Graduate Student Research Awards

The SfHP Health Research Council sponsors six graduate student awards each year. Each award is for $2,000. Proposals will be reviewed on an annual basis and must be received by January 15, with notification of award made late March.
*Scroll to links below “General Application Instructions”  for detailed information specific to applying to each award.
For further information, please email apadiv38.studentawards@gmail.com.

General Application Instructions:

For an application to be considered, all of the following steps must be completed.

  1. Complete and submit the following online form as part of the submission process: https://goo.gl/forms/a0J6HYuLGn3REP8x1.
    Note. The data from this online form only will be used for information purposes. Demographic information and which category of award is being applied for will not be shared with reviewers.
  2. Create a complete award packet (described below) and upload it to Dropbox by January 15th using the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/request/KZkRpL0XhkfpAL8jown8
    Please combine your award packet into a single PDF format document for ease of distribution to reviewers.
    The file should be named as: Familyname_Givenname_year.pdf
    For example if Jordan Smith was submitting an application in 2019 the correct filename is: Smith_Jordan_2019.pdf.
  3. A complete award packet MUST include:
    • A cover letter that indicates you are a member of the Society for Health Psychology and how the research addresses a topic area within health psychology.
    • A proposal title/cover page, that includes the project title, your name, title, affiliation, and contact information (email address, postal address, and phone), and the faculty sponsor’s name, title, affiliation, and email address.
    • A detailed budget covering the entire proposed project.
      The award funds are meant to support the research being proposed and therefore may not be used for travel expenses to conferences. Specifically indicate how the funds from the Graduate Student Research Award will be used. Please describe other sources of funding for the proposed project, if any. Information on additional funding, if any, is helpful in evaluating not only the need for funding, but also the feasibility of carrying out the project with the available monies from this award. Projects that can feasibly be accomplished within the support from this award alone are welcome.
      Example budget:

Participant Payments

($20 x 50 participants)

$1,000

Equipment

(5 actigraphs, $200 each)

$1,000

Software

(SPSS student license)

$250

Supplies

(Printing copies of questionnaires)

$100
TOTAL$2,350

The $2,000 from this award will be used for the participant payments and the purchase of the actigraphs. The applicant’s mentor will be purchasing SPSS for the student from within the mentor’s funding ($250). The applicant will be paying out of pocket for the copying of questionnaires ($100).

  • The proposal, as described above.
  • Biographical sketch for the student (follow the NIH biosketch guidelines for the pre-doctoral fellowship format).
  • A letter of recommendation from the faculty sponsor. The letter should verify that the proposed research is the student’s project and that the student will function as the principal investigator.
    *Note this is the only part of the award packet that may be submitted separately. If desired, faculty mentors may submit their recommendation letters directly by uploading their recommendation to: https://www.dropbox.com/request/KZkRpL0XhkfpAL8jown8 or emailing their letter of recommendation to apadiv38.studentawards@gmail.com

Please ensure that you have completed all these steps and that every part of the award packet is included. Applications that do not meet criteria will not be considered.

Review of Applications

Proposals go through scientific peer review by members of the SfHP Health Research Council and additional invited reviewers as required. All proposals are scored by at least two independent reviewers. These scores are used to rank applications.

The top four ranked applications are awarded under the Research in General Health Psychology Award category. From the remaining applications, the top ranked applications eligible for the Health Disparities Research Award and the Research Award to Promote Inclusion will be awarded.

All applicants will receive comments regarding their proposal and the outcome of the review process. 

Research Report

Each student receiving an award will be required to submit a report to the Health Research Council by September 1 of the year following the award. The report should be limited to 2 single-spaced pages and should include a description of the results and a plan for presenting or publishing the results. In addition, we would appreciate the opportunity to post any final presentations, abstracts, or papers on the SfHP web site.

Research in General Health Psychology (4 Awards)

The awards may cover research on any topic in health psychology, including, but not limited to the following topic areas: Etiology, promotion and maintenance of health; Prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of physical illness; Psychological, social, emotional and behavioral factors in physical illness; Child health psychology; and Health care systems and health policy.

Research Award to Promote Inclusion (1 Award)

The SfHP recognizes the need to increase the number of scientists from underrepresented groups participating in research relevant to health psychology. The purpose of this program is to provide a graduate student from an underrepresented group with funding to allow them to successfully complete a health psychology relevant research project.

Research Addressing Health Disparities (1 Award)

Health disparities are defined as “differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific population group” (National Institutes of Health). In particular, the award for health disparities research is intended to support research focusing on various health conditions that are more prevalent, serious, or specific to disadvantaged and medically underserved groups, or on healthcare inequities relevant to these groups, specifically, ethnic minorities and socio-economically disadvantaged individuals in rural and urban areas.

Travel Awards for Outstanding SfHP Poster Presentations

Each year, the SfHP Health Research Council reviews graduate student posters submitted to SfHP (Div. 38) for presentation at the annual APA Convention. Travel awards are given to students whose research represents a significant contribution to the field of health psychology. For further information, please email apadiv38.studentawards@gmail.com.

Previous Winners

2022 Graduate Student Research Awards (General):

  • Richelle L. Clifton, MS, Indiana University – Indianapolis, for “Daily experiences of Microaggressions and Health Outcomes among Black Adolescents:  A Daily Diary Study”
  • Aaliyah Gray, MA, Fordham University, for “Determinants of HPV Vaccination Intentions among Black Mothers with Young Daughters”
  • Kara Manning, MA, LPA, University of Houston, for “Fatigue and Smoking Relapse”
  • Asal Yunusoa, BA, Carnegie Mellon University, for “An Attachment Security Writing Intervention for Adolescents with Irritable Bowel Syndrome”

2022 Health Disparities Award:

  • Parisa R. Kaliush, MS, University of Utah, for “Using Innovative Methods to Advance Perinatal Health Research and Prevent Maternal Self-Harm-Related Deaths”

2022 Graduate Student Award to Promote Inclusion: 

  • Noelle Mastrili, MS, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, for “A Mixed-Methods Investigation of Team Safety among Sexual and Gender Minority College Athletes”

2021 Graduate Student Research Awards (General):

  • Brittany Pierce- Using the Racial Context of Origin Lens: Missing Link to Understanding Health Disparities
  • Colby Kipp- A Parent-Focused, Stress Reduction Intervention to Decrease Adolescent BMI, Reduce Parent Stress, and Increase Well-Being among African American Families
  • Jennifer Shipley- Simultaneous Alcohol and Cannabis Use in College Students: Examining Consequences, Cognitive Factors, Context, Route of Administration, and Racial Disparities via Daily Diary
  • Nicole Arrato- Stress and Immunity in Lung Cancer Patients: Pilot Test of A Biobehavioral/Cognitive (ABC) Treatment for Stress, Depression, and Anxiety

2021 Graduate Student Award for Research Addressing Health Disparities:

  • Alena Borgatti- The Freshman Life and Student Health (FLASH) Study: Using Social Network Analysis to Understand how Obesity and Stigma Impact Emerging Adult Health

2021 Graduate Student Award to Promote Inclusion: 

  • Morgan Reid- Recovery Sleepers: A Randomized Trial of a Sleep Health Intervention for College Students in Recovery

2020 Graduate Student Research Awards (General):

  • Alessandra Caruso (Clark University) for Antecedents and Correlates of Health Mindsets in Pediatric Chronic Pain
  • Alison Patev (Virginia Commonwealth University) for The Impact of Medical Students’ Racial, HIV-Related, and Abortion-Related Biases on the Likelihood of Recommending Standard Prenatal Care
  • Charlotte Roddick (University of British Columbia) for Lonely hearts: Effects of chronic and state loneliness on heart rate variability
  • Marlise Hofer (University of British Columbia) for The Impact of a Mother’s Scent on Her Child’s Sleep

2020 Award to Promote Inclusion:

  • Roberto Renteria (Arizona State University) for Intersectional Stigma and Health Outcomes among Latinx Sexual Minorities: Applying Minority Stress Frameworks

2020 Health Disparities Award:

  • Jessy Guler (University of Kansas) for Physical Health of Refugee Parent-Child Dyads Exposed to Trauma

2019 Graduate Student Research Awards (General):

  • Andrew Manigault (Ohio University) for A Test of the Effects of Mindful Awareness and Acceptance on Cardiovascular Responses to Acute Stress
  • Tiffany Kichline (University of Kansas) for The feasibility and acceptability of a mHealth intervention to increase physical activity in children with chronic abdominal pain
  • Erin Standen (University of Minnesota) for Optimizing Features of Calorie-Tracking Applications: Implications for Behavioral and Psychological Health
  • Matthew Conor Sullivan (University of Connecticut) for Stigma and coping in people with high-risk drug use: Patient and prescriber facilitators and barriers to antiretroviral PrEP adherence

2019 Award to Promote Inclusion:

  • Jessica Perrotte (The University of Texas at San Antonio) for The temporal relations between general enculturation, traditional gender roles, and alcohol use among Latina/o college students

2019 Health Disparities Award:

  • Elizabeth Waldron (Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine) for Trauma, Avoidance, and Adverse Birth Outcomes among Racial/Ethnic Minority Women Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

2018 Graduate Student Research Awards (General):

  • Jenesse Kaitz (Suffolk University) for Providers’ Perspectives on Women’s Integrated Healthcare: An Exploratory Study
  • Kimberly Lockwood (University of Pittsburgh) for Daily Assessments of Perceived Discrimination and Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease Risk:  Is Inflammation a Biological Pathway?
  • Margarita Sala (Southern Methodist University) for Mindful Exercise: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Jennifer Warnick (University of Florida) for An Experimental Manipulation Evaluating the Impact of Distress on Parental-Feeding Practices

2018 Health Disparities Award:

  • Angela Gutierrez (San Diego State University/University of California San Diego) for Trauma, Psychological Distress, and Pre-Clinical Markers of Cardiometabolic Disease Among US Latinos

2017 Graduate Student Research Awards (General):

  • Chloe Boyle, MS, (University of California, Los Angeles), for Stress, Inflammation and Reward Processing: Implications for Major Depressive Disorder
  • Casey Gardiner, MA, (University of Colorado, Boulder), for Mechanisms of Dietary Behavior Change: Incentives, Motivation, and Weight Status
  • Kristie Harris MS, (Ohio State University), for Insomnia, Cognitive Impairment, and Decision-Making Among Patients with Heart Failure: A Randomized Study of Brief Behavioral Treatment for Insomnia
  • Amy Noser, MS, (University of Kansas), for Physical Activity and Glycemic Variability in Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes
  • Sarah Stromberg, MS, (University of Florida), for The Impact of Pre-Surgical Dietary and Psychosocial Factors on Post-Surgical Diet in a Population of Bariatric Surgery Patients

2016 Graduate Student Research Awards (General):

  • Michael Bernstein, MA, (University of Rhode Island), for  A Text Message Intervention for Reducing 21st Birthday Alcohol Involvement
  • Lacey Clement, MA,  (University of Colorado, Denver), for Death Anxiety and Meaning in Life as Predictors of Medical Decision Making in Patients with Heart Failure
  • Helen Murray, (Drexel University), for Neurocognitive Mechanisms of Decision-Making and Reward Sensitivity: Impact on Dietary Consumption and Weight
  • Courtney Stevens, MA, (University of Colorado, Boulder), for Get ACTive! A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effectiveness of an Acceptance-Based Behavioral Intervention to Promote Exercise Adoption and Maintenance
  • Ashley Whillans, MA, (University of British Columbia), for From Misperception to Social Connection: Fostering Friendships and Health among First Year University Students

2016 Travel Awards for Outstanding SfHP Poster Presentations:

  • Shuchang Kang, (University of Florida), for A Culturally Sensitive Church-Based Health Promotion Intervention for African Americans
  • Melissa A. Kwitowski, (Virginia Commonwealth University), for Stakeholders’ Perspectives on School Food Policies in a Title-I Elementary School
  • Anna G. Larson, (University of Wisconsin, Madison), for Mindfulness Facilitates Psychological and Physical Functioning After Stem Cell Transplantation
  • Tyler C. McDaniel, (University of South Carolina), for Gene-Environment Interaction Predicts BMI in Underserved African American Adults
  • Kyle A. Schofield, (Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH), for Emotional Adjustment to Congenital Heart Disease: The Role of Perceived Health Competence
  • Jaime L. Williams, (University of Florida), for Impact of a Health-Promotion Program on Employees’ Motivators of and Barriers to Healthy Behaviors

2015 Graduate Student Research Awards (General): 

  • Laura A. Cousins, MA, Georgia State University
  • Nicole A. Hollingshead, MS, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis
  • KayLoni L. Olson, MA, Ohio State University
  • Megan E. Sutter, MS, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Jennalee S. Wooldridge, MA, University of Colorado, Denver

2015 Travel Awards for Outstanding Division 38 Student Posters:

  • Matthew Clyde, MS, for Smoking Cessation Self-Efficacy and Symptoms of Withdrawal in Individuals
  • Krystal S. Frieson, EdS, for MACARTI: Psychological Predictors of HIV Medical Adherence and Viral Load Suppression
  • Liz Midence, MS, for Psychosocial Outcomes among Women referred to different Cardiac Rehabilitation Program Models
  • Chung Jung Mun, MA, for Influence of Adolescent Weight Concern Trajectories on Symptoms of Eating Disorders and Weight Gain
  • Guillermo M Wippold, MS, for Health Self-Empowerment Theory: A Predictor of Health Behaviors among Overweight Hispanic Adults

2015 Early Career Professionals Awards for Outstanding Division 38 Presentations:

  • Gregory Privitera, PhD, for Emolabeling Increases Healthy Food Choice With Grade School Children in a Grocery Aisle Setting
  • Ryan A. McKelley, PhD, for Placebo Study on the Efficacy of Heart-Rate Variability (HRV) Biofeedback on Acute Stress

2014 Graduate Student Research Awards (General):

  • Jiabin Shen (University of Alabama in Birmingham), for A Randomized Trial Evaluating Child Dog-Bite Prevention in Rural China through Video-Based Testimonials
  • Kimberly Bowen (University of Utah), for Testing a Mediational Model of Culture, Social Support, and Health
  • Michelle Zaso (Syracuse University), for Interaction Effects between the DRD4 VNTR and Heavy-Drinking Peers on Alcohol Consumption
  • Jennifer Pellowski (University of Connecticut), for Patient Self-Advocacy and Low Health Literacy among People Living with HIV
  • Jessica Chiang (University of California, Los Angeles), for Early Family Stress and Inflammation: Underlying Biological and Psychosocial Mechanism

2013 Graduate Student Research Awards (General):

  • Amitha Gumidyala (Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science), for Understanding Factors that Influence Transition Readiness of Youth with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Socioecological Approach
  • Caitlin Murray (Loyola University Chicago), for Sleep-wake Disturbances and Psychological Health in Youth with Spina Bifida
  • Lauren Greenberg (Drexel University), for A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing the Efficacy of Problem Solving Therapy to Enhanced Treatment-as-Usual for Reducing High Blood Pressure
  • Jennifer Boylan (The University of Wisconsin Madison), for Psychosocial Moderators and Neurobiological Mediators of Inequalities in Health
  • Anjali Rameshbabu (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), for Self-regulation of Saturated Fat Intake in Blue-collar Employees: The Saturated Fats Study

2012 Graduate Student Research Awards (General): 

  • Laramie Gress-Smith (University of Connecticut), for A Theory-Based Approach to Strengthening Retention in HIV Care in the Inner City
  • Sandra Coulon (University of South Carolina), for Social-Environmental, Physiologic, and Genetic Determinants of Blood Pressure in Underserved African Americans
  • Erin Rabideau (Ohio University), for Direct and Indirect Effects of Performance-Related Feedback on Cortisol Levels
  • Emily Zale (Texas A&M University), for The Effects of Smoking Abstinence on Pain Reactivity: A Human Experimental Study
  • Akhila Sravish (University of Massachusetts), for Cardiac and Affective Activation: Exploring Bio-Behavioral Stress Markers in Infant-Mother Dyads following a Social Stressor

2011 Graduate Student Research Awards (General):

  • Jenny Cundiff (University of Utah), for Relative Social Status, Interpersonal Dominance, and Cardiovascular Reactivity
  • Jenna Gress-Smith (Arizona State University), for Resilient Profiles and Postpartum Depression in Low-Income Mexican American Women
  • Liisa Hantsoo (The Ohio State University), for Genetic Variants and Dietary Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Intake: Associations with Negative Affect
  • Suman Lam (University of California, Irvine), for Chronic Stress and Emotion Regulation: Effects on the Cortisol Awakening Response
  • Sara Mijares St. George (University of South Carolina), for Examining Parent-Adolescent Health Behaviors in a Family-based Intervention for Improving Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Diet

2010 Graduate Student Research Awards (General):

  • Shiquina L. Andrews (University of Alabama at Birmingham), for The Effects of Spiritually Integrated Therapy on Psychological Distress in Infertile Women
  • Matthew R. Cribbet (University of Utah), for An Examination of Marital Quality and Insomnia: A Daily Diary and Ambulatory Physiology Monitoring Approach
  • Jessie D. Heath (Syracuse University),  for Health Disparities Examining the Impact of Provider Stigmatization on the Care of HIV+ Patients: Effects to Engagement in Care, Comfort, and Perceptions of Healthcare Providers
  • Meghan E. McGrady (University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center), for Illness Representations and Glycemic Control in Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes
  • Shu-wen Wang (University of California, Los Angeles), for Stress Responses to Social Support in Asian American and European American Students: Implications for Health and Wellbeing

2009 Graduate Student Research Awards (General):

  • Andrea R. Croom (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center), for Grandparent Involvement in Families of Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes
  • Ann Marie Hernandez (Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis), for Illness Representations of Breast Cancer among Hispanics
  • Sarah Linke (SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology), for Walk Away from the Habit: Overcoming Nicotine Dependence through Exercise
  • Natalie Stevens (University of Kansas), for Measuring Perceived Control and Satisfaction with the Childbirth Experience
  • Victoria Willard (Duke University), for Deficits in Social Functioning in Survivors of Pediatric Brain Tumors