Professor Honored by Society of Behavioral Medicine.
Monica Wang, assistant professor of community health sciences, has been selected by the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) to receive the 2016 Early Career Investigator Award.
The award recognizes an SBM member who has received a terminal degree within the last seven years. Selection is based on total career achievement and review of a representative published paper.
“It’s fantastic to have recognition for behavioral interventions that can yield multiple benefits,” Wang says, noting she’s especially excited that recognition is for promoting health among marginalized and minority populations—those, she points out, that are at particular risk.
Her paper, published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine in 2014, examined how a behavioral intervention may have multiple benefits. In this case, participants with depressive symptoms in a type 2 diabetes self-management intervention for low-income Latinos showed improved mental health at follow-up.
SBM will present the Early Career Investigator Award at the Society’s 2016 annual meeting and scientific sessions in Washington, DC, from March 30 to April 2.
The Society of Behavioral Medicine is a 2,200-member organization of scientific researchers, clinicians, and educators studying interactions among behavior, biology, and the environment, and translating findings into interventions that improve the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities.