Sbrocco Lab
Graduate Students
Rob Clark is a sixth year student (civilian) completing a Ph.D. in Medical & Clinical Psychology (dual track). His research interests broadly include health/medical psychology, particularly in the areas of subjective and objective measures of male and female sexual functioning, cultural aspects of sexual functioning, and obesity, exercise, and nutrition.
Undergraduate: Rob earned his bachelor's degree in Psychology (2001; minor in Biology) from Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland.
Work Experience: After Loyola, Rob worked at the National Institute on Drug Abuse - Clinical Psychopharmacology as a Post-Baccalaureate Fellow and Laboratory Technician doing research examining the effects of drugs of abuse, particularly MDMA (ecstasy) and MDMA analogues, on neurotransmitter release in a rodent model.
Graduate Work: Rob's master's thesis (M.S. in Medical Psychology, 2007) focused on heart rate variability in male sexual arousal and erectile dysfunction. His doctoral dissertation examines the effects of cognitive schemas, ethnicity, and hormones on the sexual functioning of menopausal women.
Clinical Experience: Multicultural Clinical Center, Washington DC Veterans Affairs, Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute, Baltimore Veterans Affairs, Kentlands Psychotherapy, Sexual Behaviors Consultation Unit.
Publications/Presentations: Rob has co-authored 5 professional poster presentations, 6 publications, and 1 oral presentation.
Leadership Activities: Rob has served as the Medical and Clinical Psychology graduate school representative to the Graduate School Council.
Professional Societies: American Psychological Association (APA), American Association for Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT), Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS).
Contact: rclark@usuhs.mil
Captain Laurel Cofell, M.S. (Psychology, 2009) is a fourth year clinical psychology student.
Undergraduate: In 2004 Laurel received her Bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Southern California, with a minor in East Asian Languages and Cultures.
Previous Military Experience: Laurel received her commission as a U.S. Army Medical Service Corps officer in 2004 and prior to attending graduate school worked as a military medical logistician.
Graduate Work: Since starting graduate school Laurel focused her research on eating and weight control behaviors and women's health issues. In particular, she is interested in military and psychological factors that influence military women's health and health behaviors. She wrote her Master's thesis about the psychological factors, military factors, and individual differences associated with short-term and long-term unhealthy weight loss behaviors in Army soldiers. She is currently working on her dissertation using a sample of postpartum military women to determine the influence of social support on postpartum mental and physical health.
Clinical Experiences and Interests: Laurel's current clinical practicum is at the National Institutes of Health neuropsychology service. Past clinical placements include placements at the DC Veteran's Affairs hospital and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Her clinical interests include health behavior change, trauma and trauma therapy, and existential therapy.
Publications/Presentations: Laurel has co-authored two professional poster presentations.
Professional Plans: Laurel plans on attending internship next year at one of the Army's internship training sites.
Professional Societies: Laurel is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States.
Contact: lcofell@usuhs.mil
Elena Spieker is a third year student (civilian) completing a Ph.D. in Medical & Clinical Psychology (research track). Her research interests include obesity and weight management, factors that enhance successful behavior change and the neural correlates of overeating in obese populations. More broadly, her interests extend to several areas of health psychology, including exercise and nutrition.
Undergraduate: Elena earned her Bachelor's of Science degree in Psychology and a minor in History from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in 2006. She also completed an undergraduate thesis in 2006, evaluating factors that influence satiety in rodents.
Work Experience: While at UMBC, Elena worked in the behavioral analysis of ingestion lab of Dr. Zoe Warwick, Ph.D., studying eating and satiety in rodents (2004-2006) and in the Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC) studying learning and memory in schizophrenia (2005-2006). Following graduation, Elena worked full-time at the MPRC as Clinical Coordinator of several neuroimaging research studies in the FNL (2006-2007).
Graduate Work: Elena's master's thesis (M.S. in Medical Psychology, 2010) is an examination of eating behaviors in African American and Caucasian women. Her doctoral dissertation will examine the predictive validity of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) as a means of determining implicit biases that are correlated with adherence to behavior change in women.
Publications/Presentations: Elena has co-authored 9 professional poster presentations and 4 publications.
Professional Societies: American Psychological Association (APA), American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS), Obesity Society, Society for Neuroscience (SfN).
Contact: elena.spieker@usuhs.mil
Captain Jennifer Henderson, M.S.I.R. (2009) is a first year clinical psychology student.
Undergraduate and Previous Graduate Education: Jennifer received her Bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of West Florida in 2002. Jennifer also received a Master's of Science in International Relations from Troy University in 2009. Her primary research focus was Russian international relationships.
Previous Military Experience: Jennifer received her commission as an U.S. Air Force Intelligence Officer in 2002. Prior to attending USUHS, she served at the 609th Air Intelligence Squadron and deployed to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar in 2005.
Current Graduate Work: Since starting at USU, Jennifer's research has focused on weight control behaviors and women's health issues. She is beginning her thesis research examining implicit and explicit attitudes and weight management behaviors. Her clinical interests include women's and children's health, secondary traumatic stress, and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Publications/Presentations: Jennifer is the author of "Holy War: Millenarianism and Political Violence," Air & Space Power Journal: Chronicles Online Journal (11 Sept 2008).
Professional Societies: American Psychological Association (APA), American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS), Obesity Society, Society for Neuroscience (SfN).
Contact: Jennifer.Henderson@usuhs.mil
Current and Recent Lab Activities:
- The Sbrocco lab runs on-going weight loss groups for overweight and obese African-American women. Over the past fifteen years the Sbrocco lab has developed Behavior Choice Treatment (BCT), a group-based cognitive-behavioral weight loss treatment which helps individuals make moderate and sustainable healthy lifestyle changes. BCT has been shown to promote sustained weight loss over the course of a twelve-month post-treatment follow-up. Most recently, the lab has conducted BCT weight loss groups in predominantly African-American church settings as part of a community-based participatory research model. In addition, family members are included in the current study to help determine if changing the eating patterns of a woman in the household influences the eating behaviors of other household members. Over 15 BCT groups have been conducted over the years and the Sbrocco lab has recently started a BCT group at Reid Temple AME Church in Glenn Dale, Maryland.
- The Sbrocco lab completed a focus group study in June 2009 which was intended to help understand factors associated with exercise behavior in African-American women. A total of six focus groups were conducted with women from a wide range of demographic variables including age and exercise frequency. A number of significant factors were found to influence exercise tendencies, including concepts of "exercise," lifestyle changes over the course of the lifespan, and issues specific to African-American women, such as concerns about ruining expensive hair treatments. The findings of these focus groups will be used to implement an exercise component into the existing BCT protocol.
Contact Information
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
4301 Jones Bridge Road
Bethesda, Maryland 20814-4799