I am a clinical psychologist and researcher. In my patient care, I specialize in treating adolescents and young adults with conditions such as chronic pain and sickle cell disease. I seek to help them with managing their disease, treatment adherence and transitioning to adult healthcare.
I am the co-director of Innovations in Community Research in Cincinnati Children’s Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology. I also direct Cincinnati Children’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training (CCTST) Community Engagement Core where I help the community and researchers work together on health projects.
I was inspired to work with young people after I lost a childhood friend to cancer. I chose to do research because I wanted to help as many children and families as I could. With my research, I strive to learn the best ways for the medical team and patients and families to work together to improve treatment and the family's quality of life.
My areas of research interest include self-management, treatment adherence, healthcare transition, recruitment and retention of minorities in research, integrating design thinking into research, implementation science and community engagement.
I hope to find answers to a number of questions with my research, including:
Engaging patients and communities allows us to develop innovative and feasible solutions to health challenges.
I am proud to be an elected fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and to have received their Division 54 Diversity Award. I’m also a committee member for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s effort titled Addressing Sickle Cell Disease: A Strategic Plan and Blueprint for Action.
PsyD: Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, 1995.
Residency: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH.
Fellowship: Clinical Psychology, INTERACT Behavioral Healthcare Services Inc, Columbus, OH, 1995-1996.
Adolescents and young adults; sickle cell disease; transition to adult care; chronic pain; migraines; diversity and inclusion
Community-engaged research; self-management; quality improvement; sickle cell disease; health disparities; patient centered outcomes; shared decision making; health services research
How to Improve the Sleep of Hospitalized Pediatric Patients: Family and Staff Focus Groups. Transplantation and Cellular Therapy. 2025; 31:586.e1-586.e11.
Usage of a Multipurpose mHealth App Among Adults With Sickle Cell Disease: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Formative Research. 2025; 9:e67906.
Transition to Adult Sickle Cell Disease Care: A Project ECHO Learning Series for Healthcare Professionals. 2025; 2.
Stigma among youth with sickle cell disease in community and medical settings: a scoping review. Journal of Pediatric Psychology. 2025; 50:511-524.
THRIVE 2.0: A randomized-controlled trial of an obesity prevention intervention designed for infants in pediatric primary care. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications. 2025; 45:101488.
Co-designing educational materials about SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccines with individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) and their families. 2025; 2.
Engaging Parents of Children With Sickle Cell Disease in Shared Decision-Making for Hydroxyurea: The ENGAGE-HU Study. Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2025; 72:e31639.
207 The future of community-engaged research: The development of a graduate certificate in community-engaged research for health. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. 2025; 9:64.
Harnessing Mother's Strengths to THRIVE in Obesity Prevention Efforts: A Qualitative Study. Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology. 2025; 13:26-36.
Addressing barriers to sustainable academic-community partnerships through Community Health Grants. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. 2025; 9:e66.
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