RECENT LAB ACTIVITIES
January 2018- Research Study Featured
Our lab's study entitled "Transition to College and Adherence to Prescribed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Medication" that was recently published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics has been featured in MD magazine! Follow the link below to view the article.
www.mdmag.com/medical-news/freshman-college-students-often-skip-necessary-adhd-medication
www.mdmag.com/medical-news/freshman-college-students-often-skip-necessary-adhd-medication
November 2017- Society of Pediatric Psychology Involvement and Program Milestones
Scott and Megan were both featured in the most recent edition of the Society of Pediatric Psychology's Progress Notes. Scott is featured for the poster award he won at the 2017 APA conference and Megan is featured for her position as an SPP Student Advisory Board Member. To view the Fall 2017 issue, follow the link below!
www.societyofpediatricpsychology.org/sites/default/files/files/SPP_Fall_2017_FINAL_sm.pdf
The entire lab received acceptances to present poster presentations at the upcoming Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. We are all looking forward to some well-deserved leisure time at "The Happiest Place on Earth" and learning about emerging topics in the field of pediatric psychology!
Megan successfully proposed her dissertation proposal entitled "Healing the heart of bereaved caregivers: Impact of legacy artwork on grief in caregivers who have lost a child to cancer." Megan also received the Mary Jo Kupst Grant for Research in Resilience from the Society of Pediatric Psychology to fund this project.
Maggie successfully defended her thesis entitled "Trajectories of Quality of Life in Adolescents and Young Adults with ADHD: Examination of the Impact of Transitioning to Independence." Her presentation was well-received and she enjoyed talking with her committee members about future implications for this area of study!
www.societyofpediatricpsychology.org/sites/default/files/files/SPP_Fall_2017_FINAL_sm.pdf
The entire lab received acceptances to present poster presentations at the upcoming Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. We are all looking forward to some well-deserved leisure time at "The Happiest Place on Earth" and learning about emerging topics in the field of pediatric psychology!
Megan successfully proposed her dissertation proposal entitled "Healing the heart of bereaved caregivers: Impact of legacy artwork on grief in caregivers who have lost a child to cancer." Megan also received the Mary Jo Kupst Grant for Research in Resilience from the Society of Pediatric Psychology to fund this project.
Maggie successfully defended her thesis entitled "Trajectories of Quality of Life in Adolescents and Young Adults with ADHD: Examination of the Impact of Transitioning to Independence." Her presentation was well-received and she enjoyed talking with her committee members about future implications for this area of study!
October 2017- Newly Published Research
Dr. Gray, Scott, and Megan recently received an acceptance from the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (JDBP) for their article entitled "Transition to College and Adherence to Prescribed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Medication." Please follow the link below to view the article!
journals.lww.com/jrnldbp/Abstract/publishahead/Transition_to_College_and_Adherence_to_Prescribed.99362.aspx
journals.lww.com/jrnldbp/Abstract/publishahead/Transition_to_College_and_Adherence_to_Prescribed.99362.aspx
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Megan traveled to the annual Society of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Annual Meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. At the conference, Megan gave an oral and poster presentation entitled "Understanding self-management in college students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder through their parents' eyes." This study qualitatively examines the experiences and challenges surrounding self-management in college students with ADHD through their parents' eyes and follows up on Megan's thesis project. |
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August 2017 - APA Convention in Washington, DC and Scott's MAP Defense
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The entire lab went to the 125th APA Convention in Washington, DC. Dr. Gray was the program chair for Division 54. As part of her duties, she chaired several sessions in the Society of Pediatric Psychology's excellent programming including sessions to prepare, recruit, and retain underrepresented students in psychology graduate education, networking as a clinical child/pediatric psychologist, and improving police/community relations and its impact on clinical practice. Scott, Megan, and Maggie each presented posters at the conference and Scott won a poster award from Division 54! We also attended excellent sessions in APA's regular programming and toured the history of psychology exhibit. At this exhibit, Megan finally fulfilled her dream of taking a picture with the Bobo doll! One afternoon, we had a chance to tour the area. While we enjoyed seeing several monuments, our favorite the the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial. We all left the conference with new friends and rejuvenated with new ideas for our research.
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Scott successfully defended his Major Area Paper titled "The link between romantic relationships and medication adherence in chronic illness populations: A systematic review of the literature." Following his presentation, the entire committee got to see the eclipse as it passed over Auburn. Congrats Scott! |
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June 2017
Dr. Gray, Scott, Megan, and Maggie travelled to Emory Hospital in Atlanta, GA to complete an intervention for the STEP program. During our trip, we were able to meet families participating in the intervention and talk about experiences unique to IBD management
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Maggie successfully proposed her thesis on June 20th. The title of her thesis is “Trajectories of quality of life in adolescents and young adults with ADHD: Examination of the impact of transitioning to independence." |
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Megan’s thesis was published in the June 2017 volume of the Journal of Adolescent Health. Her paper is titled “Adherence to attention-deficit /hyperactivity disorder medication during the transition to college.” To view Megan’s paper, please click here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.12.011
Megan had a paper published with Dr. Kavookjian called "The impact of motivational interviewing on adherence and symptom severity in adolescents and young adults with chronic illness: A systematic review." Megan also gave this paper as an oral presentation at the Alabama Psychological Association conference in Orange Beach, Alabama. You can view Megan’s paper at this link: 10.1016/j.pec.2017.05.037
Megan was also elected to the Society of Pediatric Psychology Student Advisory Board for the upcoming 2018 year. She will be serving on the Membership committee.
Megan had a paper published with Dr. Kavookjian called "The impact of motivational interviewing on adherence and symptom severity in adolescents and young adults with chronic illness: A systematic review." Megan also gave this paper as an oral presentation at the Alabama Psychological Association conference in Orange Beach, Alabama. You can view Megan’s paper at this link: 10.1016/j.pec.2017.05.037
Megan was also elected to the Society of Pediatric Psychology Student Advisory Board for the upcoming 2018 year. She will be serving on the Membership committee.
May 2017- Welcome to Maddie & Practicum placements
The lab team is excited to welcome Maddie Wrolson, who will serve as an undergraduate research assistant in our lab! Maddie will assist with data collection and input in our upcoming research study at Phenix City Children’s and Family Clinic in Phenix City, AL. This project will begin this June and is titled “Psychosocial Functioning and Health Behavior and Beliefs in a Pediatric Rural Population.” For more information about Maddie, check out the Meet the Lab page.
The rest of the lab received our practicum placements for the 2017-2018 school year. Scott will be working at Children’s of Alabama hospital in Birmingham, Megan will be working at Phenix City Children’s and Family Clinic, and Maggie will be at Mt. Meigs Accountability Based Sexual Offender Program. The lab is excited for these new opportunities in the coming year!
The rest of the lab received our practicum placements for the 2017-2018 school year. Scott will be working at Children’s of Alabama hospital in Birmingham, Megan will be working at Phenix City Children’s and Family Clinic, and Maggie will be at Mt. Meigs Accountability Based Sexual Offender Program. The lab is excited for these new opportunities in the coming year!
April 2017- This is Research, interventions, & programs
Auburn’s This is Research: Student Symposium took place on April 13th. Both Scott and Megan delivered oral presentations at the symposium. Megan’s presentation was titled “Understanding Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder medication self-management in college freshmen: Experiences, needs, and challenges.” Scott’s presentation was called “Examining a chronic illness as a possible protective factor for engagement in risky behaviors in a college sample.” Maggie presented a poster titled “Comparison of quality of life ratings in young adults with ADHD across various chronic conditions.”
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The Scholar’s Committed to Education in Psychological Education (SCOPE) program took place at Auburn on April 15-16th under the direction of Madison Silverstein. Dr. Gray serves as a faculty advisor for the program and Maggie serves as a SCOPE coordinator. Scott and Megan both volunteered to be mentors as well.
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SCOPE program participants and leaders
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Dr. Gray, Megan, and Scott travelled to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to deliver the STEP intervention. We had a great time up in Cincinnati and enjoyed working with our families. It is always so energizing to conduct research that directly impacts patients and their families.
Our former student Alana won the the SPPAC 2017 Research in an Emerging Field poster at the Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference. Her poster was called “Parental perceptions of food allergy severity: An examination of child risk.” This research came from our work in food allergies.
Our former student Alana won the the SPPAC 2017 Research in an Emerging Field poster at the Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference. Her poster was called “Parental perceptions of food allergy severity: An examination of child risk.” This research came from our work in food allergies.
Megan volunteered at Camp Good Grief, a camp for children who have lost loved ones, along with other students from the clinical psychology program.
March 2017- Megan defends her MAP
Huge congratulations to Megan who successfully defended her MAP doctoral examination. Megan’s paper was titled “The effects of yoga on quality of life in pediatric populations: A systematic review". After Megan’s defense, the entire lab went out for celebratory pizza and arcade games!
January 2017- APA Acceptances
Scott, Megan, and Maggie all received acceptances to present posters at the American Psychological Association Conference this upcoming August in Washington, D.C. The entire lab received Clinical Research Enhancement Awards through Auburn to attend the conference. We are all looking forward to attending programming at the conference and getting to see the monuments in D.C.!
December 2016- SPSSI Grant & STEP Poster
Dr. Gray was awarded a $2,000 grant from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) for her proposal entitled “Assessing the Effectiveness of a Mentoring Program for Underrepresented Students in Graduate Education". This funding will support the SCOPE program that will take place this upcoming April at Auburn.
This month Dr. Gray also presented a poster titled “The Self-Management Transition Enhancement Program (STEP): Study design and preliminary findings at the Chron’s & Colitis Foundation Advances (CCFA) Conference in Orlando, Florida.
This month Dr. Gray also presented a poster titled “The Self-Management Transition Enhancement Program (STEP): Study design and preliminary findings at the Chron’s & Colitis Foundation Advances (CCFA) Conference in Orlando, Florida.
October 2016- Presentations & SCOPE Grant
Megan delivered an oral presentation at the Mental Health Transition Conference in Houston, Texas. Her presentation was titled “Understanding self-management and adherence in adolescents with ADHD transitioning to college”. Megan enjoyed getting to meet health care providers involved in transition practices as well as all of the new sights and sounds of Houston! Megan also delivered a talk at the 7th Annual Advancement in the care of pediatric cancer and blood disorders symposium at Children’s of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham. Her talk was titled “The forgotten voice: Adjustment in children of siblings diagnosed with cancer” and was well-received by all of the doctors and nurses who attended!
This month, Dr. Gray received a $1000 Civic Engagement Grant from the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn! This grant will help to support the 2016-2017 Scholars Committed to Opportunities in Psychological Education (SCOPE) program. SCOPE is a weekend program that provides a series of workshops to support undergraduates of color interested in pursuing graduate education in the field of psychology.
This month, Dr. Gray received a $1000 Civic Engagement Grant from the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn! This grant will help to support the 2016-2017 Scholars Committed to Opportunities in Psychological Education (SCOPE) program. SCOPE is a weekend program that provides a series of workshops to support undergraduates of color interested in pursuing graduate education in the field of psychology.
September 2016- SDBP Conference in Savannah & APAGS Award
Dr. Gray, Scott, and Megan attended the Society of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Conference in Savannah, Georgia. The lab was busy as we presented three posters and two talks on different aspects of adherence in adolescents and young adults with ADHD transitioning to college. All of our presentations were well-received by the audience. We were very excited about our conversations with the pediatricians attending the conference who were highly interested in our collaborative involvement in helping adolescents and young adults with ADHD. They provided very helpful feedback on our studies, and we are looking forward to incorporating their advice as we move forward with ADHD self-management research in our lab. Despite our busy schedules, we were able to tour the beautiful city of Savannah. It's not an exaggeration to say our stomachs were full with all the delicious cuisine Savannah had to offer. We even topped off our trip with a haunted ghost tour. The conference was a huge success! Now back to writing up all those poster and oral presentations...
Congratulations to Dr. Gray who was awarded the Guardian of Psychology award! This award is sponsored through the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS).
Congratulations to Dr. Gray who was awarded the Guardian of Psychology award! This award is sponsored through the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS).
August 2016 - Graduation
Congratulations to our lab alumnae, Alana, on graduating with her Ph.D. in clinical psychology! Alana is currently completing her post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Florida where she will be conducting clinical work and research in pediatric diabetes. We are so happy for her and hope the best for her in all of her future endeavors!
June 2016 - Conference fun & awards
Although it is officially summer, the lab continues to stay busy with exciting news, awards, and conferences. Dr. Gray attended the APA conference in early June and provided a presentation titled, "Successfully Navigating a Career in Psychology: Lessons Learned from Graduate School Onwards." All conference attendees, especially graduate students, were pleased with the advice given as many of them are preparing for their future careers. Megan also sent a poster regarding barriers to transition across multiple chronic illness populations to the aPA conference. On another note, our lab received two oral presentation and three poster presentation acceptances for the Society of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Conference. We cannot wait to explore the beautiful city of Savannah, Georgia in September while attending the conference. In addition to our conference successes, we found out that our lab alumna Alana earned the Internship Professionalism Award at Children's of Colorado. What a well deserved honor!
May 2016 - Graduation
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Congratulations to Megan on graduating with her Masters! Megan also received an acceptance to present her thesis results as a poster presentation at the Healthcare Transition Research Consortium held in Houston, Texas in October of this year. It seems crazy that the spring semester is already over. The lab has been busy analyzing data, applying for conferences, writing papers, and conducting telehealth calls. Summer is finally here!
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April 2016 - Megan defends her thesis
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Congratulations to our very own Megan Schaefer, who successfully defended her masters thesis on April 6th! Megan focused on understanding the experiences, needs and challenges of undergraduate freshmen with ADHD recently transitioning to college, specifically looking at their adherence to medication. Our lab has really enjoyed conducting qualitative research similar to Megan's thesis in order to really understand the chronic illness experience.
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March 2016 - Alabama Transition Conference
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Dr. Gray, Scott, and Megan attended the annual Alabama Transition conference in March. Instead of presenting posters this year, our lab decided to present a symposium focused on managing ADHD during the transition to adulthood. We shared lessons learned from our student participants across multiple studies and provided strategies for success tailored towards school professionals and parents in order to help their adolescents with ADHD manage their illness. Our talk was well received and it was great to see so many passionate supporters of transition related to ADHD at the conference.
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February 2016 - STEP Study
The spring semester is in full swing! February was an exciting month for our lab as we made our first trip up to Cincinnati Children's in Ohio for our Self-Management Transition Enhancement Program (STEP). This program is specifically focused on transition from pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) care to adult care. We want to thank all of our wonderful families and physicians who participated in our first stage of the program. It was great getting to hear about all of our patients' transition experiences thus far, and we look forward to providing continuous coaching in order to make this process as easy as possible. Even though we spent several hours standstill in a car due to a rock-slide on I-75 South, we couldn't have asked for a more rewarding opportunity to serve adolescents with IBD.
December 2015 - Celebrating end of 2015
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As the 2015 year comes to a close, we'd like to thank all of our research participants who have contributed to our knowledge base in adherence, transition to adult care, and quality of life in chronic illness. We've accomplished quite a bit this year and look forward to publishing our data and sharing our findings to make an impact on the lives of others. As a way of celebrating, the lab recently got together for a small holiday party. We had a white elephant book exchange and each one of us came home with a new book to read (or color!) for fun over the holidays.
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September 2015 - Smartphone Application Study & Transitions Camp
Our lab has been very busy with the start of the Fall Semester. We are currently conducting a new study which seeks to examine whether the utilization of smartphone applications can be used as an intervention to improve adherence in college students with ADHD. Our recruitment target for this study has been reached, and we are currently in the process of finishing the first assessments. We are looking forward to teaching the college students about this smart-phone application and hope that it becomes a helpful resource for all!
On September 11th-13th, Scott and Megan attended Transitions Camp, located at Children's Harbor in Alexander City, Alabama. This camp serves adolescents with chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, sickle cell) who are transitioning into young adulthood. It was a fun weekend filled with numerous activities such as illness Q & A sessions with doctors, tie dying t-shirts, boating, volleyball/basketball, and a dance to end the festivities. We were happy to see the joy that camp brought to these brave adolescents and look forward to participating in the coming years.
On September 11th-13th, Scott and Megan attended Transitions Camp, located at Children's Harbor in Alexander City, Alabama. This camp serves adolescents with chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, sickle cell) who are transitioning into young adulthood. It was a fun weekend filled with numerous activities such as illness Q & A sessions with doctors, tie dying t-shirts, boating, volleyball/basketball, and a dance to end the festivities. We were happy to see the joy that camp brought to these brave adolescents and look forward to participating in the coming years.
July 2015 - Alana defends her dissertation
Congratulations to our very own Alana Resmini, who successfully defended her dissertation on July 15th! Alana recently began her internship at Children's Hospital of Colorado. We wish you the best of luck, Alana, and will miss you greatly. :-)
May 2015 - Congratulations to our graduating seniors!
Our lab would like to say thanks and farewell to our research assistants (Caroline, Gabby, & Mary Jane) who will graduate during the Spring ceremony. We wish them the best of luck in their future career and schooling aspirations. Gabby will be attending a Master's program at Western Carolina, while Mary Jane will be working as a research assistant for Dr. Monaghan at Children's National Medical Center. All of our undergraduate RA's have been a wonderful addition to our lab, and their past work is much appreciated! We will miss them next year!
April 2015 - This Is Research
Congratulations to Alana who presented her poster at the "This is Research Symposium" held here at Auburn University. Alana presented data on what affects perceived food allergy severity in children. Dr. Gray and Alana were also involved with a symposium talk given by fellow graduate student, Will Frye, on the role of weight-based teasing in adolescent African American body appreciation. Both the poster and talk were well received!
March 2015 - Food Allergy Study and the Alabama Transitions Conference
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Thank you to the families who have participated in the Food Allergy Study. We welcome additional families to participate prior to March 15, 2015. Check out the "Food Allergy Study" tab for more information.
Congratulations to Megan and Scott who presented posters at the 25th annual Alabama Transition Conference. Megan presented data on changes in parental involvement as students with ADHD transition to college and Scott presented on barriers to medication adherence experienced by students with ADHD. We are continuing to learn interesting things about chronic illness management during the transition to college and these posters are just the beginning of a long line of research. Both posters were well received and it was great to see so many passionate supporters of transition at the conference! |
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February 2015 - Internship Match Results
A huge congratulations to Alana Resmini, our 5th year graduate student in the lab, on her internship placement at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colorado. This is well deserved! We will surely miss her next year in the lab!
January 2015 - New projects underway
As we wrap up our ADHD management study and begin to analyze our data, we approach the new semester with energy and enthusiasm. Our lab is currently working an designing a number of projects including: 1) a study for parents of students with ADHD to better understand their needs and concerns regarding their child transitioning to college, 2) an adherence intervention study for students with ADHD, and 3) continuing to develop the Self-management Transition Enhancement Program. Stay tuned for more information.
November/December 2014 - Wrapping up
As the Fall semester comes to a close, we would like to thank our wonderful participants in the Auburn ADHD Management Study. Your commitment to helping us better understand the daily challenges you face managing ADHD on your own is admirable and we appreciate the role you've played in our research. We wish you the best of luck on your finals. Also, we'd like to say thanks and farewell to Ms. Sophie Roth. Sophie is graduating at the end of this semester. She has been a wonderful research assistant with us over the past year and we wish her luck in her future career aspirations. Thank you for all you have done. You will be missed!
October 2014 - Food allergy study underway
We recently launched a study examining quality of life in youth with food allergies. Little is understood about this understudied, but growing population. For additional information about this study, please click on "Food Allergy Study" in the navigation bar above.
September 2014 - Auburn ADHD Management Study Update & Marie W. Wooten Memorial 5K
Thanks to the work of our excellent team members and collaborators, we have reached our recruitment target for the Auburn University ADHD Management Study. This groundbreaking study is the first longitudinal assessment of adherence in adolescents with ADHD transitioning to independence. For more information about this study, please see the "Current Research Projects" page.
Scott, Dr. Gray, and Megan are pictured to the left. They participated in the Marie W. Wooten Memorial 5K run and 1K walk. Prior to Dean Wooten's death, she had planned to hold a 5K to raise money for scholarships. The race honors Marie W. Wooten's memory and helps the College of Science and Mathematics continue Dr. Wooten's vision for the future of the college. This activity was enjoyed by all, and our lab hopes to continue participating in the future years!
August 2014 - Welcome Megan & Scott
Please join us in welcoming Megan Schaefer and Scott Wagoner to the Adolescent & Yong Adult Health Promotion Research Laboratory. Megan and Scott are new graduate students in Auburn University's doctoral program in clinical psychology. They both bring with them great experience from their prior institutions (Miami University & University of Dayton) and will play a key role in our ongoing studies. For more information about Megan and Scott, please see the "Meet the Lab" page.
June & July 2014 - Recruitment for AU-FAMS now ongoing! Sign up today.
We are now recruiting incoming freshmen with ADD/ADHD for participation in AU-FAMS. Members of the study team will be available during the Tiger Tables Fair at each Camp War Eagle this summer. Look for us near the AU Medical Clinic & Student Pharmacy tables. We will be holding a sign to help you find us. If you, or your son or daughter qualifies for the study, please consider being a part of an important program that will help us better understand how to help incoming students with ADD/ADHD.
May 2014 - Preparing for AU-FAMS
As we approach the Summer semester, we are working hard to prepare for the "Auburn University Freshman ADHD Management Study (AU-FAMS)." AU-FAMS seeks to better understand the how students with ADHD manage their medical treatment and ADHD symptoms during the transition from living at home (and having parent support) to managing ADHD independently. By following 50 incoming freshmen with ADHD across their first semester, we will get a better understanding of what it is like to manage ADHD during this transitional period. Specifically, we want to know what makes it easier or harder to take ADHD medication so that we can develop a program to help future students better manage the transition to college. Our goal is maximize the academic, social, and psychological success of Auburn students and this study is an important step in helping us figure out how to do that. For more information about AU-FAMS, please click on the AU-FAMS tab in the toolbar above.
April 2014 - Starting up new research
April was a very busy time for the lab! We've been working hard on our IBD focus groups and recently began recruiting for Phase 1 of the Freshman Experience Study. This phase involves interviewing freshmen with ADHD to get a better understanding of their experiences managing ADHD on their own since transitioning from parent-supervised management to more independent care now that they live away from home as a college freshman. We are learning a lot about ADHD self-management in this study and are thankful to the Auburn freshmen we've met for sharing their stories. This month, we also had the opportunity to engage in professional development through participation in the 8th Annual Women's Leadership Conference (Dr. Gray and Alana pictured right). It was a great opportunity to learn about the issues facing women as they continue to strive towards equality in their careers, families, and lives.
March 2014 - Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference
Dr. Gray recently presented in Philadelphia at the 2014 Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference. Her talk, entitled "Assessing Transition Readiness in Adolescents and Young Adults with IBD: Progress toward meeting institutional benchmarks of readiness and future opportunities for improvement," was part of a larger transition symposium sponsored by the Adolescent & Young Adult Special Interest Group. A pdf of her talk can be found here.
It was great to hear about the exciting work being conducted at other institutions and meet the many individuals who have a passion for transition issues. Next year's conference will be in sunny San Diego. We hope to see you there!
It was great to hear about the exciting work being conducted at other institutions and meet the many individuals who have a passion for transition issues. Next year's conference will be in sunny San Diego. We hope to see you there!
March 2014 - New additions to the lab
We'd like to welcome two new undergraduate students, Madeline Hearn and Kyndal Hammock, who will be joining us on in the lab. Madeline and Kyndal will be contributing to the Self-Management Transition Enhancement Program and we are excited to have them on our team. For more information about Kyndal and Madeline, please see their bios in the "Meet the Lab" section of our website.
March 2014 - 24th Annual Alabama Transition Conference
We are very fortunate to have the Auburn Transition Leadership Institute (ALTI). This institute is dedicated to improving transition practices, programs, and policies that assist those with disabilities successfully move to adulthood. Whether it involves helping youth transition to post-secondary education, vocational training, or general independence, ATLI is truly a leader in the effort to improve outcomes for Alabama youth. Click here for more information about this amazing institute.
Every year, ATLI hosts a state-wide conference that brings together youth, families, educators, counselors, and legislators to discuss current issues in transition and strategies to help Alabama youth. Dr. Gray recently attended the 24th offering of this conference and gave a presentation on the medical aspects of transition. It was great to be surrounded by so many others with a passion for transition issues. We hope that participation in the Alabama Transition Conference becomes a regular activity in our lab.
Every year, ATLI hosts a state-wide conference that brings together youth, families, educators, counselors, and legislators to discuss current issues in transition and strategies to help Alabama youth. Dr. Gray recently attended the 24th offering of this conference and gave a presentation on the medical aspects of transition. It was great to be surrounded by so many others with a passion for transition issues. We hope that participation in the Alabama Transition Conference becomes a regular activity in our lab.
February 2014 - The calm before the storm, a.k.a. Gearing up for some research fun!
It's so peaceful sitting in the lab (pictured right) when things are quiet. This won't last for long! Our lab is busy working on Phase 1 of the STEP study, which involves transcribing focus groups from our recent work at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Sophie, MaryJane, Gabby, and Caroline are doing a fantastic job on this project and we are learning so much from our families and clinicians.
We were also recently informed that Dr. Gray's intramural grant focused on medication adherence in adolescents with ADHD transitioning from adolescence to independence was also funded! This latter project is an interdisciplinary collaboration with Dr. Jan Kavookjian in Pharmacy and fellow Department of Psychology faculty Dr. Steven Shapiro. This project will be starting in late March/early April and will run through the end of next Fall semester. We will certainly be very busy over the next few months. Time really does fly when you are having fun!
We were also recently informed that Dr. Gray's intramural grant focused on medication adherence in adolescents with ADHD transitioning from adolescence to independence was also funded! This latter project is an interdisciplinary collaboration with Dr. Jan Kavookjian in Pharmacy and fellow Department of Psychology faculty Dr. Steven Shapiro. This project will be starting in late March/early April and will run through the end of next Fall semester. We will certainly be very busy over the next few months. Time really does fly when you are having fun!
January 2014 - Growing and growing...
As our research continues to grow, so does our need for talented students. We'd like to welcome the newest additions to the lab, Sophie Roth, Caroline Nevin, Gabby Weierbach, and MaryJane Simms. Sophie, Caroline, Gabby, and MaryJane will be joining the Adolescent & Young Adult Health Promotion Lab as undergraduate research assistants. They bring with them a strong passion for psychology and we look forward to their start in the lab this semester. For more information about our newest members, please see our "Meet the Lab" page.
December 2013 - CCFA Advances in IBD Care
Dr. Gray recently presented research examining transition readiness skills in adolescents and young adults with IBD. This research suggests that many patients on the verge of transferring to adult care are not meeting institutional benchmarks of transition readiness. Furthermore, there are critical gaps in self-management and self-advocacy present among adolescents that are in need of intervention prior to the transfer to adult care. A copy of her presentation can be found here.
November 2013 - Alabama Association of Higher Education Diversity Officers (ALAHEDO) 2nd Annual Comprehensive Diversity Conference
The lab presented posters at the ALAHEDO conference on 11/1/2013. ALAHEDO, which focuses on promoting awareness of policies and practices that affect diversity in higher education, sponsored a special poster session focused on diversity and health. Dr. Gray's poster, entitled "Cultural differences in complementary and alternative medicine use in pediatric cancer: Types and rates of use and disclosure to health professionals," focused on patterns of complementary and alternative medicine use across domestic and international pediatric cancer populations and discussed implications for cross-cultural communication. Alana's poster, entitled "Obesity, sleepiness, and physical activity in a rural sample of adolescent African-Americans" highlighted the relationship between weight and important lifestyle behaviors in a population at greater risk for obesity. Both posters were positively received by conference attendees and interesting discussions emerged regarding health disparities and the role of health professionals in promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors.
