Dr. Katie Darabos is a Social Behavioral Scientist and Instructor in the Department of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy at Rutgers School of Public Health. She is also an Associate Member of the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute. She received a PhD in Health Psychology and Clinical Science from The Graduate Center, City University of New York, a MS in Experimental Psychology from Seton Hall University, and a BA in Psychology from Montclair State University. Upon receiving her PhD, she completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in Behavioral Oncology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Dr. Darabos joined the Rutgers Faculty in July of 2022. The primary focus of her research is understanding how social and emotional factors affect health and well-being among individuals with cancer. Her work primarily focuses on young adults with cancer (aged 18-39) where a cancer diagnosis and treatment impede the attainment of normative life milestones and goals (e.g., employment, parenthood) and compromises well-being. The emphasis of her work focuses on examining the role of one’s social network (partner, family, friends) and coping-related processes in facilitating psychological adjustment to cancer (e.g., well-being) and protecting against physiological dysregulation (e.g., wear and tear on the body, inflammation). Dr. Darabos’ research has funded by the National Cancer Institute, the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research, the American Institute for Cancer Research, and the New Jersey Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Research Center of Excellence at Rutgers Cancer Institute.
Courses Taught at Rutgers School of Public Health
- PHCO 0505 Social and Behavioral Health Sciences for Public Health