People

Co-Directors

Sandra E. Sephton, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

Associate Scientist, Brown Cancer Center

University of Louisville

E-mail: sephton@louisville.edu

Dr Sephton investigates biological mediators of psychosocial effects in health, focusing on psychoneuroimmune relationships. Her contributions include data showing the diurnal cortisol rhythm is prognostic for early breast cancer mortality, which stimulated human, animal, and genetic studies on circadian effects in tumor progression. Her research supports that of other investigators who have provided evidence that childhood trauma may result in adult neuroendocrine dysfunction, and that social support, emotional expression, and existential or spiritual coping styles may protect normal endocrine and immune function in individuals who have experienced trauma, cancer, or chronic illness. Her research laboratory is investigating a model of circadian disruption as a mediator of biobehavioral effects on tumor progression.

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Paul Salmon, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
University of Louisville

E-mail: psalmon@louisville.edu

Dr. Salmon’s background in Clinical Psychology and Exercise Physiology provides the foundation for his interests in Health and Exercise Psychology. His clinical and research interests focus on health interventions including mindfulness meditation, exercise, and related practices. His work reflects a long-standing interest in meditation-based stress management, stimulated by a sabbatical faculty appointment at the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic in 1995. Subsequently, he helped develop a variety of clinical intervention programs, including a mindfulness meditation outpatient program at Norton Hospital in Louisville; the Heart Healthy Ounce Of Prevention (‘HOOPS’) CHD risk reduction program at Cardiovascular Associates of Louisville; and a mindfulness-based exercise program for breast cancer survivors, funded by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Currently, he is involved in a multidisciplinary research project evaluating the impact of Hatha Yoga on neuroendocrine parameters and vascular function in individuals at risk for heart disease.  Collaborators include Dr. Sephton and Dr. Jennifer Olive from UofL’s Department of Health and Sport Sciences. Dr. Salmon’s clinical research has been funded by grants from local, regional, and national agencies.

Dr. Salmon joined the UofL faculty in 1976 after completing graduate studies in Clinical Psychology at DePaul University. A Licensed Psychologist, he also has a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology and is certified as a Health Fitness Instructor by the American College of Sports Medicine, and as a Yoga Instructor through the Yoga Alliance accreditation program. Working with Dr. Sephton, members of the Biobehavioral Laboratory, and other colleagues, he has authored and co-authored a range of publications in the areas of mindfulness meditation, stress management, performance anxiety, and exercise psychology.

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Wet Lab Coordinator

Robyn K. McLean, M.S., M.T. (A.S.C.P.)

Robyn McLean is a certified Medical Technologist with extensive expertise in immunoassay techniques. She joined the Biobehavioral Research Laboratory in 2000 to manage and coordinate technical wet lab operations. 

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Graduate Students

Cherrie Watters, M.S. 

Cherrie Watters (seated, third from left) is a fourth year doctoral student in the University of Louisville Clinical Psychology program.  She is currently on internship in Gainsville FL with the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System.

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Elizabeth Lush, M.S. 

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
University of Louisville

E-mail: e.lush@louisville.edu

Liz Lush is a doctoral student in the University of Louisville Clinical Psychology program.  She received her B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in natural sciences from the University of Louisville, and her M.S. in Experimental Psychology with a concentration in Biobehavioral Oncology. She assists in research and related projects to help reduce disaster mental health risk among adults and children. Her current research interests include investigating the psychophysiological benefits of mindfulness training (MBSR); psychological and physiological benefits of yoga; biopsychosocial responses to disasters; circadian rhythms and sleep in cancer; and psychological effects on neuroendocrine and systemic and local immune function in cancer. In the future, she plans to integrate her laboratory training and research experience with clinical training to further explore behavior as it relates to physiological parameters such as endocrine and immune function.

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Patrick Rhodes

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
University of Louisville

E-mail: patrick.rhodes@louisville.edu

Patrick Rhodes is a third year doctoral student in the University of Louisville Clinical Psychology program.  He received his B.S. in Psychology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University.  At Virginia Tech he studied behavioral analyses and interventions for medication errors in hospitals, and for high-risk drinking behaviors in college settings.  His current research interests lie in investigating the clinical application of mindfulness, specifically Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and other acceptance-based treatments.  He is interested in investigating the cognitive functions that underlie mindfulness.  He also has a strong interest in stress and its affect on both mental and physical health.

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Meagan Daup 

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
University of Louisville

E-mail: mbmart03@louisville.edu

Meagan Martin received her B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in Natural Sciences at the University of Louisville and is currently a student at U of L in the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program.  She currently is project director for the Biobehavioral Responses in Children After a Natural Disaster study and assists with the MBSR and Parkinson's study, the San Diego Wildfires study, and the Lung Cancer and Coping Study.  Her research interests lie in health psychology specifically oncology.  Meagan would like to work with children in the future.

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Megan Jablonski

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
University of Louisville

E-mail: mejabl01@gwise.louisville.edu

Emily Eismann (second from left) is a first year doctoral student in the University of Louisville Experimental Psychology program.  She received her B.A. in Psychology and A.A. in Biology from Thomas More College.  Her research interests include studying the interactions between stress, sleep, and immunity, specifically in women with breast cancer.  She is also assisting with research projects that are exploring the biopsychosocial health of families who survived the Katrina disaster as well as the effects of mindfulness meditation (MBSR) upon individuals with Parkinson’s Disease.

Scott Hanneman

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
University of Louisville

E-mail: smhann01@gwise.louisville.edu

Scott Hanneman is a first year doctoral student at the University of Louisville. He received a B.A. degree in Psychology from the University of Iowa with distinction in May of 2008. At the University of Iowa Scott actively researched various topics in psychology including: psycho-physiological reactivity, psychopathy, and quality of life. In future research at the U of L, Scott hopes to explore the reciprocal relationship between the mind and the body using psycho-physiological instruments. He is also interested in researching how mindfulness-based exercises may decrease symptom severity in individuals suffering from medical disorders. 

Former Students

E-mail: inka.weissbecker@gmail.com

 
Dr. Weissbecker is a health psychologist specializing in the psychobiological impact of natural and man-made disasters, humanitarian crises and civil unrest.  Her goals are to shed light on interventions at the individual and public policy levels to alleviate the impact of disaster and trauma in the US and abroad. She also works on elucidating the effects of climate change on health, including mental health. Many of her projects revolve around developing mutually beneficial partnerships and projects between United Nations agencies, NGO's and academic institutions that incorporate research and education. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Louisville and she completed her clinical psychology internship at the University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI). Dr. Weissbecker is currently pursuing her MPH at Harvard University, specializing in International Health. Dr. Weissbecker is also an NGO representative of the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS) to the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council and part of the NGO Committee of Mental Health (Stress and Trauma Working Group), which advises the UN regarding mental health issues, research findings and policy decisions.

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Eric Dedert, Ph.D.
Duke University Medical Center
Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center

E-mail: eric.dedert@duke.edu

Dr. Dedert is a postdoctoral fellow at Duke University Medical Center and the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Clinically, he is interested in the promotion of behavioral health in underserved groups and patients with chronic illness, as well as the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). His research interests are in trauma, smoking, cancer, and circadian rhythms. Eric is currently doing research on smoking cessation interventions in
patients with PTSD.

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Andrea Floyd, Ph.D.
Department of Behavioral Science
University of Kentucky College of Medicine

E-mail: andrea.floyd@uky.edu

Dr. Floyd is a graduate of the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Louisville. She completed her clinical psychology internship specializing in Behavioral Medicine at Brown University Medical School. She is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and is participating in a training grant focusing on cancer prevention and control in rural populations. Andrea has a broad interest in the fields of health psychology, psycho-oncology and psychosocial intervention. She is interested in investigating the effects of stress and psychosocial issues on adjustment, neuroendocrine and immune function, as well as disease status and quality of life in chronic disease, particularly cancer.  She also has a strong interest in health disparities, health behavior change as well as individual difference factors which may be protective for adjustment to difficult life situations.