Awards

National Academies - 2025

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Bicentennial Medal - 2020

Titled Professor - 2019 - 2021

Bicentennial Professor

Titled Professor - 2016 - 2026

Ruth Halls Professor of Gender Studies

About Justin R. Garcia

Dr. Justin Garcia is an evolutionary biologist and sex researcher. He trained under Dr. David Sloan Wilson (SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences and Anthropology, Binghamton University) and then conducted a National Institutes of Health T32 postdoctoral research fellowship under former Kinsey Institute Director Dr. Julia Heiman (Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences & Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Indiana University). His research program focuses on the evolutionary and biocultural foundations of romantic and sexual relationships across the life course.

Garcia and colleagues have conducted research on a variety of topics related to social and sexual behaviors and intimate relationships, including variation in monogamy, intimacy, gender, courtship, dating, desire, satisfaction, and reproductive strategies. A specialist in interdisciplinary collaboration, Garcia's research draws from and cuts across multiple fields of study. This approach aids his lab's exploration of the relationship context of sexuality, including the meaning, expression, and impact of romantic and sexual attitudes and behaviors.

Professor Garcia has a dual faculty appointment with the Kinsey Institute and Department of Gender Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. He is also Co-Chair of the Interdepartmental Graduate Committee on Human Sexuality, which directs the PhD minor in Human Sexuality. In addition, he is adjunct faculty with the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI, and holds affiliate faculty appointments with the IU Network Science Institute and the Cognitive Science program at Indiana University, Bloomington, where he is also a Research Fellow with the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention in the School of Public Health, Bloomington.

Professor Garcia was the 2017 recipient of the Gordon Faculty Award through the Division of Student Affairs, IU Bloomington. The Gordon Faculty Award is the Division's top faculty award for exemplary service to students.

In 2020, Justin R. Garcia was presented the Bicentennial Medal for his distinguished service to Indiana University.