Frances was accepted to be a Mentor for the NextGen Psych Scholars Program! This virtual, graduate student-led program connects current graudate student mentors with undergraduates and post-baccalaureates from underrepresented backgrounds interested in applying to psychology PhD programs. To learn more about the program, visit https://nextgenpsychscholars.com/.
Frances received the Society of Health Psychology "Health and Behaviour International Collaborative Award." This award supports a research collaboration between a trainee and an international mentor. She will be working with Dr. Anna Hood from the University of Manchester on a scoping review to identify research exploring cultural responsivity within the healthcare transition process for youth with chronic medical conditions. Through the support of the grant, she plans to travel to the UK in the fall to meet Dr. Hood's research team, work on the scoping review project, and attend a conference focused on sickle cell disease.
Mary Rose received the 2025 Hem/Onc/BMT SIG Dr. Victoria Willard Outstanding Poster Award for my poster: “I Feel Like They Kinda Try to Hide Their Feelings”: A Mixed Methods Study of Parent-Child Emotional Concordance Following A Recent Cancer Diagnosis. Frances Cooke, Dean Robbins, Morgan Sachleben, Dr. Steven Hardy, Dr. Kristina Hardy and Dr. Christina Sharkey were collaborators on this poster. Thanks to this award, Mary Rose was also able to present her poster's findings at the Hem/Onc/BMT SIG Meeting at the Society for Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference in Phoenix, AZ, this April.
Mary Rose received the "Best Doctoral or Law Student Poster" Award at CUA's University Research Day for her poster titled "Impact of Childhood Parenting Practices on the Psychological Well-being of Emerging Adults with Chronic Medical Conditions." Frances Cooke, Emma McGrade, Dr. Larry Mullins, and Dr. Christina M. Sharkey were collaborators on this poster with her.
Frances was selected to serve on the Society of Pediatric Psychology Student Advisory Board as the Network of Campus Representatives (NCR) Co-Chair. She is thrilled to accept this position, which aims to spread awareness of pediatric psychology across the country.
Dr. Sharkey, Frances, and colleagues Breana Bryant and Francesca Lupini were awarded the 2024 Society of Pediatric Psychology Anti-Racism Grant Mechanism.
The grant project, entitled "Adapting DEI Dialogues: Fostering Anti-Racism in Pediatric Psychology Trainees," will support the team in updating a diversity, equity, and inclusion training for pediatric psychology trainees.
This summer, Frances received the Effie B. Urquhart Scholarship from Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in Social Sciences and was accepted to the Journal of Pediatric Psychology Student Academy.
Two SHARK Lab members received the APA Student Poster Award at the 2024 conference in Seattle!
Isaiah Chambers, MA, was awarded for a first-author poster entitled “Illness Identity and Perceived Discrimination in Emerging Adults with Chronic Medical Conditions.”
Dean Robbins was awarded for a first-author poster entitled “Moderating Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Emotion Regulation and Social Problem Solving Among Emerging Adults.”
Isaiah is graduating from the CUA Master's program and will be staying at CUA to start his PhD in Clinical Psychology!
Senior SHARK Lab member, Morgan Sachleben, earned the Excellence in Psychological Research Award for the class of 2024. This award is given to a student who demonstrates outstanding work in psychological research.
First-year PhD student Frances Cooke received a 2024 Professional Development Award from the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology!
Senior Morgan Sachleben received the Student Travel Award for the 2024 Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference. Congrats, Morgan!
At the CUA University Research Day, lab member and MA student, Sarah Hunt, presented her poster entitled "The Impact of Discrimination and Emotion Regulation on Emerging Adults with Chronic Medical Conditions." The study found a moderating effect, suggesting that strong emotion regulations skills appear to be insufficient to overcome the effect that medical discrimination has on mental health-related quality of life.
Incoming doctoral student, Frances Cooke, was featured in the Society of Pediatric Psychology's Network of Campus Representatives Newsletter for her work in educating students about pediatric psychology!
After completing her term as the Co-Chair of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology Student Journal Club, Dr. Sharkey was recently invited to serve as a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Pediatric Psychology!
Dr. Sharkey was awarded the CUA Arts & Sciences Small Research Grant for a proposal to conduct a mixed methods study investigating the experience of college students with medical conditions. This study is planned to begin in Spring 2023!
Director, Christina Sharkey, PhD, gave a presentation in Barcelona, Spain at the International Society of Pediatric Oncology's Annual Conference. Her talk was entitled "Inequities in Neurocognitive Morbidities Among Pediatric Brain Tumor Survivors." Results showed that the Child Opportunity Index, a multidimensional measure of neighborhood resources and environment, predicted neurocognitive and psychological outcomes, with survivors in lower opportunity neighborhoods exhibiting more negative late effects.
Director, Christina Sharkey, PhD, received a Mattie Miracle Implementation Grant to conduct a research study entitled, Integrated Supports for Interrelated Needs: Child and Caregiver Perspectives on Multidimensional Implementation of the Psychosocial Standards of Care