Current Research | Kevin Larkin | West Virginia University

Behavioral Physiology Laboratory Research Team

Emma is currently finishing her doctoral internship at River Valley Health Systems in Knoxville, Tennessee. She recently defended her dissertation which examined the relation between John Henryism and reactivity to stress in an Appalachian sample. She will begin a postdoctoral fellowship at East Tennessee State University in August of 2026. She is broadly interested in clinical health psychology, with a particular interest in ties between coping strategies and stress responses. Emma plans to continue working in integrated primary care settings, offering behavioral health interventions to individuals in rural communities.

Tommy is entering his fourth year in the Clinical Psychology Program. He has broad interests in Clinical Health Psychology with specific foci on mindfulness and heart rate variability biofeedback.

Matthew is a third-year doctoral student completing his thesis project in the Behavioral Physiology Laboratory. He is a recipient of the Arlan G. and Louise Stone Swiger Fellowship and has research interests in the area of how stress and coping affect mental and physical health, with an emphasis on coping flexibility, heart rate variability, and Latinx and LGBTQ+ identity. His thesis project aims to develop and validate a scale for assessing coping flexibility for broad-based usage, but particularly with patients coping with chronic medical conditions. He graduated in 2023 with a B.S. in Psychology from Brigham Young University with a minor in Spanish. Before coming to WVU, Matthew also worked in clinical trials with WIVR at the George E. Wahlen VAMC, helping with investigations into chronic pain, heart failure, and dementia.

Madison is a second-year doctoral student in the Behavioral Physiology Lab and a recipient of the Arlen G. and Louise Stone Swiger Fellowship. In 2024, she earned her B.A. in Psychology from The Ohio State University, with minors in Human Nutrition and Substance Misuse & Addiction. Prior to her time at WVU, Madison worked as a clinical research assistant at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, contributing to the development of a symptom management app for individuals with advanced cancer who live in rural communities. Her research interests lie broadly in clinical health psychology, with a focus on improving whole-person health across diverse populations. She is particularly interested in expanding the effectiveness and reach of evidence-based interventions through integrated care models and the use of technology.

Hailey is a first-year doctoral student in the Behavioral Physiology Lab. She graduated in May 2026 with her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University. Her research interests lie broadly in health psychology with specific interests in cardiovascular health, affective science, coping, mindfulness, and alexithymia.