“Dr. Kamarck is very kind, friendly, and always ready to help. He gives clear instructions, encouragement, and advice – especially about applying to graduate school.”
Supervising Faculty: Tom Kamarck, Ph.D.
Contact: Dr. Kamarck, tkam@pitt.edu
Area of Research: Biological and Health Psychology
Description of Research: This is a collaborative project with Dr. Lindsay, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, that examines the effects of a smartphone-based mindfulness intervention on stress exposure and biological stress responsiveness during daily life. We have recruited middle aged research volunteers who have high blood pressure and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease and who are experiencing high levels of psychological stress. Participants were randomly assigned to a one-month smartphone-based mindfulness intervention or a control condition, and their daily life experiences and ambulatory blood pressure have been monitored at baseline, after the completion of the intervention, and during a three-month follow-up visit. We are currently completing data collection on this project.
Duties of Students: Students will be involved in a number of duties in the laboratory, including training participants in ambulatory monitoring methods, data collection and interviewing with research volunteers, data management, and assisting with the preparation of research materials. Students will have an opportunity to interact with research volunteers, to be involved in the data collection process, and to learn about the principles of clinical research. Students will attend weekly research meetings where they will learn about the collection of ambulatory behavioral and biological data, and they will be exposed to ongoing research projects in the laboratory group.
Requirements:
- Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher
- 12 credits of Psychology (including current term)
- STAT 0200/1000/1100 Statistics
- PSY 0036 Research Methods Lecture
- PSY 0037 Research Methods Lab
Terms offered: Summer 2026 with the possibility of continuing in Fall 2026