Chiara Acquati, PhD, LGSW, FAOSW is the inaugural Beatrice “Bean” E. Robinson Endowed Chair in Clinical Sexual Health within the Eli Coleman Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH) at the University of Minnesota Medical School, where she also serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. In addition, she holds faculty appointments at the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston and at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Acquati is nationally recognized for her pioneering scholarship at the intersection of psychosocial oncology, dyadic health research, and clinical sexual health. Her program of research examines the interpersonal processes that shape mental health, coping, and well-being outcomes for individuals with cancer and their partners or caregivers. She places particular emphasis on generating translational results that can inform the development of dyadic interventions, with the goal of improving both patient and caregiver quality of life. Her work has consistently demonstrated that the adjustment of survivors and their partners to cancer is deeply interdependent. She has clarified how coordinated coping behaviors and within-dyad communication exchanges influence both individual and relational outcomes, including sexual and reproductive health. As an expert in dyadic conceptualization and measurement, Dr. Acquati has expanded her contributions to include the appraisal and refinement of theories and models of stress and dyadic coping in the context of illness and health-related stressors. Her research has been supported by leading funding agencies such as the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, Sexual Medicine Society of North America, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the European Social Fund. Through these initiatives, she has evaluated institutional capacity for distress screening, developed illness and caregiving management interventions, and designed provider trainings that expand access to supportive care. Her publication record includes more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, alongside numerous book chapters, reports, and invited presentations at national and international conferences. Beyond her scholarship, Dr. Acquati plays a leadership role in national and international professional and advocacy organizations.
Chiara Acquati, PhD, LGSW, FAOSW
