Heckman became CPC Program Co-Leader in 2020. She received her PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Iowa and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Health Psychology and Addictions from the Department of Psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. She was faculty at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia for over 11 years, where she earned tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012. She joined the Department of Medicine, Section of Behavioral Science, at Rutgers in 2018, and was promoted to Full Professor in 2022. Heckman is a licensed clinical health psychologist whose research program focuses on developing, evaluating, and disseminating innovative interventions to improve cancer risk-reduction behaviors, primarily related to skin cancer. Having published foundational studies on tanning dependence (addiction) measurement, prevalence, and correlates, she is recognized as an international leader in skin cancer prevention and indoor tanning research. Heckman conceptualized and was invited to edit the first and only book on indoor tanning in 2011. Her work has been widely cited, including in the US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation for skin cancer counseling, the World Health Organization’s document on Artificial Tanning Devices: Public Health Interventions to Manage Sunbeds, and the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer. In 2021, she was elected to be a Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. She is currently a standing member of the NIH Health Promotion in Communities study section. Her three ongoing R01s include R01CA265548, A Digital Intervention to Improve Skin Self-Examination among Melanoma Survivors; MPI R01CA244370, A Multi-Level Investigation of US Indoor Tanning Policy; and MPI R01CA260831, Evaluating Cigarette Relighting Behavior: Prevalence, Correlates, Toxicant Exposure, and Implications for Cessation. She also serves as a mentor for three NIH K awards and is mentoring four CPC junior faculty.