Principal Investigator: Karly M. Murphy, PhD
Dr. Murphy is a clinical health psychologist with expertise in psycho-oncology. She is particularly interested in adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivorship. As such, her program of research focuses on the development, evaluation, and implementation of interventions that improve psychosocial wellbeing and health outcomes among AYA cancer survivors. Much of her work uses interventions that can be delivered remotely to ensure their scalability and reach. Currently, she is the PI of an NCI-funded study in which she has taken an iterative user-centered design approach to develop an engaging digital tool to help AYA cancer survivors cope with symptoms of depression. This tool draws from topline evidence-based interventions for treating depression (e.g. cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness) and is tailored to the needs and preferences of AYA cancer survivors.
Clinical Research Coordinator: AnneMarie Coffey, BA
AnneMarie is a recent East Carolina University graduate. She graduated with her bachelor’s in public health (concentration in community health) and a minor in Sociology in May 2023. While being an undergraduate at ECU, she was a research assistant in the Health Behavior and Tobacco Research Lab in the College of Health and Human Performance where she was able to work on several studies with a variety of topics. Her research interests include nutrition, youth oncology, mental health/wellbeing, and tobacco/nicotine public policy.
Clinical Health Graduate Students
Graduate Research Assistant/Lab Manager: Rachel Glock, BA
Rachel is a second-year doctoral student in the Clinical Health Psychology doctoral program at East Carolina University. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree at the University of South Florida in December of 2022. During her undergraduate years, she was a research coordinator of a lab at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. As a graduate student, Rachel’s research interests include pediatric oncology, parenting dynamics, family adjustment, cultural influences, and treatment adherence.
Lane Williamson, BA
Lane is a first-year student in the Clinical Health Psychology doctoral program at East Carolina University. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, where she studied Psychology and Human Development. During her undergraduate years, Lane was involved with research focused on child stress and coping, parent-child relationships, and LGBTQ+ psychosocial functioning. Before starting graduate school, she was a Clinical Research Coordinator at Children’s National Hospital, where she assisted with Pediatric Neuro-Oncology research at the Brain Tumor Institute. Currently, Lane’s research interests include Quality of Life in pediatric and AYA cancer patients, survivors, and their support systems. She also hopes to expand the current research on stress and coping in LGBTQ+ AYA cancer patients and survivors.
Reid Anctil, BA
Reid is a first-year student in the Clinical Health Psychology doctoral program at East Carolina University. He graduated from Champlain College with his bachelor’s in psychology. As an undergraduate, he assisted with positive psychology-based research with college students. Before attending graduate school, he was a Clinical Research Coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Health Promotion and Resiliency Intervention Research Center (HPRIR), where he assisted with research oriented around covid-19s impact of beliefs about lung cancer screening and quality of life for lung cancer survivors transitioning off treatment. Reid is interested in improving quality of life for AYA cancer patients and survivors, especially through impacting social support.
Pediatric School Graduate Students
Antonija Augustinovic, MA/SSP
Antonija is a student in the Pediatric School Psychology doctoral program at East Carolina University. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2018. Antonija first came to ECU as a student in the MA/SSP School Psychology program. Her research interests include pediatric oncology, acceptance and commitment therapy, and intervention development.
Undergraduate Students
Nyla Parks
Nyla is a third-year undergraduate student at East Carolina University. She is double majoring in Psychology and Anthropology with hopes of pursuing her Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology and Cultural Anthropology following undergraduate school. Her research interests include generational trauma, influences of culture on mental health, and teen stress.
Savanah Tribbe
Savanah is a third-year undergraduate student at East Carolina University. She is majoring in psychology and minoring in biology and science. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree, she plans to attend medical school to pursue a career in psychiatry. She has research interests in mental health, human development, and parenting dynamics.
Former Lab Members
Grace Westcott, BA
Grace is pursuing a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. She completed her master’s degree at Wake Forest University and collaborated with our lab for a year. Her research interests include psychosocial factors affecting chronic illness experiences, patient and caregiver conceptualization of and adjustment to chronic illness, and psychosocial interventions to improve health.