I just received a Masters degree in Health Communication and work in that field (specifically studying doctor / patient interaction and also as a teaching assistant). 

I’m also continuing the research I did for my thesis which focussed on stigma, identity-construction and disclosure issues for people who are kinky. Together with Dr. Thomas Weinberg at Buffalo State, I am conducting primary research around the coming out issues faced by people who identify with sadomasochism. While there exist health-oriented research and outreach for BGLT people (coming out guides and inclusion in sex-education books, for example), there is very little of this for kinky people. My dream is to make a non-sexy, health-oriented site that takes the needs of this community seriously (once we establish via research what those needs are).

To some degree this is a human rights issue, as the stigma around this includes really difficult medicalization and criminalization. There is not much research in this area, and there it is unclear what the goals are of treatment (to help the person feel better about their interests, or for the interests to disappear?). From my point of view, it feels amazing to have found an area where I can make a genuine contribution to science by doing basic formative qualitative research, i.e. talking to people on the phone. I love doing the work, and it feels really important to hear how people are dealing with shame and stigma, and what might be done to help them.