Faculty Directory

Biography

My grant-funded research program is in pediatric psychology, which involves the interplay between clinical child psychology and pediatric medicine. A long-standing area of interest in the lab is the assessment and treatment of children’s acute medical pain (e.g., injections, bone fracture casting). In addition, we are examining children’s chronic pain, with a particular interest in evaluating mindfulness and acceptance-based treatments to help adolescents live vital lives with pain.

Graduate student-led projects in the lab span a range of child health issues including yoga for pediatric arthritis, the influence of the political climate on the medical adherence of Latino youth with diabetes, the interplay of anxiety and neuropsychological functioning in children with sickle cell disease, parent-child interactions during recovery from surgery, and the behavior of Latino families during immunization injections.

Research

I am Professor of Psychology and Director of Graduate Studies. My research is in pediatric psychology with a primary focus on the assessment and treatment of children’s procedural anxiety and pain. Other areas of research include the examination of psychosocial issues related to chronic pain in youth; the development and evaluation of treatments to improve functioning, quality of life, and transition readiness in adolescents with sickle cell disease; and the study of adherence issues in children with chronic medical conditions. My research is funded via federal (e.g., NIH, DHHS HRSA) and foundation sources.