Michael H. Antoni, Ph.D., Professor, Antoni Lab, studies the effects of stress factors, and stress management interventions on psychological adaptation, biobehavioral processes, and health outcomes in chronic diseases (breast cancer, prostate cancer and HIV/AIDS and chronic fatigue syndrome, CFS)
- Utilize group-based cognitive behavioral stress management (CBSM) to improve psychological adaptation (negative and positive affect, social disruption, sleep and fatigue) and modulate biobehavioral processes (neuroendocrine and inflammatory)
- Testing ways to increase the reach of stress management interventions to specific populations specific stress management components in briefer formats, cultural adaptations, and use of remote delivery platforms (tele-health, web-based)
- Improve longer term clinical outcomes (depression, quality of life, overall survival and disease-free interval)
Sannisha Dale, Ph.D., Associate Professor, SHINE Lab, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist specializing in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, who studies health disparities such as HIV at the intersection of mental health, physical health outcomes, and psychosocial and structural factors.
- Enhancing our understanding of the relationships between resilience, trauma, and health outcomes among individuals with HIV and those at risk for HIV
- Investigating psychosocial (e.g., microaggressions, discrimination) and structural factors (e.g., poverty) that relate to HIV health disparities
- Developing effective prevention and intervention strategies to promote resilience and good health outcomes amongst survivors of trauma and individuals with or at risk for HIV, especially members of racial minority (e.g., Blacks/African Americans) and gender and sexual minority groups who are heavily burdened by the HIV epidemic
- Engaging community members and stakeholders in collaborative health disparities research
Barry Hurwitz, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology & Medicine, investigates the early interactions of behavioral factors (i.e., stress, anxiety, hostility, depression, vitality, sleep, diet & nutrition) with cardiovascular, immunological and metabolic functions that promote disease and disease progression in adults. Interests include metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, hypertension, and HIV/AIDS.
- Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome, and Type 2 Diabetes Risk
- Stress-Induced Overeating
- Endothelial Stem Cell Progenitors & Vascular Endothelial Dysfunction in HIV/AIDS, Type 2 Diabetes & Heart Failure
- Epidemiologic Determinants of Cardiovascular Disease & Health Disparities Among Hispanics
Gail H. Ironson, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, examines psychoneuroimmunology, AIDS, Psycho-oncology, Stress Management Interventions, Stress and Coping, Cardiovascular Disease, Post Traumatic Stress (Director of Trauma Treatment Program), Measurement and Statistics.
Youngmee Kim, Ph.D., Professor, Associate Director of Health Division, FAMILY Lab, examines the effects of stress and psychosocial and bio-behavioral mechanisms of quality of life outcomes (psychosocial, physical, behavioral, and spiritual) among adult cancer patients/survivors and their family caregivers across the illness trajectory.
- Identification of the demographic and socio-cultural correlates of better or worse adjustment to cancer
- Investigation of the psychosocial and biobehavioral mechanisms of dyadic impact of a physical illness between adult patients and their family members
- Development and evaluation of psychosocial and biobehavioral interventions for adult cancer patients and their family members
Maria M. Llabre, Ph.D., Professor and Associate Chair for Graduate Studies, Department of Psychology and Director of Biobehavioral Statistics, Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Applied Quantitative LaB, is interested in latent variable modeling and uses them in applications to issues of measurement, mechanisms, and change processes in cardiovascular behavioral medicine research.
- The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL; N. Schneiderman, PI)
- The role of the Spanish language in the Hispanic Paradox (Que Pasa U?; M. Llabre, PI)
- Multilevel risk and resilience factors related to hurricane exposures (UCope; K. Timpano, PI)
- The practice of asking questions as a mechanism for promoting interest in STEM (UQuest; P. Saab, PI)
Philip M. McCabe, Ph.D., Professor and Chairman, examines neural, hormonal and behavioral factors in cardiovascular and metabolic disease, neurobiology of emotional behavior and neural/hormonal regulation of inflammation.
- Assessment of sympathetic nervous system remodeling and its role in the progression of atherosclerosis in animal models of disease
- Evaluation of the role of the neuropeptide, oxytocin, as a natural anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant in cardiovascular disease and cancer
- In vitro and in vivo approaches to understanding the role of oxytocin pancreatic glycemic regulation and cell protection related to diabetes
Roger C. McIntosh, Ph.D., Associate Professor, BREATH Lab, examines the neural correlates of cognitive aging, stress reactivity and cardio-autonomic regulation in healthy older adults the context of chronic disease, i.e., Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and hypertension (HTN).
- Psychoneuroimmunology of mental stress reactivity in the context of chronic HIV disease.
- Neural correlates of cardio-autonomic regulation in HIV+ individuals at elevated risk for HTN.
- Role of inflammation and cardiovascular disease in the manifestation of cognitive decline amongst older adults.
Frank J. Penedo, Ph.D., Sylvester Professor and Associate Director of Cancer Survivorship and Translational Behavioral Sciences, Lab website: Biopsychosocial Mechanisms & Health Outcomes Lab (BMHO).
- Cancer survivorship, symptom and toxicities monitoring/management, care delivery and chronic disease management
- Multilevel determinants (sociocultural, biobehavioral, psychosocial) of disease onset, progression, management and outcomes
- e-Health/m-Health interventions; precision behavioral medicine; health equity in specific populations (e.g., Hispanics, LGBT)
Patrice G. Saab, Ph.D., Professor, UQuest Lab, studies prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, cardiovascular and neuroendocrine reactivity to stress, health disparities, and behavior change strategies.
- Promoting health knowledge and health behaviors in youth
- Addressing mechanisms underlying health disparities
- Obesity prevention
Steven A. Safren, Ph.D., ABPP., Professor, HPAC Lab, studies mental health, substance use, and related variables associated with behavioral and biobehavioral HIV prevention and treatment both domestically and globally, with a particular focus mental health treatments in the context of HIV and on sexual and gender minority populations in the context of health promotion and care.
- Enhancing HIV prevention in gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men through behavioral methods and biobehavioral methods such as uptake and adherence to biobehavioral prevention products such as PrEP and antiretroviral therapy
- Combining treatment of psychosocial problems with cognitive behavioral and motivational interviewing with health promotion interventions to improve behavioral self-care in HIV and other chronic illnesses.
- Working, as Director of the Center for HIV and Research in Mental Health (CHARM) at the University of Miami, to increase the research on the implementation of locally relevant, evidenced-based interventions to prevent and treat HIV in the Greater Miami area, which is a domestic epicenter for HIV in the U.S.
Angela, Szeto, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, studies the role of social/emotional factors on the progression of atherosclerosis and Type 2 Diabetes in cell culture models (in vitro) and animal models (in vivo).
- Conducting experiments elucidating the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties of oxytocin in obesity, glucose metabolism, and Type 2 diabetes in vitro and in vivo.
- Conducting experiments examining mechanisms on the progression of atherosclerosis using biochemical (e.g., protein expression including Western blotting, ELISAs, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, etc.) and molecular (e.g., gene expression including quantitative real-time PCR) approaches and examining these effects in animal models of disease.
- Conducting experiments measuring levels of oxytocin in tissue culture media or plasma in basal or stimulated conditions.
