Behavioral medicine is the interdisciplinary field focused on the generation and integration of behavioral, psychosocial, and biomedical science knowledge relevant to the understanding of health and illness, and the application of this knowledge and these techniques to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.
The Behavioral Medicine Research Lab at the University of California, Irvine conducts innovative studies of biobehavioral processes related to psychological adjustment and coping in the context of chronic disease and health-related adversity with a focus on cancer survivorship.
Michael A. Hoyt, Ph.D. – Director
Michael Hoyt is an associate professor in the Department of Population Health & Disease Prevention and Director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Lab at the University of California, Irvine. He earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Arizona State University and his Master’s degree from the Tufts University School of Medicine-Emerson College program in Health Communication. He completed his clinical internship at the University of Washington, School of Medicine in behavioral medicine/neuropsychology and a postdoctoral fellowship funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.at the University of California, Los Angeles in health psychology and psychoneuroimmunology.
His research is focused on biobehavioral processes associated with quality-of-life in those facing chronic illness. He conducts basic and clinical research to examine coping processes and other psychological factors associated with mental health, neuroendocrine and immune function, and adjustment to illness, with an emphasis on men and male-specific cancers.
Dr. Hoyt is the current Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine and is a past recipient of the New Investigator Award from the American Psychosocial Oncology Society in recognition of his research contributions to psycho-oncology. He has received competitive funding for his work including awards from the Livestrong Foundation, the National Cancer Institute, and Department of Defense. His work is published in numerous peer-reviewed scientific journals including Health Psychology, Cancer, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
Postdoctoral Fellows/Graduate Students
Marcie Haydon, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Public Health
Karen Llave
Doctoral Candidate, Public Health
Victoria E. Rodriguez
Doctoral Candidate, Public Health
Zixia (Vincent) Wang
Doctoral Student, Public Health
Research Staff
Dalila Guillen
Research Coordinator
Jose Guillermo Lechuga
Research Coordinator
Research Assistants
Sophia Tong
Undergraduate, Public Health
Ryan Shahrokni
Undergraduate, Public Health
Caitlin Yu
Undergraduate, Public Health
David Zoeter
Postbaccalaureate, Psychological Sciences
Former Lab Members
Former Post Doctoral Researchers | Former Doctoral Students | Former Research Staff/Assistants |
Ashley Weiting Wang, Ph.D. Mary Carol Mazza, Ph.D. | Zeba Ahmad, M.A., Ed.M. Katie Darabos, Ph.D. Suganda Gupta, Ph.D. Sean Ryan, MS Caroline Zimmermann, MS Julie Kircher, Ph.D.(c) | Raymond Carrillo Ceja Kareem Gilberto Torres Ariadna Cervantes Sirena St. Ours Ethan Le |
Affiliations
University of California, Irvine
Behavioral Medicine Research Lab
Social Ecology II – Suite 1362
Irvine, California 92697
ph: 949.824.5281