October 07, 2010
Elizabeth Brondolo, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, a renowned
leader in the field of clinical psychology has secured a $450,000
grant to create a web-based program to prevent mental health risks
in medical examiners. The two-year grant was conferred by the
federal Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
“St. John’s reputation for academic excellence and student
engagement is reflected in faculty members like Dr. Brondolo,” said
Raymond DiGiuseppe, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the
Department of Psychology. “Dr. Brondolo’s many innovations in
the field have garnered praise and recognition for our department.
In addition, her emphasis on student involvement has advanced their
professional development and leadership skills.”
As is her practice, Dr. Brondolo is engaging students in developing
this web-based detection system aimed at reducing
occupation-related mental health issues. “While this version
is tailored to meeting the needs of medical examiners,” she said,
“it will serve as a model for our future interactive,
early-intervention occupation-related web tools.” The site melds
video messaging with follow-up dialogues to help medical examiners
reduce workplace stress. It will be up and running by March
2011.
“I consider myself very fortunate to be involved in such important
studies with someone like Dr. Brondolo,” said Melissa Pencille, a
fourth-year doctoral student in
Clinical Psychology. “Not only is she a wonderful and
supportive mentor, but her projects have exposed me to many fields
— including medicine, biology, science and sociology.”
Helping underserved populations like medical examiners who deal
with the miseries of others, but whose own stress is often
overlooked enables Melissa to incorporate the University’s
Vincentenian mission into her own core values. “The people we work
with appreciate that we are paying attention to their concerns,”
she said. In fact, in Melissa’s view, this kind of help “is our
social obligation as psychologists.”
Students are also assisting Dr. Brondolo in a project for the American Psychological Association.
This undertaking involves creating a website with cutting-edge
scientific findings on the health effects of racial behavior. “We
are committed to using our knowledge of psychology to eliminate
social injustice,” said Dr. Brondolo.