Faculty and Staff

Dr. Michael R. Irwin is Cousins Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Distinguished Professor of Psychology, UCLA College of Letters and Sciences; Director, Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience; Director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center. Michael R. Irwin is one of the world’s foremost experts on the psychoneuroimmunological pathways by which psychosocial and behavioral factors influence health and disease.

Elizabeth Crabb Breen, M.T.(A.S.C.P.), Ph.D., began her career as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist, and transitioned to human immunology research in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology in the UCLA School of Medicine.

Steve Cole is a Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences in the UCLA School of Medicine. His research studies the biological pathways by which social environments influence gene expression by viral, cancer, and immune cell genomes. Dr. Cole received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford University in 1993 and subsequently completed 5 years of Post-Doctoral Fellowship research in psycho-neuro-immunology at UCLA.

Dr. Fuligni received his Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at the University of Michigan and was previously an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at New York University. His work has been funded by a FIRST award from NICHD, a Faculty Scholars Award from the William T. Grant Foundation, the Mac Arthur Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the Haynes Foundation.

Hyong Jin Cho, MD, PhD, MSc, FAPA, is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA and a board-certified psychiatrist. Dr. Cho's research has focused on the role of systemic inflammation in depression, fatigue, and sleep disturbance, three constructs often collectively named as ‘sickness behavior’. His current study examines the potential causal contribution of sleep loss to depressive symptoms via inflammatory mechanisms, by experimentally inducing sleep deprivation and systemic inflammation.

Dr. Nicassio?s research has concentrated on the adjustment process in persons with chronic illness and the development and evaluation of behavioral interventions for persons with rheumatoid arthritis, chronic pain, and sleep disturbance. Dr. Nicassio is the principal co-editor of the book, Managing Chronic Illness: A Biopsychosocial Approach, published by the American Psychological Association (1995). Much of his work has focused on the contribution of illness beliefs to depression and health outcomes in persons with autoimmune disorders such as RA and systemic lupus erythematosus. Dr.

Erica Sloan, Ph.D., is an Research Scientist at the UCLA Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology. Erica completed a Bachelor of Science (Hons) at the Australian National University, where she was awarded the University Medal in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Her PhD, at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center in Melbourne, Australia, focused on mechanisms of breast cancer metastasis and helped to identify genes involved in the spread of cancer. Erica commence postdoctoral research into the neural regulation of HIV at the UCLA Cousins Center in 2004.

Annette L. Stanton, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry/Biobehavioral Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, senior research scientist at the UCLA Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, and a member of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Research in the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her research centers on specifying factors that promote psychological and physical health in individuals who confront health-related adversity.

Donald M. Lamkin, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences in the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and a Research Scientist at the Cousins Center for PNI in the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior. Dr. Lamkin received his Ph.D. in health psychology from the University of Iowa before completing post doctoral training in neuroimmunology and cancer biology at UCLA. Dr. Lamkin's sresearch focuses on biobehavioral mechanisms in cancer control.