Team
Principal Investigator
Katie Darabos, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy
Rutgers School of Public Health
Associate Member, Cancer Prevention and Control
Rutgers Cancer Institute
E-mail: katie.darabos@rutgers.edu
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/katiedarabos
Research Assistants
Sean McHugh, B.S.
Research Assistant
Social Health Lab at Rutgers University
Email: s.mchugh@rutgers.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanmchugh
Research Interests
Sean is interested in how the biological (e.g., cortisol, immune response) and psychological (e.g., stress reactivity) processes of stress interact to influence emotion regulation in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer. He aims to identify risk pathways that contribute to stress and dysregulated emotional functioning, and to detect protective mechanisms that promote resilience and psychosocial quality of life in this population.
Laura Gugliotta, B.A.
Research Assistant
Social Health Lab at Rutgers University
MPH Student, Nutrition
Rutgers School of Public Health
Email: lg1080@sph.rutgers.edu
Research Interests
Laura recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health in Nutrition at Rutgers University. Her research interests center on health behaviors, biobehavioral health, and chronic disease prevention, with a particular focus on translating scientific findings into evidence-based interventions that improve patient outcomes. She plans to pursue a career in clinical research, where she hopes to bridge research and patient care to improve health decision-making and long-term health outcomes.
Research Assistant
Social Health Lab at Rutgers University
Research Interests
Johan is a medical student at RWJMS interested in how public policy, environmental factors, and social determinants shape the health of underserved communities, particularly Latino populations, in the context of chronic disease and cancer screening. He is drawn to understanding how community-based interventions can improve health behavior engagement and health equity outcomes, and how policy-level change can address the structural drivers of disparities in access and care.
Isha Amin
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Social Health Lab at Rutgers University
Research Interests
Isha is interested in understanding how socioeconomic status, access to care, and environment coincide with disparities in cancer incidence, treatments, and outcomes. She is interested in the modifiable structures in society that can impact health, as well as policy approaches to better health outcomes. She also aims to help identify and treat the biological symptoms that arise from the social determinants of health.
Lab Alumni
Shannon Desbiens
Doctoral Student, Health Psychology and Clinical Science
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Translational Research Training in Addictions Fellowship Scholar
Research Interests
Shannon is a doctoral student at The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY) PhD in the Health Psychology and Clinical Science Program. As a research assistant in the Social Health Lab, Shannon developed a strong interest in researching chronic illnesses, associated health behaviors, and understanding how social and environmental factors shape mental well-being. Currently, Shannon is passionate about understanding preventive aspects of chronic illness through socio-ecological factors and will be pursuing research in this domain at CUNY under the mentorship of Dr. Adriana Espinosa. As a TRACC (Translational Research Training in Addictions) Fellowship Scholar, Shannon will also examine non-illicit substance use as a health behavior with co-occurring mental health disorders (e.g., smoking and OCD, drinking and depression) with the ambition to build digital health interventions to mitigate chronic illness risk behaviors among those with mental health disorders who are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Shannon is grateful to be continuing her studies at the graduate level and plans to run her own research lab and teach in an academic medical setting after earning her degree.