Graduate Student Spotlight Award winner – Winter/spring 2014
Congratulations to Jennifer Rohan, MA.
By Katherine Donlon, MS
Jennifer Rohan is a fourth-year PhD student specializing in pediatric psychology at the University of Cincinnati under the mentorship of Dr. Denny Drotar. Jennifer has an exceptionally strong track record in research, clinical, leadership, and community endeavors within the field of pediatric psychology. She has been involved in a number of research projects in pediatric chronic illness, primarily examining topics within the field of treatment adherence research and adherence promotion interventions in pediatric chronic illness. Jennifer has presented her research at national and local conferences, including the National Conference in Pediatric Psychology and APA. Jennifer has a strong track record of publications in pediatric psychology. She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the SPP Travel Award. Jennifer recently was awarded an NRSA Individual Pre-doctoral Fellowship (F31) from NCI (total funding: $35,000), which supports her dissertation work and will focus on adherence to chemotherapy treatment in pediatric cancer and will examine two objective measures of medication adherence (electronic monitoring and metabolite data) and their relationship to clinical outcomes.
Clinically, Jennifer has worked with patients and families in the context of multidisciplinary medical teams and outpatient treatment settings who presented with a wide range of issues across a number of clinical populations, including: asthma, hyperlipidemia, eczema, transplant, sickle cell disease, complex medical conditions, trichotillomania, ADHD, and other chronic illness populations. She also has participated in program development in multidisciplinary clinics. She is particularly interested in and has published on the topic of data analytic approaches that lend themselves to understanding the clinical outcomes of individual cases and case series. Jennifer has actively participated in the Adherence SIG, including the Dissemination and Intervention Subcommittees. Jennifer also has a strong interest in mentoring others, including student volunteers and research assistants. Personally, Jennifer is described by her mentor as having an extraordinary commitment to the field of pediatric psychology, including a strong track record of tangible accomplishments as well as personal attributes that make her stand out as a graduate student.
Jennifer applied for internship this past October and plans to pursue internship training in pediatric psychology. After graduation, Jennifer plans to continue with her research and clinical work in pediatric psychology with a focus on measurement and research design in treatment adherence and chronic illness populations; developing innovative interventions to improve clinical outcomes in pediatric chronic illness populations; and, integrating research and clinical practice.