Iris Taber, PhD (Clinical) and Nyaz Didehbani, PhD (Clinical Health Psychology / Behavioral Medicine) have been awarded the Early Career Psychologist (ECP) Credentialing Scholarship by the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology (National Register) in conjunction with the American Psychological Association Committee on Early Career Psychologists.

The idea that happiness leads to a longer, healthier life is moving from folklore to fact. As evidence accumulates, scientists search for the ways that being a happy person causes better health. Now comes evidence that happy people are more likely to exercise - a behavior known to improve physical health.

It's a finding drawn from a study by a team of researchers including Lauren Smith, MS and John Ruiz, Ph.D. at the University of North Texas and Heidi Hamann, Ph.D. at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Daniel Taylor, Ph.D. and Kimberly Kelly, Ph.D. of the Clinical Health Psychology program at the University of North Texas have been awarded $442,838 to study the effects of insomnia on response to the influenza vaccine by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Guarnaccia will be taking on the program director (DCT) position for the Clinical Health Psychology / Behavioral Medicine program effective immediately. The program faculty and Department Chair are looking forward to working with him, and appreciate his willingness to take on these responsibilities.

Dr. Vosvick resigned as program director in order to focus on some exciting opportunities with the Gallup Wellness study and the initiative to create a new Research Center for Intervention and Prevention. His accomplishment over the past year are greatly appreciated.

Will Hua, doctoral student in the clinical health psychology program, was featured in the November 2010 issue of American Psychologist as the winner of the 2010 APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology. The citation reads as follows:

During deployments, military personnel often work rapidly changing schedules, sleeping for a few hours at a time whenever they can and sometimes being forced to cut sleep short and awaken quickly to respond to an ambush, mortar or rocket attack or other emergency situation. Their erratic sleep patterns usually continue when they return from deployment, leading to insomnia.

Congratulations to Will Hua, doctoral student in the Clinical Health program, who received the APA / APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology.