Career Paths & Alumni

The Department of Biobehavioral Health trains and develops the next leaders in basic, mechanistic, and applied research that addresses fundamental issues in health and prevention throughout the lifespan.

Graduate students go on to careers as academic professors, researchers, educators, policy-makers, and interventionists, working in diverse settings, including academia, research centers, government, health care facilities, and private industry.

The vast majority of BBH graduates choose to remain in academia and have been very successful in obtaining high-quality postdoctoral and faculty positions across a variety of departments aligned with their research interests, including psychology, behavioral neuroscience, behavioral medicine, health promotion, public health, and integrative biology.

Positions in research and teaching

Many BBH graduate alumni are leading research and teaching in academic settings.

Tomorrow Arnold (2018), Assistant Professor, Psychology, The University of Tennessee
Jeanette Bennett (2010), Associate Professor, Psychological Science
Elizabeth Beverly (2008), Associate Professor, Behavioral Diabetes, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
Jay Bream (1996), Professor, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins
Dwyane Brandon (2003), Associate Professor, Psychology, North Carolina Central University
Brea Burger (2014), Assistant Professor, Public Health, Muhlenberg College
Rachel Ceballos (2005), senior director of community outreach and engagement at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U), associate professor in the department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the U, and a Huntsman Cancer Institute Endowed Chair in Cancer Research
Sulamunn Coleman (2018), Research Assistant Professor at The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, The University of Vermont
Richard O'Connor (2004), Professor of Oncology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Lauren Connell Bohlen (2015), Assistant Professor, Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University
Donaldson Conserve (2013), Associate Professor, Department of Prevention and Community Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University
Melloni Cook (1996), Associate Chair of Research Initiatives, Director of the Center for Applied Psychological Research, and Dunavant Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience, Psychology, University of Memphis
Nancy Dreschel (2007), Associate Teaching Professor, Small Animal Science, Agricultural Sciences, Penn State University
Beth Edwards (2009), Assistant Teaching Professor, Biobehavioral Health, Penn State University
Heather Farmer (2018), Assistant Professor, Education and Human Development, University of Delaware
José Fernández (1999), Professor and Vice Chair for Education, Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Michael Grant (2003), Director of Online Education in Psychology, Associate Professor of Instruction and Undergraduate Academic Adviser, College of Arts and Science, Ohio University
Joseph Gyekis (2011), Associate Teaching Professor of Biobehavioral Health, Penn State University
Waylon Hastings (2020), Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition at Texas A&M University
Leah Hibel (2009), Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Human Ecology, UC Davis
Brittney Hultgren (2017), Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington
Dusti Jones (2020), K12 Scholar, Clinical and Translational Science’s Career Development Program, University of Utah
Emily Jones (2021), Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry's Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine T32 training program.
Christine Karshin (2001), Dean, College of Health Professions, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and Associate Dean and Associate Professor, College of Health and Human Services, Eastern Michigan University
Michelle Martin (2018), Assistant Professor, Public Health Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Marzieh Majd (2019), Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Miesha Marzell (2011), Associate Professor, Public Health, Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Binghamton University
Frank Materia (2020), Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Cindy McCrea (2015), Assistant Professor, Psychological Science, Boise State University
Melissa Mercincavage (2015), Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Kerry Michael (2011), Associate Professor, Psychology, University of Minnesota
Tracy Nelson (1998), Director, Colorado School of Public Health, Colorado State University
Titilayo Okoror (2006), Chair and Associate Professor, Africana Studies
Beth Orsega-Smith (2000), Professor, Behavioral Health & Nutrition, University of Delaware
Denise Orwig (1998), Professor, Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Melissa Peckins (2013), Assistant Professor, Psychology, St. John's University
Andrew Porter (2014), Associate Professor of Clinical, University of Miami
Lindsey Potter (2018), Research Instructor, Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Cancer Population Science, University of Utah
Nichole Scaglione (2015), Assistant Professor, Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida
Nichole Sell (2019), Assistant Professor of Psychology, Wilkes University
Danica Slavish (2017), Assistant Professor, Psychology, University of North Texas
Jerod Stapleton (2010), Professor of Health, Behavior & Society and co-Leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky
Michelle Stine (2004), Teaching Professor, Biobehavioral Health, Penn State University
Andrew Strasser (2002), Research Professor of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Katherine Sauder (2014), Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Nutrition, University of Colorado
Amy Thierry (2016), Assistant Professor, Public Health Sciences, Xavier University
Anne Ray (2011), Assistant Professor, Health Behavior, University of Kentucky
Constanza Silva Gallardo (2021), Assistant Professor, Universidad Mayor
Terrie Vasilopoulos (2009), Associate Professor, Anesthesiology, Orthopaedics, and Rehabilitation, University of Florida
Guy-Lucien Whembolua (2008), Associate Professor, College of Medicine, UC Cincinnati

Positions informing research and policy

In addition to working in academia, BBH graduate students hold high-level positions at the CDC, UNESCO, and other organizations, informing research and policy.

Jessia Braymiller-Knapp (2019), Clinical Assistant Professor, University at Buffalo
Darigg Brown (2009), Research Public Health Analyst, RTI International
Juliet Iwelunmore (2011), Associate Professor, Behavioral Science and Health Education, Saint Louis University
Ryne Paulose-Ram (2000), Acting Director of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHNES)
Tirzah Spencer (2003), Scientist Networking and Profileing, Nemours Biomedical Research
Andrea Stroup (2018), Senior Study Director and Project Core Lead, Westat
Christine Sweeney (1998), Director, Issues Management, Pinney Associates

Positions in industry and medicine

Others have worked in industry or in medicine, advancing medical science, pharmaceuticals, and important research initiatives (e.g., the National Human Genome Research Institute).

Gelareh Alam (2015), Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Northeast Ohio Medical University
Marc Azar (2000), Chief Executive Officer, Principal Scientist, Behavioral Pharma
Michael Caruso (2017), Senior Scientist, Johnson and Johnson Innovative Medicine
Sarah Gioia (2022), Health Equity Researcher, OCHIN, Inc.
Sezen Kislal (2015), Research Associate, Massachusetts General Hospital
Katie Kivlighan (2006), Assistant Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of New Mexico
Mera Krishnan (2012), Center for Bioscience Research
Michelle Matzko (2010), Research Fellow in Medicine, Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital
Russell Nye (2019), Clinical Research Program Manager II, Data Science & Biostatistics Unit (DSBU)