2013 Division 54 Award Winners
A distinguished group honored for this year’s Div. 54 faculty awards.
Martin P. Levin Mentorship Award
The Martin P. Levin Mentorship Award was given to John Chaney , PhD. This award honors a pediatric psychology faculty member who mentors students in an exemplary way, providing professional advice and guidance through various phases of training including early-career development.
Chaney is a Regents professor in clinical psychology at Oklahoma State University (OSU) and an associate clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
His research broadly examines parent and youth adjustment to chronic medical illness, specifically on disease and treatment variables associated with illness appraisals, social stigma and depression in youth with irritable bowel disease and their parents.
Chaney is principal investigator and director of the American Indians into Psychology program at OSU – one of only three Indian Health Service-funded programs in the country – designed to promote Native American undergraduate and graduate students in pursuit of advanced degrees in psychology.
Logan Wright Distinguished Research Award
The Logan Wright Distinguished Research Award [now the Dennis Drotar Distinguished Research Award in Pediatric Psychology] was given to Scott W. Powers , PhD. This award recognizes excellence and significant contributions in establishing the scientific base of pediatric psychology.
Powers is a professor of pediatrics and psychology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, a member of the Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology Division at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and director of the Office for Clinical and Translational Research for the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation.
He founded the Headache Center at Cincinnati Children’s and has been instrumental in the growth and development of the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, described as the top U.S. program for clinical care, research and training. He also established the Center for Child Behavior and Nutrition Research and Training, whose purpose is to advance the field via interdisciplinary research, innovative clinical trials, translational investigations and training the next generation of scientists.
Routh Early Career Award in Pediatric Psychology
The Routh Early Career Award was given to Kristoffer Scott Berlin , PhD. This award recognizes significant contributions to the field of pediatric psychology in research, clinical training and/or service during the early career.
Berlin is an assistant professor of clinical psychology at the University of Memphis Department of Psychology.His research interests include the fields of pediatric psychology, child clinical psychology and quantitative psychology. His research focuses on cultural, family and behavioral factors that promote health and reduce morbidity in childhood chronic illness with an explicit aim to integrate quantitative and behavioral methodologies to inform, develop and refine clinical health interventions and assessment.
Projects include 1) examining longitudinal models of stress and adaptation to promote quality of life and regimen adherence among youth with type 1 diabetes and their families and 2) identifying the influence of cultural and family factors on children’s weight, diet and mealtime behavior, with a focus on obesity in early childhood.
Lee Salk Service Award
The Lee Salk Distinguished Service Award was given to David J. Bearison, PhD. This award recognizes service to the field of pediatric psychology, including public or political advocacy or leadership.
Bearison is professor emeritus in developmental psychology, educational psychology, forensic psychology, health psychology and psychology and law (Founding Director) at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He also is adjunct professor of pediatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and of medical psychology in pediatrics and psychiatry at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Bearison’s research examines social and cultural foundations of cognitive and emotional development, and focuses on how we understand and adjust to medical trauma including the prospects of dying. He has published more than 75 studies in leading scientific journals mostly in psychology but also in education, medicine, nursing and social work. He is a member of the APA’s Children and Adolescents Task Force on End-of-Life Issues.