Beyond the Binary: Advancing Sex and Gender Inclusivity in Research

Beyond the Binary:  Advancing Sex and Gender Inclusivity in Research

Fri 27 Nov 2026 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM

Life and Mind Building - Lecture Theatre 1., OX1 3EL

This symposium will explore how current approaches to sex and gender assessment can create blind spots in research.

Through interdisciplinary perspectives spanning biology, health sciences, psychology, sociology, and the lived experiences of intersex individuals with variations in sex characteristics, the symposium presentations will examine the methodological, ethical, and practical challenges associated with collecting, analysing, and reporting more inclusive sex and gender data.

Bringing these perspectives together, the symposium aims to stimulate discussion about how research practices can evolve beyond binary assumptions to more accurately and inclusively reflect the diversity of human biology and lived experience.

Moderator: Jessie Weavers-Medina (she/her)

10.00–10.30 Coffee and Registration

10.30–10.35 Welcome and Introduction, Dr Kamila Szulc-Lerch (she/her) and Assoc Prof Sana Suri (she/her), University of Oxford

10.35–10.50 Invisible Within Healthcare and Research (TBC), Anick Soni (he/him), InterconnectedUK

10.50–11.10 Making and Remaking Sex: Historical and Cultural Perspectives, Dr Ross Brooks (he/him/they), Oxford Brookes University

11.10–11.40 Rethinking Sex Through Intersex Rodent Models, Dr Kamila Szulc-Lerch (she/her), University of Oxford

11.40–12.00 Of Mice and Men: Sex Chromosome Aneuploidies and the Brain, Prof Jason Lerch (he/him), University of Oxford

12.00–12.40 Lunch Break

12.40–13.00 Knowing and not Knowing, Lexi Breen (she/her), InterconnectedUK

13.00–13.20 Sex, Sex Roles & Sexual Preferences: A Biologist's Perspective, Prof Tommaso Pizzari (he/him), University of Oxford

13.20–13.40 Intersex Embodiment: Legal Frameworks beyond Identity and Disorder (TBC), Prof Fae Garland (she/her), University of Manchester

13.40–14.30 Panel Discussion: Towards More Inclusive Research Practices, All speakers