In Memoriam: Rosemary Basson, MB BS, MRCP, FRCP
IN MEMORIAM
Rosemary Basson, MB BS, MRCP, FRCP
3 April 1948 – 27 April 2026
The field of sexual medicine mourns the loss of Dr. Rosemary Basson, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia and Founding Director of the UBC Program in Sexual Medicine. Dr. Basson died on 27 April 2026 at age 78, leaving an extraordinary legacy as one of the most influential thinkers in contemporary sexual health.
Born in England, Dr. Basson graduated with honours from the University of London in 1971 and became a Member -and later Fellow- of the Royal College of Physicians. After emigrating to Canada, she practiced family medicine at Lions Gate Hospital (1974–1988) before joining UBC Psychiatry, where she rose to Clinical Professor and established the UBC Program in Sexual Medicine, directing it until her retirement in 2020. Under her leadership, the programme became a leading centre for clinical training and research, educating generations of physicians across psychiatry, obstetrics and gynaecology, and family medicine.
Her most enduring contribution was the reconceptualization of female sexual response, introducing a circular, context dependent model that reshaped diagnostic criteria, clinical practice, and global understanding of women’s sexual desire. Her scholarship spanned neurological disease, androgens and women’s sexual health, provoked vestibulodynia, mindfulness based interventions, and the interplay of mood, cortisol, and desire. She was invited to contribute to The Lancet’s series on sexual medicine and served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, the International Journal of Sexual Health, and the Journal of Menopause, among others. She co-chaired the International Consultation on Sexual Medicine in 2003 and again in 2009.
As a mentor, Dr. Basson was generous, thoughtful, and profoundly formative. To the trainees and fellows who worked with her, she was not only a supervisor but a model of compassion, integrity, and scholarly excellence. She will be remembered for her intellect as much as for her humility, kindness, and quiet strength. Despite her international stature, she remained modest and deeply grounded in her values.
Beyond her professional life, Dr. Basson cherished nature, the sea, forests, and animals - especially cats. Her home was a place of warmth, generosity, and laughter. She was a deeply loving mother and grandmother who cherished her family above all else.
Rosemary Basson will be remembered with profound gratitude and love by all whose lives she touched, as one of the most remarkable physicians, researchers, and human beings we have ever known.
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