BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE PROGRAM FACULTY

James A. Blumenthal, Ph.D.
Andrew Sherwood, Ph.D.
Michael Babyak, Ph.D.
Simon Bacon, Ph.D.
Alisha B. Hart, Ph.D.
Steve Herman, Ph.D.
Joel W. Hughes, Ph.D.
Jennifer Norten, Ph.D.
Priti Parekh, Ph.D.
Lana Watkins, Ph.D.

 

Group Meeting
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Alisha Hart speaking
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James A. BlumenthalJames A. Blumenthal, Ph.D.
Dr. Blumenthal is a Professor of Medical Psychology at Duke University and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center. He is also a Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology: Social and Health Sciences at Duke University. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington and completed a pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at Duke University. Among his honors include his being awarded fellowship status in the American Psychological Association in Divisions 38 (Health), 20 (Aging), and 12 (Clinical) as well as in the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. He is one of the founding fellows of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and is past president of the American Psychosomatic Society and president of Division 38 (Health Psychology) in the American Psychological Association. His research focuses on psychosocial factors and health and behavioral interventions in primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. Dr. Blumenthal is Principal Investigator for the Smart Heart, INSPIRE, and SMILE studies. Email: blume003@mc.duke.edu.

Representative Publications

Blumenthal, J.A., Jiang, W., Waugh, R.A., Frid, D.J., Morris, J.J., Coleman, R.E., Hanson, M., Babyak, M., Thyrum, E.T., Krantz, D.S. & O'Connor, C. Mental stress-induced ischemia in the laboratory and ambulatory ischemia during daily life: association and hemodynamic features. Circulation, 92: 2102-2108, 1995.

Jiang, W., Babyak, M., Krantz, D.S., Waugh, R.A., Coleman, R.E., Hanson, M.M., Frid, D.J., McNulty, S., Morris, J.J., O'Connor, C.M. & Blumenthal, J.A. Mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia and cardiac events. Journal of the American Medical Association, 275: 1651-1656, 1996.

Gullette, E.C.D., Blumenthal, J.A., Babyak, M., Jiang, W., Waugh, R.A., Frid, D.J., O'Connor, C.M., Morris, J.J. & Krantz, D.S. Effects of mental stress on myocardial ischemia during daily life. Journal of the American Medical Association, 277: 1521-1526, 1997.

Blumenthal, J.A., Jiang, W., Babyak, M., Krantz, D., Frid, D., Coleman, R.E., Waugh, R., Hanson, M., Appelbaum, M., O'Connor, C. & Morris, J.J. Stress management and exercise training in cardiac patients with myocardial ischemia: effects on prognosis and evaluation of mechanisms. Archives of Internal Medicine, 157: 2213-2223, 1997.

Blumenthal, J.A., O'Connor, C., Hinderliter, A., Fath, K., Hegde, S.B., Miller, G., Puma, J., Sessions, W., Sheps, D., Zakhary, B., & Williams, R.B. Psychosocial factors and coronary disease. A national multicenter trial (ENRICHD) with a North Carolina focus. North Carolina Medical Journal, 58:6, 440-444, 1997.

Rozanski, A., Blumenthal, J.A., Kaplan, J. Impact of Psychological factors on the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and implications for therapy. Circulation, 99: 2192-2217, 1999.

Blumenthal, J.A., Babyak, M.A., Moore, K.A., Craighead, W.E., Herman, S., Khatri, P., Waugh, R., Napolitano, M., Forman, L.M., Appelbaum, M., Doraiswamy, P.M., & Krishnan, R. Effects of exercise training on older patients with major depression. Archives of Internal Medicine, 159, 19: 2349-2356, 1999.

Blumenthal, J.A., Sherwood, A., Gullette, E.C.D., Babyak, M.A., Waugh, R., Georgiades, A., Craidhead, L.W., Tweedy, D., Feinglos, M., Appelbaum, M., Hayano, J., and Hinderliter, A. Exercise and Weight Loss Reduce Blood Pressure in Men and Women with Mild Hypertension. Archives of Internal Medicine, 160: 1947-1958, 2000.

 

Andrew SherwoodAndrew Sherwood, Ph.D.
Dr. Sherwood was born and educated in England. He received his Ph.D. in psychophysiology from the University of Hull in 1982, working with Dr. Jasper Brener. He moved to the United States in 1982 to receive post-doctoral training in cardiovascular psychophysiology in the laboratory of the late Dr. Paul A. Obrist, at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. Dr. Sherwood joined the Duke University Medical Center faculty in 1993, and he is currently Professor of Medical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He is a fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. Dr. Sherwood's research focuses on the role of bio-behavioral interactions in the pathogenesis, progression and amelioration of cardiovascular disease. He is Principal Investigator for the DISCOVER and ENDEAVOR studies. Email: sherw002@mc.duke.edu.

Representative Publications

Sherwood A, Hinderliter AL: Responsiveness to Alpha- and Beta-adrenergic receptor agonists: Effects of race in borderline hypertensive compared to normotensive men. American Journal of Hypertension 6:630-635, 1993.

Sherwood A, Hinderliter AL, Light KC: Physiological determinants of hyperreactivity to stress in borderline hypertension. Hypertension 25:384-390, 1995.

Sherwood A, May CW, Siegel WC, Blumenthal JA: Ethnic differences in hemodynamic responses to stress in hypertensive men and women. American Journal of Hypertension 8:368-374, 1995.

Sherwood A, Turner JR: Hemodynamic responses during psychological stress: Implications for studying disease processes. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine 2:193-218, 1995.

Sherwood, A., Johnson, K., Blumenthal, J.A. & Hinderliter, A.H. Endothelial function and cardiovascular hemodynamics during stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 61, 365-370, 1999.

Carels, R.A., Blumenthal, J.A., & Sherwood, A. Emotional reactivity during daily life: Relationship to psychosocial functioning and ambulatory blood pressure. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 36, 25-33, 2000.

Sherwood, A., Thurston, R., Steffen, P., Blumenthal, J.A., Waugh, R.A. & Hinderliter, A.L. (2001) Menopause and Ethnicity affect Nighttime Blood Pressure Dipping in Women. American Journal of Hypertension, 14, 749-754.


Michael BabyakMichael Babyak, Ph.D.
Dr. Babyak is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medical Psychology. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1995 from the University of Kansas, where he was a student of the late B. Kent Houston. Prior to pursuing his doctoral degree in psychology, he worked as a registered nurse in both psychiatry and medical intensive care units. Dr. Babyak has been closely involved in research on psychosocial factors in hypertension, myocardial ischemia, depression, and lung transplantation. His primary interest is in the development and application of statistical models in these areas. He has had extensive experience as a statistical consultant in both the academic and commercial sectors. Most recently he has been interested in exploratory and inductive data techniques, such as clustering and graphical analysis. He is a co-investigator for the Smart Heart, INSPIRE, and SMILE studies. Email: babya001@mc.duke.edu.

Representative Publications

Babyak, M.A., Blumenthal, J.A., Herman, S., Khatri, P., Doraiswamy, M., Moore, K., Craighead, W.E., Baldewicz, T.T.,& Krishnan, K.R. Exercise treatment for major depression: maintenance of therapeutic benefit at 10 months. Psychosomatic Medicine, 62: 633-638, 2000.

Blumenthal, J.A., Sherwood, A., Gullette, E.C.D., Babyak, M.A., Waugh, R., Georgiades, A., Craidhead, L.W., Tweedy, D., Feinglos, M., Appelbaum, M., Hayano, J., and Hinderliter, A. Exercise and Weight Loss Reduce Blood Pressure in Men and Women with Mild Hypertension. Archives of Internal Medicine,160: 1947-1958, 2000.

Khatri, P., Babyak, M.A., Croughwell, N., Davis, R., White, W., Newman, M., Reves, J.G., Mark, D.B., and Blumenthal, J.A. Temperature During Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery Affects Quality of Life. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 71: 110-116, 2001.

Blumenthal, J.A., Babyak, M.A., Moore, K.A., Craighead, W.E., Herman, S., Khatri, P., Waugh, R., Napolitano, M., Forman, L.M., Appelbaum, M., Doraiswamy, P.M., & Krishnan, R. Effects of exercise training on older patients with major depression. Archives of Internal Medicine, 159, 19: 2349-2356, 1999.

Carels, R.A., Sherwood, A., Babyak, M., Gullette, E.C.D., Coleman, R.E., Waugh, R., Jiang, W., & Blumenthal, J.A. Emotional responsivity and transient myocardial ischemia. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67,4: 605-610, 1999.

Green, S. B., Robertson, M. & Babyak, M. A. (1998). A Monte Carlo investigation of methods for controlling Type I errors with specification searches in structural equation modeling. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 33, 364-384.

Brummett, B. H., Babyak, M. A., Barefoot, J. C., Bosworth, H. B., Clapp-Channing, N. E., Siegler, I. C., Williams, R. B., Mark, D. B. (1998). Social support and hostility as predictors of depressive symptoms in cardiac patient one month following hospitalization: A prospective study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 60, 707-713.

Blumenthal, J. A., Jiang, W., Babyak, M. A., Krantz, D. S., Waugh, R. A., Coleman, E., Hanson, M. M., Frid, D. J., McNulty, S., Morris, J. J., & O'Connor, C. M. (1997). Stress management and exercise treatment in cardiac patients with myocardial ischemia: Effects on prognosis and mechanisms. Archives of Internal Medicine, 157, 2213-2223.

Gullette, E. C. D., Blumenthal, J. A., Babyak, M. A., Jiang, W., Waugh, R. A., Frid, D. J., O'Connor, C. M., Morris, J. J., & Krantz, D. S. (1997). Effects of mental stress on myocardial ischemia during daily life. JAMA, 277, 1521-1526.

Green, S. B. & Babyak, M. A. (1997). Control of type I error in structural equation models. Journal of Multivariate Behavioral Research, 32, 39-51.

Houston, B. K., Babyak, M. A., Chesney, M., Black, G., & Ragland, D. (1997). Behavioral clusters and all-cause mortality in the Western Collaborative Group Study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 59, 5-12.

Jiang, W., Babyak, M. A., Krantz, D. S., Waugh, R. A., Coleman, E., Hanson, M. M., Frid, D. J., McNulty, S., Morris, J. J., O'Connor, C. M., & Blumenthal, J. A. (1996). Mental stress-induced transient myocardial ischemia predicts clinical events in patients with coronary heart disease. JAMA, 275, 1651-1656.


Simon BaconSimon Bacon, Ph.D.
Dr. Bacon was born and educated in England. He received his Ph.D. in Sport and Exercise Sciences from the University of Birmingham in 2001, working with Professor Doug Carroll and Dr. Chris Ring. He has recently moved to the United State and is a Research Associate of Medical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at DUMC. Dr. Bacon is a member of the American Psychosomatic Society, the Society for Psychophysiological Research, and of Behavioral Medicine and the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. Dr Bacon's research interests focus on the role of stress-induced hemodynamic, hemostatic, and endothelial perturbations in the development of cardiovascular disease. He is currently the study coordinator of the SMART HEART study. Email: bacon006@mc.duke.edu.

Representative Publications

Bacon, S.L., Ring, C., Willemsen, G., Patterson, S.M., Carroll, D. (2001) Effects of cold, mental, and exercise stress on hemoconcentration: inter-task consistency. Psychophysiology, (in press).

Bacon, S.L., Ring, C., Carroll, D., Li Saw Hee, F., Patterson, S.M., Blann, A., Lip, G. (2001) Hemostatic and hemodynamic reactions to stress as triggers for cardiac events. Psychosomatic Medicine, 63: 174.

Bacon, S.L., Ring, C., Carroll, D., Li Saw Hee, F., Patterson, S.M., Lip, G. (2001) Psychological distress and anger in patients with differing degrees of coronary artery disease (CAD). Psychosomatic Medicine, 63: 174.

Bacon, S.L., Ring, C., Willemsen, G., Patterson, S.M., Carroll, D. (2001) Effects of Cold, Mental and Exercise Stress on Hemoconcentration: 4-Week Test-Retest Reliability. Psychosomatic Medicine, 63: 173.

Bacon, S.L., Ring, C., Carroll, D., Li Saw Hee, F.L., Blann, A.D., Beevers, D.G., and Lip, G.Y.H. (2000) Hemodynamic and hemostatic reactions to mental and physical stress. Journal of Psychophysiology, 14 (Suppl.): S34.


Alisha B. Hart Alisha B. Hart, Ph.D.
Dr. Hart, Ph.D. is a Clinical Associate in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and completed her pre-doctoral internship training at the University of Washington Medical Center. Her primary research interests include the prevention and treatment of major depression. She currently is the coordinator for the SMILE study. She also provides clinical services to the DUMC cardiac transplantation program. Email: hart0020@mc.duke.edu.

Representative Publications

Hart, A. B., Craighead, W. E., & Craighead, L. W. (2001). Predicting Recurrence of Major Depressive Disorder in Young Adults: A Prospective Study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110, 633-643.

Brosse (Hart), A. L., Craighead L. W., & Craighead, W. E. (1999). Testing the mood-state hypothesis among previously depressed and never depressed individuals. Behavior Therapy, 30, 97-115.

Steve HermanSteve Herman, Ph.D.
Dr. Herman is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Herman divides his time among several clinical and research activities. Since 1984 he has served as Director of the Smokers' Consultation Service, an innovative program providing bedside nicotine dependence counseling to hospital inpatients and outpatients with smoking-related diseases. He also directs psychological services and coordinates clinical trials and behavioral research for the Male Sexual Health Clinic in the Division of Urology. For the past several years Dr. Herman been a co-investigator with Dr. James Blumenthal on several NIH-funded clinical studies, including the SMILE study. Dr. Herman also maintains an active clinical practice, providing individual and couples therapy to patients with a variety of medical and psychological problems, and he serves as supervisor and consultant to junior faculty, post doctoral fellows, interns, and residents in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Email: herma007@mc.duke.edu

 

Joel W. HughesJoel W. Hughes, Ph.D.
Dr. Hughes is a postdoctoral fellow in Behavioral Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He received his doctorate in clinical psychology from The Ohio State University in 2001, after completing his predoctoral internship at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Hughes' post-doctoral training is in cardiovascular psychophysiology under the mentorship of Dr. Andrew Sherwood. Specifically, he is focusing on various psychosocial factors and physiological mechanisms in hypertension, coronary artery disease, and congestive heart failure. In addition, he serves as a therapist for the INSPIRE study. Email: hughe036@mc.duke.edu.

Representative Publications

Stoney, C. M., Hughes, J. W., Kuntz, K. K., West, S., & Thornton, L. M., (In press). Cardiovascular stress responses in Asian Indian and European American Women and Men. Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

Stoney, C. M. & Hughes, J. W. (2001). Catecholamine stress responses in arterialized blood. Psychophysiology, 38, 590-593.

West, S. G., Stoney, C. M., Hughes, J. W., Matacin, M., & Emmons, K. M. (2001). Oral contraceptive use is associated with increased cardiovascular reactivity in nonsmokers. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 23, 149-157.

Hughes, J. W. & Stoney, C. M. (2000). Depressed mood is related to high frequency heart rate variability during stressors. Psychosomatic Medicine, 62, 796-803.

Stoney, C. M., & Hughes, J. W. (1999). Lipid reactivity among men with a parental history of myocardial infarction. Psychophysiology, 36, 484-490.

 


Jennifer NortenJennifer Norten, Ph.D.
Dr. Norten is a Clinical Associate in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in 1996. She completed her internship in general medical psychology at Duke. Her areas of clinical interest include psychosocial adjustment in cardiac and pulmonary patients, women's mental health issues, infertility, couple's therapy, and treatment of sexual dysfunction. Dr. Norten provides direct service and supervision for the heart, lung, liver, and kidney transplant programs at DUMC. She is also a therapist for the INSPIRE study and she provides clinical services for patients from the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Clinic. Email: jnorten@acpub.duke.edu.

 

 


Priti ParekhPriti Parekh, Ph.D.
Dr. Parekh is the Study Coordinator for the INSPIRE study. She earned her Master's and Doctorate degrees in Clinical Psychology from Duke University and completed her internship training at the Durham VA Medical Center. Dr. Parekh's research interests include the role of psychological and behavioral factors in medical illnesses, with a recent emphasis on diabetes.. Email: parek002@mc.duke.edu.

Representative Publications

Lane, J.D., McCaskill, C.M., Williams, P.G., Parekh, P.I., Feinglos, M.N. & Surwit, R.S. (2000) Personality correlates of glycemic control in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care, 23, 1321-1325.

Parekh, P.I., Petro, A.E., Tiller, J.M., Feinglos, M.N., & Surwit, R.S. (1998) Reversal of diet-induced obesity and diabetes in C57BL/6J mice. Metabolism: Clinical & Experimental, 47, 1089-1096.

 


Lana WatkinsLana Watkins, Ph.D.
Dr. Watkins is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center. She received her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of North Carolina and completed post-doctoral fellowships at the University of California at San Diego, at the Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation in Boston, Massachusetts, and at Duke University's Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. Her research focuses on the interrelationship between behavior (diet, exercise, and stress), autonomic cardiovascular control and cardiac risk, with an emphasis on the impact of affective disorders on behavior, autonomic control and cardiac mortality. Email: watki017@mc.duke.edu.

Representative Publications

Watkins Lana L., James A. Blumenthal, and Robert M. Carney. Effects of anxiety and depression on vagal cardiac control following acute myocardial infarction. American Heart Journal, in press.

Watkins Lana L., Kathryn M. Connor, Jonathan R.T. Davidson. Effect of Kava extract on vagal cardiac control in generalized anxiety disorder: preliminary findings. Journal of Psychopharmacology, in press.

Carney Robert M., James A. Blumenthal, Phyllis K. Stein, Lana L. Watkins, Diane Catellier, Lisa F. Berkman, Susan M. Czajkowski, Christopher O'Connor, Peter H. Stone, and Kenneth E. Freedland. Depression, heart rate variability, and acute myocardial infarction. Circulation, in press.

Watkins Lana L., Richard S. Surwit, Paul Grossman, and Andrew Sherwood. Is there a glycemic threshold for impaired autonomic control? Diabetes Care, 23:826-830, 2000.

Watkins Lana L. and James A. Blumenthal. Worried to Death? [letter] Circulation, 100:1251-1252, 1999.

Watkins Lana L., Paul Grossman, Ranga Krishnan and James A. Blumenthal. Anxiety reduces vagal cardiac control in older adults with major depression. Psychosomatic Medicine, 61:334-340, 1999.

Watkins Lana L. and Paul Grossman. Association of depressive symptoms with reduced baroreflex cardiac control in coronary artery disease. American Heart Journal, 137:453-457, 1999.

Watkins Lana L., Paul Grossman, Ranga Krishnan and Andrew Sherwood. Anxiety and vagal control of heart rate. Psychosomatic Medicine, 60:498-502, 1998.

Watkins Lana L., Paul Grossman and Andrew Sherwood. Noninvasive assessment of baroreflex control in borderline hypertension. Hypertension 28:238-243, 1996.