Research
My research is in cardiac psychology, a growing subspecialty of health psychology and behavioral medicine.* My current research focuses on the impact of negative emotions (depression, anxiety, anger) on the development of coronary heart disease. I am interested in the possibility that high levels of these emotions promote the development of coronary heart disease. I am also involved in research quantifying the minimal and optimal levels of physical exercise needed to improve cardiovascular health.
I am currently conducting research at Flagstaff Medical Center with patients in the cardiac rehabilitation program. In addition, I am conducting collaborative research with Jennifer Blevins, Ph.D., director of the Clinical Exercise and Research Facility on campus at NAU.
I am currently supervising graduate students conducting thesis research in our Applied Health Psychology program, as well as supervising undergraduate research assistants.
To learn more about how research is done in psychology and to prepare for graduate school, undergraduate students at NAU can sign up for 1-3 units per semester of independent research (PSY 485; each unit equals about 3 hours a week) for a total of 6 units over two or more semesters. If you are interested in taking part in undergraduate research, please contact me for more information.
*The cover story of the January, 2001 APA Monitor (Clay, 2001) contains an
excellent overview of cardiac psychology.
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