People
ABOUT DR. HUGHES:
I grew up in Portland, Oregon, but left for college at Biola University in southern California. After college, I worked a couple years and then got an MA in Clinical Psychology at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. I then attended The Ohio State University where I received my Ph.D. in 2001. My internship was at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, after which I completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center. I started at KSU in 2003. I teach sometimes, am a licensed psychologist in the state of Ohio, and I supervise clinical psychology graduate students in the Psychology Clinic. I have been the Graduate Admissions Coordinator, the Director of the Applied Psychology Center in the Department of Psychological Sciences, the Scientific Director of the Center for Cardiopulmonary Research at Summa Health System, the Undergraduate Curriculum Coordinator for the Department. I am now the Director of Clinical Training (starting August 2018). I am a Fellow of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation.
Current Graduate Students
Fawn Walter, M.A.
I call Northern California "home" and earned my B.A. of Psychology from California State University, Sacramento. I earned my Masters of Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Michigan, Dearborn, where I completed a thesis project that examined the relations between yoga practice, subjective well-being, and physiological biomarkers of health (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate variability, respiration rate). My clinical placements have included working at a children's hospital, forensic center, private practice, and community mental health center. My primary research interests include nutrition, physical activity, and self-compassion.
David Ede, M.A.
I grew up in Charleston, West Virginia and earned by B.S. in Psychology from West Virginia University. My master’s thesis at Kent State examined the relation of mindfulness to perceived stress and cardiovascular reactivity. I integrate mindfulness and a focus on health into my clinical work as well. My broader research interests include such variables as stress, depression, mindfulness, cardiovascular variables, and health behaviors.
Tyler Kuhn, B.S.
Currently a first year in the Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine lab, I grew up near Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and earned my B.S. in Psychology from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. My current research interests involve studying health behavior interventions in populations with chronic medical conditions, with a primary focus on those behaviors relevant to cardiovascular health such as exercise, diet, and psychological well-being.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
A number of talented undergraduates also contribute to the lab's activities. For more information on working in the lab, please see the Get Involved page.
Past Members
A number of graduate students have completed their Ph.D. in the Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine Laboratory. These include Faith Luyster (2007), Brian Hall (2011), Therese A Keary (2011), Elizabeth Casey (2012), Angela Miller (2013), Carly Goldstein (2015), Colleen Cole Mattson (2015), Tracy Hammonds (2015), and Emily Gathright (2017). A couple have provided a brief bio.
Carly M. Goldstein, Ph.D
I grew up in northern New Jersey and attended Skidmore College where I completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology with a double major in Dance Performance and Choreography and a minor in Women’s Studies with a Public Health focus. I also studied at The International Gender Studies Centre and Department of Psychology at the University of Oxford in England. My current research interests include medication and health intervention adherence, mobile health, obesity, and novel methods of cardiovascular disease and obesity prevention. I am currently completing my APA-approved internship in the behavioral medicine track at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Emily C. Gathright, Ph.D.
After growing up in central Louisiana, I attended Baylor University where I graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Psychology. While at Baylor, I worked at the Mind-Body Medicine Research Lab with Dr. Gary Elkins, who was conducting an NIH-funded hypnosis intervention to reduce hot flashed in post-menopausal women and women with breast cancer. Currently, my research at Kent State University, as part of my graduate studies, focuses on improving medication adherence, psychosocial barriers to adherence, and psychosocial predictors of outcomes in cardiovascular disease. Additionally, I am presently exploring the role of heart rate variability in cognitive function in individuals with heart failure. At Kent State, I have been involved in assessments of cognitive functioning and management of weight and medication adherence data for both the Heart iRx Study and Heart ABC Study. My clinical interests include adjustment to chronic illness and health-related quality of life. In addition to seeing clients in the Kent State Psychological Clinic, I am gaining clinical experience with the Consultation and Liaison in Psychiatry program at Akron City Hospital. I am also looking forward to beginning the department's neuropsychology practicum at the Kent State Psychological Clinic next fall.