PhD, Health and Human Performance, University of Florida

MBA, Business Administration, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

BA, Hotel and Tourism Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

Dr. Berdychevsky’s work revolves at the nexus of health and wellbeing in leisure and tourism contexts, adopting a gender-sensitive and a life span-grounded approach. She focuses on risky behaviors (e.g., sexual risk taking, violence, and delinquent practices) and sexual leisure and positive sexuality across the life span and among vulnerable populations (e.g., older adults because of the ageist stereotypes portraying them as asexual, transgender people, high-risk young travelers, and people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic). She implements a mix of creative and cutting-edge methodologies in her research, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods designs.

Her research contributes to a deeper understanding of the issues related to health and sexual leisure and offers directions for tailored health education programs and effective prevention and intervention methods. The umbrella goal of Dr. Berdychevsky’s research program is to contribute to people’s health and well-being and to address various disparities and injustices (e.g., healthism, racism, classism, sexism, ageism, transphobia). Her studies contribute to social and sexual justice by revealing the needs of the marginalized populations and offering practical recommendations for health education programs. Hence, her research program spans a portfolio of projects that address several axes of discrimination.

Therefore, Dr. Berdychevsky’s specific research interests include:

• Health and wellbeing in leisure and tourism contexts
• Sexual leisure as a coping mechanism with personal and public health crises
• Sexual health and positive sexuality across gender and throughout the life span
• Sexual leisure and health among vulnerable populations whose needs have been marginalized by the societal bias
• Sexual risk taking in high-risk leisure and travel contexts
• Tailored health education, prevention, and intervention methods
• Research methods: quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods

Liza Berdychevsky is an Associate Professor in the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She graduated from the University of Florida with a Ph.D. in Health and Human Performance and from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, with an M.B.A. in Business Administration. After completing her studies, she joined the faculty of Recreation, Sport and Tourism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as an assistant professor.

Dr. Berdychevsky’s research program revolves at the nexus of health and wellbeing in leisure and tourism contexts, adopting a gender-sensitive and a life course-grounded approach. She focuses on risky behaviors (e.g., sexual risk taking and violence) and sexual leisure and positive sexuality across the life span and among vulnerable populations (e.g., older adults, transgender people, young travelers). Her research contributes to a deeper understanding of these issues and offers directions for tailored health education programs and prevention and intervention methods.

Dr. Berdychevsky was inducted as a fellow into The Academy of Leisure Sciences in 2025. She has co-edited a special issue on the innovation and impact of sex as leisure approach in research and practice in Leisure Sciences and a book on the light and dark sides of sex in tourism with Channel View Publications. She published in the leading academic leisure, tourism, health, sexuality, and gerontology journals. She serves as an associate editor in Leisure Sciences, and an editorial board member in Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research and Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights, Annals of Leisure Research, and CABI Tourism Cases. Dr. Berdychevsky’s research has garnered substantial media attention in various global and regional news outlets, scientific medical news websites, and popular magazines.

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