News

Runner-up Award for Diane Brown at the Society of Behavioral Medicine Conference

April 21, 2025 by spunzal1

Congratulations to our research specialist, Diane M. Brown, on receiving the Runner-Up Palliative Care Special Interest Group (SIG) Award for Best Trainee Abstract! The award was given at the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) 2025 Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California. This event is the largest yearly behavioral medicine gathering. Within SBM, the Palliative Care Special Interest Group (SIG) focuses on advancing knowledge about the psychosocial, spiritual, and symptom management needs of patients with serious, life-limiting illnesses and their families.

Under this year’s theme, “Bridging Perspectives in Behavioral Medicine,” Diane’s abstract examines how prior trauma predicts psychological symptoms in Asian Americans diagnosed with metastatic cancer. This work offers fresh insights into the intersection of trauma, mental health, and cancer survivorship.

Student Travel Awards for Thao (Vanessa) Pham

April 12, 2025 by jamiehp1

Congratulations to senior undergraduate research assistant Vanessa Pham on receiving both the UCI UROP and CFCCC Trainee Travel Award! These awards allowed Vanessa to help with our lab’s presentation of STAR Study findings at the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine 82nd Annual Scientific Meeting. The presentation titled, “The Vietnamese Adult STRAIN: Psychometric Properties and Predictive Utility,” was one of the few community-participatory projects at the conference and featured our community partner, Vital Access Care Foundation! Huge thanks from Dr. Kim and Vanessa to all co-authors Hennie Nguyen, Dung Hua, Becky Nguyen, Zach Gray, Dr. George Slavich, and behind-the-scenes major contributor, lab alumni, Annie Pham.

CFCCC Trainee Travel Award for Jacqueline Chow

April 12, 2025 by jamiehp1

Congratulations to UCI medical student Jacqueline Chow on receiving the graduate-level CFCCC Trainee Travel Award!

This award, offered by the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (CFCCC), provides travel and conference funding to UCI Trainee Members actively contributing to cancer research. Awardees were selected based on the scientific rigor, innovation, and potential impact of the research. This award allowed Jackie to present findings on her first-authored poster, “Cultural adaptation of psychotherapy for Mandarin- and Vietnamese-speaking metastatic cancer patients,” at the Society for Behavioral Medicine (SBM). Much gratitude to all our scientific and community advisory collaborator co-authors (Dr. Peter Phung, Becky Nguyen, Carol Wang, Dr. Jenny Tran, Dr. Tan Nguyen, Dr. Sarah Hales, and Dr. Gary Rodin) who actively contributed to this portion of the research. It was a very lively session!

APOS 2025 Health Equity Scholars Plenary

April 12, 2025 by jamiehp1

Congratulations to Dr. Jacqueline H.J. Kim on her invitation as a health equity plenary session speaker at the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) 2025 Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! APOS is a network of professionals dedicated to advancing the quality and equity of psychosocial oncology care.

Under this year’s theme, “Strengthening Bridges Between Clinical Practice and Research: New Perspectives in Psychosocial Oncology,” Dr. Kim presented on the association between lifetime personal/sociopolitical trauma and psychological distress in Asian Americans with metastatic cancer. Her work brings new perspectives to psycho-oncology by exploring the intersection of cancer care, trauma, and mental health.