SWYPPe

Gunter De Win is professor in Urology at the University of Antwerp, Adolescent and Reconstructive urologist in University Hospital Antwerp (UZA) and a Congenital Lifelong Urologist in University College London Hospitals (UCLH)
His major clinical expertise and interests are urogenital conditions in emerging adulthood such as ketamine bladder disorder, erectile dysfunction in young males, varicoceles and lifelong follow up of patients with a congenital urogenital condition (spina bifida, hypospadias, exstrophy, …)
As a urological surgeon he is highly specialized in urethral and penile reconstructive surgery.

After obtaining his medical degree at the University of Leuven (2003), Belgium he started a research project about Laparoscopy and Simulation Training. With this research he obtained his Phd Degree in Health Science at the University of Leuven Belgium. In the meantime he specialised in urology. After obtaining his specialist degree in urology, he did a fellowship in Adolescent Urology (with Prof Woodhouse en Mr Dan Wood) in University College London hospitals and in Paediatric urology in Great Ormond Street Hospitals London and several times he visited prof Sanjay Kulkarni's urethral center in Pune, India where he obtained his skills in urethral surgery. He joined the urology team in University Hospital Antwerp in 2012 and became a professor in Urology at the university of Antwerp in february 2018. In September 2018 he joined University College London hospitals where he became a part time consultant in congenital lifelong urology.

One of his major research interests are Adolescent varicocele, sexual dysfunctions in young males and teaching and learning with surgical simulation. He authored and co-authored several research articles about urethral reconstruction, and sexual and fertility problems in young patients, and co-edited the SIU-ICUD book about Congenital Lifelong Urology. In 2019 he took the initiative for the recent published Male Sexual Health study where the association between pornography and sexual dysfunction in young male was studied on a large scale.

Maarten Albersen is an associate professor at the faculty of medicine of KU Leuven. He obtained his medicine degree in 2006 and completed a doctorate dealing with the possibility of stem cell treatment for neurogenic erectile dysfunction following pelvic surgery in 2012. His research focused on molecular biology with emphasis on understanding the pathophysiology of diseases affecting male sexuality.

More recently he is conducting research aiming to gain a better understanding of penile cancer development and developing novel therapeutic strategies to combat this disease, funded by the Belgian Foundation against Cancer. He is a member of the scientific office of the European Association of Urology (EAU), an associate editor for European Urology and a member of the executive committee of the Euopean Society for Sexual Medicine (ESSM). He has received several international grants and awards most notably the Crystal Matula Award of the EAU and the Award of Excellence of the ESSM. His clinical expertise lies in andrology and cancers of the urogenital tract.

Stefan De Wachter is professor of Urology at the Antwerp University and Chairman of urology at the Antwerp University Hospital in Belgium. He subspecialized in neuro-urology, voiding dysfunction, neuromodulation, urodynamics and female pelvic medicine at an academic level. His scientific expertise is focused on restoration of normal function in the small pelvis, including bladder and bowel function and sexual function. His research focuses on developing and standardizing neurophysiological tools to assess these functions.

Erick Janssen is a Professor of Human Sexuality at the Institute for Family and Sexuality Studies (IFSS) at the University of Leuven, Belgium. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Kinsey Institute, where he was a research scientist for almost 20 years. Erick has published extensively on the topics of sexual psychophysiology, sexual aggression, hypersexuality, sexual dysfunction, risky sexual behavior, and sexuality in close relationships.

During his years at the Kinsey Institute he developed, together with John Bancroft, the Dual Control Model of Sexual Response. This model, with its focus on individual differences in the propensity for sexual excitation and inhibition, has opened up a new research agenda with wide relevance and is being used and tested by researchers around the world. Erick is past President of the International Academy of Sex Research (IASR) and has received a number of awards, including twice the Hugo G. Beigel Award for best publication in the Journal of Sex Research and, with his students, the SSTAR Award, IASR Best Student Manuscript Award, and Reiss Theory Award. His current research interests include sexual arousal as a dyadic process, sexuality in the early stages of romantic relationships, the determinants of sexual aggression in young, heterosexual men, hypersexuality, and the association between porn use and sexual response and function.

Gily Coene is professor in Moral Philosophy and in Gender- and Diversity Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). She is director of RHEA, Centre of Expertise Gender Diversity and Intersectionality and one of the co-founders of the interuniversity master in gender and diversity. Gily obtained her PhD in Moral Sciences at the UGent in 2004. Over the years, she has built up extensive experience in multi- and cross-disciplinary research that centralizes the importance of understanding gender in interaction with other inequalities, particularly concerning, harmful cultural practices, intimate partner violence, sexual rights and reproductive justice.

More details on her work and publications can be found on: https://researchportal.vub.be/en/persons/gily-coene

Alexis Dewaele is hoofddocent kwalitatieve onderzoeksmethoden aan de Faculteit Psychologie en Pedagogische Wetenschappen van de Universiteit Gent. Hij is coördinator van PSYNC, een interdisciplinair consortium gericht op het verbeteren van de mentale gezondheid van elke burger. Alexis is daarnaast voorzitter van Sensoa, Het Vlaamse expertisecentrum voor seksuele gezondheid. Als wetenschappelijk coördinator van de Sexpert-studie (2009-2013) verwierf hij expertise over diverse aspecten van seksuele gezondheid. Hij is op dit moment actief lid van de European Sexual Medicine Network en één van de partners van de Academic Network of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Policy Hij is één van de promotoren van het Single Case Archive, een database met meer dan 3500 psychotherapeutische gevalstudies. Van 2018-2020 was hij vice-projectcoördinator van Mentally, een project gericht op het verbeteren van Europese geestelijke gezondheidszorg.

As a social scientist, I established the Research Unit Social Epidemiology and Health Policy within the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. The Research Group has extensive experience with quantitative and qualitative research methodology. Research topics addressed in recent years include: tobacco prevention, substance use, cancer screening, migrants and participation in cancer screening, proactive medicine and drug use among sex workers. Methodologies used are quantitative questionnaires, in depth interviewing and focus group discussions. I have supervised eight defended PhDs and 12 PhDs are ongoing.

I am coordinator of the learning line ‘Physician & Society’, covering the first five years of medical education at the University of Antwerp and I am coordinator of the course ‘Public Health, Policy and Practice’ for the Master of Epidemiology, University of Antwerp, Belgium. This Master consists of students from very different parts of the world. I am appointed as an expert at the Superior Health Council of Belgium, member of the European Public Health Association, member of the Belgian Association of Public Health and member of the Flemish Taskforce for Population Screening. I have published over 100 articles (Web of Science).

Kristien Michielsen is Professor in Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. She works at the International Centre for Reproductive Health (ICRH) in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (Ghent University, Belgium). Being trained in social and political sciences, Kristien has been doing multidisciplinary research in the field of sexual and reproductive health since 2006, mainly focusing on adolescent sexual and reproductive health. She obtained her PhD in Social Health Sciences in November 2012 on the topic of adolescent sexual health (HIV prevention). Her main research topics are comprehensive sexuality education, structural determinants of health, including gender norms, and complex evaluations. Kristien has research experience in several countries including Belgium, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and Ecuador.

She is a member of the board of Sensoa, the Flemish expertise centre for sexual health, of the European Expert Group on Sexuality Education, and of the UNESCO Partnership Forum on Sexuality Education. She is also an independent consultant in Global Health research. More details on her work and publications can be found on her ORCID profile.

Michel Walrave (PhD) is a professor at the Department of Communication Studies of the University of Antwerp, where he leads the research group MIOS. His research is centered around online self-disclosure and privacy. He investigates individuals’ self-disclosure and privacy in interpersonal online communication. More particularly, his research focuses on self-disclosure’s motives, opportunities (e.g., sharenting) as well as risks (e.g., cyberbullying, cyber dating abuse). He also investigates motives and consequences of intimate online disclosures (e.g., sexting). Next to interpersonal online self-disclosures, he investigates internet users’ entrusting of personal data to organizations and how individuals deal with interactive and personalized persuasive communication.

Sam is a clinical sexologist and psychotherapist connected to the PXL University College of Aplied Arts and Sciences’ Healthcare Department, where he lectures on sexual health, counselling sklills and ethics. As a clinician he is connected to the Outpatient Center for Sexual Health at the Sint Fransiscus Hospital in Heusden- Belgium where he counsels patients/couples with divers sexual problems. Previously he was conected to the Student Sex Work Project at Swansea University as a clinical and reasearch consultant, counselling student sex workers and developing training for professionals on how to counsel student sex workers.

Koen Ponnet (PhD in Psychology, 2004) is an associate professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Ghent University, and is associated with the research group Media, Innovation and Communication Technologies (imec-mict). He teaches several theoretical as well as methodological courses, and conducts research in the field of Public Health, Media Psychology and Social Psychology.

In his research, he examines the determinants of online and offline health and risk behaviors of adolescents and adults (e.g. sexting, online self-disclosure, depressive symptoms, drug use, unsafe and unsecure behavior, attitudinal changes). Koen Ponnet deliberately conducts research that has implications for theory-building as well as relevance for practice and policy. His research is built on various theoretical frameworks and combines insights from social psychology, communication sciences and sociology. In his research, Ponnet also pays attention to the situation of vulnerable groups, like those who are at risk of poverty. He co-operated in many national and international data collection projects, and has extensive expertise in developing questionnaires and research designs.

Koen Ponnet is (co-)author of several books and book chapters. He has co-authored over 140 papers in WOS-ranked journals (Q1: 41.4%; Q2: 35.1%; Q3: 18.0%; Q4: 5.4%) and over 40 VABB-SHW articles. He is leading a team of 10 PhD researchers and 1 post-doc.

Nina Szyf is a PhD student at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University (joint PhD) within the FWO-SBO SWYPPE-project on the relationship between pornography consumption, perception of pornographic material, sexual functioning, and well-being in various minority groups. Her PhD is supervised by Prof. Dr. Gily Coene (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and Prof. Dr. Alexis Dewaele (Ghent University). With a background in Communication Sciences, her research focuses on the societal impact of digital phenomena, particularly in the field of sexuality and media.

Before starting her PhD, Nina conducted research on the legal and social dimensions of deepnudes (pornographic deepfakes) at Ghent University, which earned her a nomination in the finals of the 'Vlaamse Scriptieprijs' (top 5). She later collaborated as an external researcher at the University of Antwerp on projects related to deepnudes, digital partner violence, and online safety, working with institutions such as the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men and Child Focus.

Her work aims to bridge academic insights with practical applications to foster a more inclusive and informed understanding of sexuality in the digital age.

Mey is a PhD Fellow at the Institute for Family and Sexuality Sciences at KU Leuven, where she investigates the relationship between pornography use and sexual arousal problems in young men.

Between completing her MSc and starting her PhD, Mey worked as a Lab Manager and Research Assistant at the Experimental Moral Psychology and Bioethics Lab in Oxford, where she gained valuable experience in moral cognition, experimental design, programming and statistical analysis.

Mey's PhD project focuses on developing and validating methods to investigate sexual response patterns, combining both laboratory and real-world approaches to better understand the complex relationship between pornography consumption and sexual well-being. Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Erick Janssen, Dr. Rick Roels and Dr. Gunter De Win, Mey aims to discover whether there is a causal relationship between pornography use and sexual arousal patterns, and which psychological mechanisms may underlie such associations.

Currently, Mey's research interests center around subjective and physiological sexual arousal ,psychological mechanisms and experimental designs. More details on her work and publications can be found on: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mey-Bahar-Buyukbabani

Louise Vanmarcke is a PhD student within SWYPPe focusing on investigating the impact of widespread pornography consumption on the sexual development and well-being of adolescents and young adults. She is a joint PhD at the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Ghent University, within the research group Media, Innovation and Communication Technologies (imec-mict) under the guidance of Prof. Koen Ponnet and at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, within the Institute for Family and Sexuality Studies under the guidance of Prof. Kristien Michielsen.

Louise has a master's degree in biochemistry and biotechnology and an advanced master's degree in Global Health. Within this advanced master's in Global Health, Louise focused on sexual and reproductive health throughout her internship and master's thesis. In her internship at the International Centre for Reproductive Health (ICRH) at Ghent University, Louise worked on a project looking at the effects of gender-based violence on the mental health of women in Palestine during their perinatal period. Furthermore, Louise wrote her master's thesis on sexting and non-consensual dissemination of intimate images(NCII) with an exploratory study on the EU and Belgian legislative framework and the impact of sexting and NCII on children and young people's sexual development and well-being. During this master's thesis, Louise developed an interest in the effects of online behaviors on the sexual development, health, and well-being of adolescents and young adults, as well as an interest in qualitative and multi- and inter-disciplinary research.

Lies Van Roy is a PhD researcher at the University of Antwerp, Department of Communication Sciences. With a background as both a teacher and a sexologist, her research lies at the intersection of her interests. Her research focuses on the use of pornography among young people and the communication between teachers and students on this topic, with the aim of developing an educational package. Her research is driven by a passion to address topics that are often overlooked in classroom practice.

Her master's thesis was closely related to this research, as she examined communication between teachers and students regarding sexting. Her passion for discussing sexuality within education is thus undeniable.

Alexandra is Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy.

Alexandra Vermandel is a recognized expert in Women's Health and Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy, with a focus on clinical practice, education, and research. She is responsible for the Pelvic Physiotherapy Clinic at the University Hospital of Antwerp (UZA). Additionally, she serves as the coordinating director of the interuniversity program for pelvic rehabilitation and perinatal physiotherapy a collaboration between KU Leuven, UGent, University of Antwerp, and VUB, where she also teaches sexual health topics.

As an experienced clinician, she has built extensive expertise over the years in treating pelvic floor dysfunctions, including sexual dysfunctions. Her work is dedicated to improving patients' quality of life through specialized therapy, scientific research, and education.

Yves Jacquemyn is a gynecologist at the UZA, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Antwerp and head of the Care Center after Sexual Violence, Antwerp His area of research has varied from pregnancy problems (pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction) to urogynecology (effects of pelvic floor surgery), global health (screening and prevention of cervical carcinoma and vaccination against monkeypox in DR Congo, prevention of maternal mortality in Arba Minch, Ethiopia; influence of maternal disease on pregnancy outcome and effect of a perinatal care bundle on neonatal outcome, Uganda). Related to this project, he has done past research on sexuality in pregnant women and after vaginal surgery. He has several PhD guid ng several in supervision nationally and internationally.

publications and more info can be found at https://www.uantwerpen.be/nl/personeel/yves-jacquemyn/publicaties/

Lise graduated as biomedical neuroscientist at Ghent University and obtained an advanced master’s degree in Global Health, where her passion for sexual and reproductive health and rights emerged. Her second master’s dissertation focused on the experiences of mothers with a migration background and their partners regarding home-based postnatal care in Flanders. As part of this work, she also published a scoping review on postnatal quality of care measures for mothers and newborns in home-based settings. After graduating, Lise undertook a research internship at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, where she contributed to a study on postpartum length of stay following facility-based births in Tanzania, using secondary data from the Demographic and Health Survey.

In February 2025, she joined SWYPPe as a PHD researcher, under the supervision of Prof. Gunter De Win at the faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine at the University of Antwerp. Over the next four years, her research will explore the influence of pornography on the sexual wellbeing and sexual functioning of young adults and adolescents, with a particular focus on healthcare contexts. Driven by a strong belief in the importance of an interdisciplinary approach, Lise combines her skills in both quantitative and qualitative research to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of this evolving topic within the field of sexual health among young populations.

Joris Van Ouytsel (PhD) is an associate professor at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University. He is affiliated with the research group MIOS at the University of Antwerp.

His research program focuses on the intersection of interpersonal and health communication and includes the following areas:

1. Internet safety and media literacy education
2. The influence of digital media and artificial intelligence on relationship experiences and expressions of sexuality
3. Understanding digital risky and violent behaviors in interpersonal relationships (e.g., digital forms of intimate partner violence and cyber dating abuse)
4. Examining the antecedents and consequences of digital sexual behaviors (e.g., sexting, image-based sexual abuse, and pornography use

Professor Van Ouytsel has pioneered research on the causes and consequences of adolescents’ sexting behavior, and he has coauthored over 25 peer-reviewed journal articles about sexting. He also developed a research program focused on the study of digital forms of teen dating violence, also known as cyber dating abuse.

Anna graduated as a Clinical Orthopedagogue (Master in Educational Sciences) and as a Clinical Sexologist, both at KU Leuven. With a strong interest in the emotional and behavioural well-being of children and adolescents, her first thesis focused on the well-being of children in reception classes for non-native newcomers (OKAN) in Flanders. She completed her master’s internship at Vleugel K, the University Psychiatric Centre of KU Leuven, where she deepened her commitment to supporting young people in a multidisciplinary and individualized way when it comes to embodiment, intimacy, and sexuality. She is convinced that intimacy and sexuality are essential themes in the development of every human being, which inspired her second thesis in sexology on how relational and sexual education can be offered within residential child and youth psychiatry.

After her internship, Anna remained involved with Vleugel K, for several summers as a group leader. In the final year of her studies, she continued this work as a student group leader in the Brussels-based residential care institution Espero, part of the Flemish Youth Care system. Since the beginning of her student years, and continuing into her professional life, Anna has also been actively involved with Jonge Helden vzw, where she supports children during visits to their parents in Leuven-based detention centres, an engagement that reflects her lasting commitment to the well-being of vulnerable children.

In 2024, Anna joined the SWYPPe research team as a PhD researcher at the University of Antwerp, contributing to the FWO rebuttal and preparatory work for the project’s official launch in January 2025. In the coming years she will conduct research as a joint PhD researcher of the University of Antwerp and the KU Leuven. Anna will combine her expertise in Clinical Orthopedagogy and Clinical Sexology to examine the influence of the family context on the sexual well-being of young people. Her research focuses on the challenges and needs that parents encounter when communicating about sexuality and pornography, with the aim of developing tools to better support parents in fostering open, positive, and age-appropriate conversations.

Annebeth Bels is a multidisciplinary researcher and science communicator specializing in youth, sexuality and (new) media. She holds a PhD from the University of Antwerp and KULeuven, where her research focused on sexual objectification in media and its impact on preteens' identity formation.

In 2015, during her PhD, Annebeth went viral with #wijoverdrijvenniet (we are not exaggerating), an online grassroots movement that served as a precursor to the global phenomenon #metoo, focused on empowering individuals to share their everyday experiences with sexism, sexual intimidation and sexual assault.

After her PhD, Annebeth went on to work in mixed methods market research and acquired experience in entertainment PR, influencer marketing, trendwatching and science communication as a senior pr manager at lifestyle PR agency oona. In addition, she worked as a senior researcher and science valorization manager at Antwerp Management School, focusing on tool development, stakeholder management and science communication.

Currently, Annebeth serves as a communications manager at Antwerp Management School and research project coordinator at University of Antwerp. In these roles, she bridges academic research with societal applications, co-creating tools and educational resources that address complex issues such as pornography consumption and sexual wellbeing among adolescents and young adults.

Her work is characterized by a commitment to inclusivity, intersectionality, and evidence-based approaches, aiming to foster informed conversations and interventions that resonate across diverse communities.

Dr. Rick Roels is a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, clinical sexologist and clinical lecturer at KU Leuven. As a staff member of adult psychiatry at the University Psychiatric Center KU Leuven, he is responsible for psychiatric supervision within the Center for Clinical Sexology and Sex Therapy, the Care Center after Sexual Violence, as well as within the crisis cluster psychiatry. He supervises patients with problems at the intersection of sexual health and psychological well-being. Dr. Roels holds a PhD in biomedical sciences and teaches in the master's program in sexology at KU Leuven on topics of sexual deviance and sexual violence. He has several publications within national and international peer-reviewed journals and is active in interuniversity research in sexual psychopathology. His work combines scientific depth with extensive clinical practice experience, enhanced by his membership in several international professional associations.