About Us

Rebecca Thurston, PhD

Rebecca Thurston, PhD

Director

Dr. Rebecca Thurston is Pittsburgh Foundation Chair of Women’s Health and Dementia, Professor of Psychiatry, and Director of the Women’s Biobehavioral Health Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh. She holds additional appointments in the Departments of Psychology and Epidemiology and at the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Dr. Thurston received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University, her PhD from Duke University, and was a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar at Harvard University. Dr. Thurston is the Principal Investigator of several National Institutes of Health research studies focused on midlife reproductive, cardiovascular, and neurocognitive health. Dr. Thurston is recipient of the International Menopause Society’s Henry Burger Prize, the North American Menopause Society’s Vasomotor Symptoms Research Award, and is an elected fellow of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. Dr. Thurston is a Trustee of and Past President of the North American Menopause Society.

Yuefang Chang, PhD

Yue-Fang Chang, PhD

Research Associate Professor of Neurosurgery

Yue-Fang Chang, Ph.D, is a research associate professor at the Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh. She holds a doctoral degree in statistics and a master degree in epidemiology. She has worked in a variety of areas, such as women’s health, diabetes, health outcome, image study and injury epidemiology. In addition to the MSHeart study, she also serves as the statistician in several epidemiological studies including Cardiovascular Health Study, Women’s Health Initiative and Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation.

Karen Jakubowski, PhD

Karen Jakubowski, PhD

Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry

Dr. Jakubowski received her PhD in Clinical-Health Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, working with Dr. Thurston on her studies of midlife women’s cardiovascular health. Dr. Jakubowski’s research focuses on understanding how stress and trauma, including adverse childhood experiences and intimate partner violence, impact women’s sleep and cardiovascular health.

Holly Thomas, MD, MS

Holly Thomas, MD, MS

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Dr. Thomas seeks to conduct innovative, interdisciplinary, patient-centered clinical research that will improve the health and quality of life of women as they age. In particular, she is interested in understanding the physical and psychosocial factors that contribute to sexual dysfunction in midlife and older women. She uses this understanding to develop behavioral treatment options to improve the sexual health of midlife women.

Mollie Bandy

Administrative Coordinator

Mollie Bandy joined the Women’s Biobehavioral Health Laboratory in September 2020 and has been part of the Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine Research program since August 2008.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Marshall University in Huntington, WV. She has 14 years of research administration experience.

Alexa Packard, MPH

Research Coordinator

Alexa joined the Women’s Biobehavioral Health Laboratory in July of 2021. She received her BS in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and her Master’s in Public Health from Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Her experience with research began during her undergraduate career and has spanned many years and various areas of research, most prominently with underrepresented populations.

Molly Tanner, BS

Research Coordinator

Molly Tanner joined the Women’s Biobehavioral Health Lab in August of 2021. Molly received her BS from the University of Pittsburgh in Natural Sciences with a concentration in Psychology and a Certificate in the Conceptual Foundations of Medicine. Her experience in research began during her undergraduate career and she continues to be enthusiastic about researching the fields of cognitive and neuropsychology.

Alana Castle, BS

Research Specialist

Alana joined the Women’s Biobehavioral Health Lab in February 2022. Alana received her BS from the University of Pittsburgh in Psychology with certificates in Global Health and the Conceptual Foundations of Medicine. Her experience in research began during her undergraduate career and she continues to be interested in research relevant to women’s health and improving quality of life for midlife and aging populations.

Emma Harrison

Research Specialist

Emma Harrison joined the Women’s Biobehavioral Health Laboratory in April of 2023. She received her BS in Neuroscience with a concentration in Cognitive Neuroscience from Carnegie Mellon University. Her research experience began during her undergraduate career studying the psychological and social mechanisms underlying the development of alcohol use disorder. Emma continues to be passionate about research with interests in women’s health and neuropsychology..

Stormy Green

Research Specialist

Stormy Green joined the Women’s Biobehavioral Health Lab in July of 2022. Stormy received her BS from the University of Pittsburgh in Neuroscience and Biological Sciences and her BA in Spanish with minor concentrations in Chemistry and Religious Studies. Her first experiences in research began in her undergraduate career studying women’s health, schizophrenia, and OCD/anxiety disorders. She would like to expand her knowledge of cognition and neuropsychiatry as it relates to women’s health and aging past the menopausal transition.

Nathaniel Evans

Database Coordinator

Nathaniel has a total of 10 years of clinical engineering services throughout the healthcare industry he started at the Women’s Bio-Behavioral Health Lab in 2023. He has over 15 years of experience managing data using various technologies such as SQL server, Microsoft Access, SAS, SPSS, SRSS, Telerik, Excel and other SaaS programs. He also manages and designs multiple share-point sites for various studies. He designs websites using HTML5, CSS, PHP, Angular and C#. He earned his Associate’s degree at the Bradford School of Pittsburgh.

Mary Carson, BS

Predoctoral Student

Mary Carson received her Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience with a minor in Psychology from the Ohio State University. Mary is currently pursuing a PhD in clinical and bio-health psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and her research focuses on investigating how adverse early life experiences relate to women’s health at midlife. 

Lauren Watford, BA

Predoctoral Student

Lauren Watford received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Wellesley College and is pursuing a Ph.D. within the joint Clinical and Biological Health Psychology program at the University of Pittsburgh. Lauren is interested in the interplay between cardiovascular, neurological, and psychological health in midlife women. She hopes to deepen our understanding of why the menopause transition is connected with vascular diseases of both the heart and brain. 

Adoma Boateng

Medical Student

Adoma Boateng received her BA in Psychology with minors in Chemistry and Hispanic Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently pursuing an MD degree at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Her research experience began during her undergraduate career, and her current research focuses on investigating how psychosocial and psychological factors influence women’s health.

Sneha Padamati

Medical Student

Sneha Padamati received her BS from the University of Pittsburgh in Neuroscience and Psychology with a minor in Chemistry and certificate in Conceptual Foundations of Medicine. She is currently pursuing an MD degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and plans to become an OB-GYN physician. She became involved with neuroscience research during her undergraduate career, and her current research is aimed towards exploring how psychosocial factors influence women’s brain health. 

Alicia Cole

Medical Student

Alicia Cole received her BS in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her research experiences began in ecotoxicology, where she studied the effects of estrogen compounds from pharmaceutical waste on aquatic ecosystems. After she graduated, she received a Cancer Training Research Award from the National Cancer Institute. She spent three years participating in investigations on the role of the gut microbiome on cancer therapies before beginning medical school at the University of Pittsburgh, where she studies the influences of psychosocial behaviors on cardiovascular disease risk in perimenopausal women.

 

Caitlyn Johnson, BA

Graduate Research Assistant

Caitlyn Johnson received her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology: Global Health and the Environment from Washington University in St. Louis. Caitlyn is currently in the Biomedical Master’s Program at the University of Pittsburgh with the hopes of matriculating into medical school in Fall 2025.

Gianna Comito

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Gianna Comito is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in psychology, with minors in Hispanic Language & Culture and Chemistry, and certificates in Conceptual Foundations of Medicine and Latin American Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. Gianna plans to attend medical school following her time at Pitt and aspires to be an emergency physician. She enjoys working on the various projects concerning Women’s Health within the lab and hopes to continue research in this area related to health equity. 

Christine Yu-Quintos

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Christine Yu-Quintos is currently a senior undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh. She is majoring in psychology and minoring in statistics and economics. Joining the Women’s Behavioral Health lab in 2023, Christine has furthered her interest in research on women’s health and behavioral analytics. 

Chiamaka Ejinaka

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Chiamaka “Chi” Ejinaka is a junior at the University of Pittsburgh pursuing her bachelor’s degree in psychology, minors in chemistry and theatre arts, and a certificate in conceptual foundations of medicine. She loves learning about ways to improve women’s heart and sleep health through her time in the lab. Chi’s post-undergraduate plans include pursuing a master’s in biomedical sciences and attending medical school.

Abby Clay

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Abby is a junior at the University of Pittsburgh pursuing her bachelor’s degree in psychology and English writing. Her research interests lie in investigating how psychosocial factors, such as stressful life experiences and trauma, influence mental and physical health outcomes.