coercion Against Women,” at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Sex Therapy & Research in Toronto, Canada, April 2019. Presented by Scientific Advisory Board Member Dr. Daniel Watter.

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A 2019 Sexual Tipping Point Award Certificate and $1000 prize was presented to William Fisher, Ph.D et al at the Joint Meeting of the International Society of Sexual Medicine and the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health held in Atlanta, Georgia on March 8, 2019. The winning presentation “Impact of ED, and Treatment of ED, on Female Sexual Function: Results of the Strike Up a Conversation, Females, and Partner Satisfaction Research Programs,” was selected during a “blind review” by the Societies’ determined committee of Rose Hartzell-Cushanick, PhD, EdS, CHES, LMFT(ISSWSH); Kwangsung Park, MD, PhD(ISSM); and Michael A. Perelman, Ph.D.(mapedfund.org). Dr. Fisher’s co-authors on the abstract were Michael Sand, Ph.D, Raymond C. Rosen, Ph.D. and Irwin Goldstein, MD.

2018 SEXUAL TIPPING POINT AWARD WINNERS

Jennifer Bossio’s presentation to the Annual Meeting of the Society for Sex Therapy & Research (SSTAR) in Philadelphia PA on “Mindfulness-Based Group Therapy Manual to Improve Couples’ Intimacy After Prostate Cancer Treatment,” was judged the winner by an Award committee consisting of SSTAR members which included Lisa Anllo, Ph.D, Elizabeth Grill Psy.D. and Michael A. Perelman PhD.

Adithya Balasubramanian's (a 3rd year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine) presentation on “Characterization of Patient Attitudes Towards Testicular Prosthesis Placement After Orchiectomy,” was judged the winner by an Award committee consisting of SMSNA members which included Alexander Patuszak, MD (Program Committee Chair), Daniela Whitman, Ph.D., MSW (Mental Health Committee Chair) and Michael A. Perelman PhD (Foundation Chair).

STP Awards