Lab Director
Dr. Jennifer Ford (Ph.D., Kent State University, clinical psychology) is a Professor in the Psychology Department at Hunter College, The City University of New York, and director of the Hunter Psycho-Oncology Lab. She is also on the doctoral faculty and the Deputy Director of Clinical Training for the Health Psychology and Clinical Science program at the Graduate Center, The City University of New York. She trained in clinical health psychology, with a focus on child development, and her primary research efforts have focused on the psychosocial and behavioral aspects of pediatric, adolescent and young adult cancer survivorship. She translates her research into the development and study of distance delivered clinical interventions for cancer survivors. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in New York State. Dr. Ford spent the first 17 years of her professional career working in academic medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, before joining Hunter College and The Graduate Center in 2018. She is also currently an Associate Editor for the Annals of Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Ford urges those from underserved and underrepresented minority backgrounds to apply to work in her lab, where she strives to offer the support, mentorship, experience, and inspiration students need to succeed in science or any other field of their choosing.
**Dr. Ford will NOT be taking graduate applicants in her lab for Fall 2023, thank you so much for your interest in our work.**
Hunter College, Department of Psychology
Health Psychology and Clinical Science Doctoral Program
Doctoral Student
Megan Wirtz graduated from the University of Richmond in 2019 with a BA in Psychology and Theatre and a minor in Latin American, Latino, and Iberian Studies. She joins the Hunter Psycho-Oncology Lab and the Health Psychology and Clinical Science program at the Graduate Center, CUNY, after working as a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Behavioral Medicine Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she coordinated several intervention trials focusing on smoking cessation and medication adherence among people living with HIV. Her primary research interests include sexual wellbeing, identity development, and post-traumatic stress of adolescents and young adults living with chronic illness.
Doctoral Student
Carly D. Miron is pursuing her Ph.D. under the mentorship of Dr. Ford in the Health Psychology and Clinical Science Program at the Graduate Center, CUNY. In 2019, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Consumer Psychology. She spent the following three years as the Program Coordinator for the Anxiety, Stress, & Prolonged Grief Program at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, contributing to research on the psychosocial and contextual factors that influence wellbeing among breast cancer survivors and individuals at high risk for developing pancreatic cancer. In her doctoral research, she is primarily interested in the role of social support in promoting adaptive outcomes to health-related adversity.
Laboratory Manager
Alyssa joined the Psycho-Oncology Lab in 2021 and graduated from CUNY Hunter College in 2022 with a Bachelor of the Art’s degree in Psychology with a focus in Clinical Psychology and a minor in Sociology. She is interested in sexual/gender minority adolescents suffering from mood disorders. Alyssa plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Research Assistant
Diana graduated from Hunter College in 2022 with a BA in psychology with a clinical concentration. She is interested in clinical and health psychology. Her research interests include health behaviors and coping strategies among individuals with chronic illness. Diana plans to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical or health psychology.
Research Assistant
Imani graduated from Hunter College in the Spring of 2022, obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree with a major in Psychology. She is interested in the field of health psychology and is currently working in the research lab. She will be applying to a PhD program in health psychology in the future. Her current research interests include anxiety, depression, and cardiovascular health.
Post-Master's Research Assistant
Dimitra Tzanis graduated from Mercy College with a Master’s Degree in Psychology in 2020. Currently, she is completing a Certificate of Advanced Study in Mental Health Counseling at Alfred University to become a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). Dimitra’s research interests include a mix of clinical, health, behavioral, and cognitive psychology. Furthermore, understanding an individual’s mentalization, thought process, personality, and responses to stress and past trauma. Her clinical experience involves working full time as a Research Supervisor on an NIH study at New York University (NYU), as well as a Psychotherapist at Sunrise Counseling Center, in addition to a behavioral therapist for children at the Center of Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) and a medical scribe at White Plains Hospital – Cancer Center. Dimitra’s future goal is to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical or Counseling Psychology.
Graduate Student Research Assistant
Tal Eliyahu is pursuing a Master’s degree in Psychology at Hunter College. She graduated from Hunter College in 2022 with a major in Psychology with a concentration in clinical psychology. In her undergrad, she was a research assistant at a lab that examines a variety of anxiety and related disorders. Currently, she interns at the psychiatric department of Maimonides Medical Center. She is interested in health psychology and the relationship between physical health and mental well-being. Tal plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical psychology.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Ariel is a senior undergraduate student at Hunter College studying Psychology with a minor in Women and Gender Studies, set to graduate in Spring of 2023. She has a wide array of interests in psychology, but is especially fascinated by health, social, developmental and clinical psychology. Ariel wants to expand the current scientific knowledge on of gender, sex and sexuality by investigating these concepts through a developmental and health psychology lens. One of Ariel’s favorite mantras is a quote by Marie Curie, “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” Upon graduating from Hunter College, she hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Chloe is a junior undergraduate student at Hunter College in the Macaulay Honors Program studying Psychology and on track to graduate in Spring of 2024. While she is interested in studying mental health and stigma in Asian Americans, she hopes to explore various topics including health, developmental, and clinical psychology. In the future, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Kate Scotchie is an undergraduate psychology major at Hunter College in the Roosevelt Scholars Program with a minor in Women and Gender Studies. She is open to studying a variety of topics in the social, clinical, health, and community psychology fields. Specifically, her current interests include using research to strengthen and develop interventions aimed at improving psychological functioning for individuals facing adversity, the effects of gender-based violence, and aspects of social support and community building. Kate is hoping to further her education by pursuing a Ph.D. in Social or Clinical Psychology.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Jason is a sophomore undergraduate student at Hunter College, studying Psychology, and is set to graduate in 2024. He has a particular interest in research related to diseases/disorders and studying them from both a neurobiological and health psychology perspective. He hopes to find his concentration on a specific disease to focus his research on. In the future he hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Psychology.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Ashley is a sophomore undergraduate student at Hunter College studying Psychology and is on track to graduate in the Spring of 2025. Ashley is fascinated by numerous branches of psychology and is open to learning and trying new things to find her niche. However, her main focus is mental health, clinical, abnormal, and developmental psychology. She hopes to work with children who suffer from mental illness and to further educate people on how mental health matters, starting with young adolescents. Since she was child has has hoped to spread awareness and increase resources for those in need. Once she graduates from Hunter, she plans to pursue her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Olivia Whalen-Kipp is an undergraduate psychology major at Hunter College and plans to graduate in the Spring of 2024. Her primary interest in the field of psychology is in human sexuality and sexuality inclusive education. She is passionate about expanding the scientific knowledge on LGBTQ+ sexualities as well as alternatives to traditional relationship styles such as consensual non-monogamy and polyamory. She hopes to continue her studies in clinical and health psychology and eventually practice as a sex and relationship therapist. Olivia is also interested in pursuing a Ph.D. to help further advancements in sexuality education and treatment.
Assistant Professor – Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Member – Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ)
Whether you are interested in the lab as a volunteer, an honors student, or a prospective graduate student, we are pleased that you have chosen the Psycho-Oncology lab for your experience.
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