Our Team

Dr. Mark is a sex and relationship researcher and educator. She is the current Joycelyn Elders Endowed Chair for Sexual Health Education and Professor in Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School's Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH). She is affiliate faculty at the Kinsey Institute with a national and international reputation as a sexual scientist and educator.  Her research program centers around sexual well-being, specifically the maintenance of sexual and relationship satisfaction and sexual desire in long-term relationships, sexual function and dysfunction, sexual trauma, and sexual desire discrepancy. Dr. Mark holds degrees in psychology, family science, biostatistics, and public health and her research and therapeutic approaches are as interdisciplinary as her training. Pronouns: she/her/hers

Principal Investigator of the Tanzabilities Study. 

Dr. Mkoka is Dean of Nursing at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar Tanzania.  His research specializes in health systems and reproductive, maternal, and child health.  Dr. Mkoka has consulted with the Tanzania Ministry of Health for a number of years to improve nurse and midwifery education in Tanzania. Along with partnering with the University of Minnesota SHRUM Program, Dr. Mkoka works with Karolinska and Umea Universities in Sweden on injury prevention and care research projects.  He is also currently working  with Hanze University in the Netherlands to train students in health literacy, customer care, and compassionate care. Dr. Mkoka is a Master Trainer of Clinical Instructors, a program focused on clinical supervision of midwifery and nursing students in Tanzania. 

Pronouns: he/him/his

Co- Principal Investigator of the THP Study and Tanzabilities Study. 

Dr. Rosser is professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota and director of the SHRUM Program.  He has advanced degrees in psychology, epidemiology, and behavioral medicine, with postdoctoral training in clinical/research sexology, and is the author or coauthor of seven books, 19 book chapters, and over 200 peer reviewed scientific papers. Born and raised in New Zealand, he has specialized in advancing sexual health and in addressing the health disparities of sexual and gender minorities.  As an interventionist, he designs and evaluates sexual health interventions. He is a reviewer and past chair of a study section for NIH and was Chair of the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Human Research (2019). Currently, he directs the University of Minnesota Graduate Minor in Sexual Health and teaches two courses: “Public Health Approaches to HIV/AIDS”, and “Sex, Sexuality, and Sexual Health.”

Pronouns: he/him/his

Principal Investigator of the Elsie Study and Restore Study, Co- Principal Investigator of the  MILLS Study and THP Study. 

Dr. Ross is Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH) and was the Joycelyn Elders Chair in Sexual Health Education from 2014-2020. He holds 11 degrees, including a MedDr, a PhD in cross-cultural health psychology, and degrees in criminology and health education. Ross has studied sexuality and sexual and mental health for more than 30 years in several countries: India, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam. Ross has also published more than 500 publications and books. Additionally, he worked extensively in prison environments and wrote a book about prison physical and mental health. Ross has also practiced as a clinical psychologist and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the British Psychological Society. 

Pronouns: he/him/his

Principal Investigator of the ORCA Study.

Dr. Shippee is an associate professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota. As a social gerontologist, her work focuses on what really matters to people as they age, such as quality of life measures (like social interactions with others and meal enjoyment) in long-term care setting and the role of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities for older adults' quality of life.
Pronouns: she/ her/ hers
Co-Principal Investigator of the Mills Study