Laboratory Members





Wes Barnhart joined Team Cohen as the Project Director in October 2006. His responsibilities include data collection, management, and analysis as well as the day-to-day operation of the current Pittsburgh Cold Study. He earned a B.S. in Statistics from Carnegie Mellon University in 2004.

Wes lives with his wife Amy and their three cats, Cap'n, KitKat and Paddington. In his spare time he enjoys TV, eating, video games, fantasy sports and other highly productive activities. He also plays softball in the Pittsburgh Sports League, where his team won the Thursday night Fall championship.

Wes can be emailed at wcb@cmu.edu


                                                      WES & AMY'S CHILDREN:









Ellen Conser is a research associate in the lab, and assistant to Dr. Sheldon Cohen. She has helped recruit for, plan, and implement Pittsburgh Cold Studies and other health psychology - related research studies since 2000. In 2000, she received an MA in medical ethics from Michigan State University. Ellen has served as a CMU Staff Council representative since 2006. She enjoys gardening, international & independent films, reading, and showering affection on canine passersby.

Ellen can be e-mailed at conser@andrew.cmu.edu







Andréa Hobkirk began volunteering for the Cold Study in December of 2006, and recently became a part-time staff member. She earned her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in April 2007. She enjoys doing hours of data entry, travelling to to the other side of the state, and eating cheese and Twizzlers.

Andréa can be e-mailed at ahobkirk@gmail.com















Jeffrey Horenstein is an M.D./Ph.D. student who is currently a graduate student in the Cohen laboratory. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry and Physics from the University of Pittsburgh, and an M.S. in Psychology from CMU. Jeffrey’s doctoral work is focused on identifying a plausible neurobiological pathway linking early childhood stressors with adult depression; specifically, he uses functional and structural MRI techniques at the Brain Imaging Research Center. Upon returning to medical school in 2008, he intends to pursue a career as a physician scientist within Pain Medicine.

Jeffrey can be e-mailed at jhorn1@andrew.cmu.edu










Denise Janicki Deverts is a post-doctoral fellow who joined the lab in January, 2006. She received a Ph.D. in Biological and Health Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. Her present work focuses mainly on the effects of socioeconomic status and psychosocial stress on physiologic mechanisms relevant to cardiovascular disease risk.

Denise can be e-mailed at djanicki@andrew.cmu.edu









These are the Fur Girls. Dr. Cohen shares a house with them. Ypssi is 3 years old, Sadie is 10, and Irma is 16. All three have PhDs from MIT where they majored in nuclear engineering. They are helpful in writing (or at least sitting on) papers being prepared in our laboratory and have rubbed against many famous psychologists. They are best known for their classic paper on mousing and chipmunking techniques. The Fur Girls were drawn by their grandmother, Eleanora Miller. (We have received multiple emails suggesting that we shouldn't have drugged Ypssi to get her to pose. The truth is it was us who needed the drugs.)

Lab Alumni

Ian Brissette, a former graduate student in our lab, is currently a Program Research Specialist for the New York State Department of Health working with epidemiologists in the Occupational Disease Surveillance Unit to evaluate and enhance the functioning of New York State's Occupational Lung Disease Registry (NYSOLDR). One project he is currently overseeing utilizes principles from social psychology to increase physicians' compliance with disease reporting laws. A second project that was completed in summer, 2003, utilized physician focus groups to identify reasons for why physicians might fail to report patients with work-related asthma to the NYSOLDR.

He can be contacted at the following address, or via e-mail or phone.

Ian Brissette Ph.D., Bureau of Occupational Health, Center for Environmental Health, Flanigan Square, 547 River Street, Room 230, Troy, NY 12180-2216

phone: (518) 402-7900
e-mail: ifb01@health.state.ny.us

 



Pamela Feldman, a former post-doctoral fellow in our lab, is currently Project Officer (European Team) with the Refugee Education and Training Advisory Service (UK) . She can be reached at the following address: Dr. Pamela Feldman, Refugee Education and Training Advisory Service, 14 Dufferin St., London, England, EC1Y 8PD.

Her e-mail address is pam@education-action.org

 








Natalie Hamrick, a former graduate student in our Lab, is Clinical Research Coordinator/Visiting Assistant Professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesia. In addition to pursuing her stress, coping and health research, Natalie is currently working to develop the clinical research program at the Department of Anesthesia at Indiana University School of Medicine.

You may e-mail her at nhamrick@iupui.edu . She receives mail at Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesia, 1120 South Drive, Fesler Hall Rm. 204, Indianapolis, IN 46202-5115.

 








Gregory Miller, a former post-doctoral fellow in our lab, is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia (Canada). He receives mail at the University of British Columbia, Department of Psychology, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
Or you may e-mail him at gemiller@psych.ubc.ca

Dr. Miller's web page is at http://www.psych.ubc.ca/~healthpsych





 


Deb Polk, Ph.D., a former post-doctoral fellow in our lab, is currently Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Dental Medicine, Division of Pediatric and Developmental Dental Sciences Salk Hall, 3501 Terrace Street, Pittsburgh, Pa 15261. She may be e-mailed at dpolk@pitt.edu.

 

 

 

Sarah Pressman, a former graduate student in the Lab, received her Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in 2007. She received her B.S. in Biopsychology from Mount Allison University in Canada. Her work at the Cohen Lab included a project assessing the role of stress, social factors, health practices, and personality in antibody production following flu immunization. She also ran a study looking at ways to verify upper respiratory illnesses.











Staff Updated April 11, 2008