Lynn Martire is Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University. She joined HDFS in 2010 after being on the faculty in the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Psychiatry from 1999 to 2010. Lynn received BA and MA degrees in Psychology from California State University, Sacramento; a PhD in Social Psychology from Kent State University; and postdoctoral training in aging and mental health at the University of Pittsburgh. She is an affiliate of Penn State's Center for Healthy Aging, an interdisciplinary research center housed within the College of Health and Human Development.
Dr. Martire is a social/health psychologist with expertise in family relationships and health. The illness populations that she has studied include osteoarthritis, depression, dementia, spinal cord injury, and obstructive sleep apnea. Dr. Martire has served as Principal Investigator on work supported by the National Institute on Aging; the National Institute of Mental Health; the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; and Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute. Dr. Martire's work is published in aging, health, and psychology journals such as Psychology and Aging, Health Psychology, Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, and Current Directions in Psychological Science.
Dr. Martire currently serves as Director of the Pathways T32 Training Program in Penn State's Center for Healthy Aging (https://sites.psu.edu/healthyagingpathways/).
Current Lab Members
Graduate Students
Yan Huang is a first-year doctoral student in HDFS at Penn State. Before joining Penn State, Yan got her M.S. in Developmental and Educational Psychology from Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and B.S. in Applied Psychology from Nankai University. Yan is interested in social relationships, health, and their age-related changes in middle-aged and older adults. Her current focus is on the impacts of loneliness and its trajectories on older adults' health. In her spare time, Yan likes playing tennis, swimming, walking in the nature, and taking pictures.
Email: [email protected]
Former Lab Members
Ruixue Zhaoyang, Ph.D.
Ruixue was a postdoctoral scholar and Assistant Research Professor in Penn State's Center for Healthy Aging, from 2016 to 2022. Her research focused on the association between close relationships and health within daily activities and across the lifespan.
Past Postdoctoral Fellows
Christina Marini, Ph.D.
Christina earned her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies at Purdue University (2017) and completed a two-year T32 postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Health Aging at Penn State. She is now Assistant Professor of Psychology at Adelphi University.
Jooyoung Kong, Ph.D.
Jooyoung earned her Ph.D. in Social Work at Boston College (2016) and completed a two-year T32 postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State. She is now Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Rachel C. Hemphill, Ph.D.
Rachel earned her Ph.D. in Experimental Social/Health Psychology at Kent State University (2013) and completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State University. She is now a Program Officer at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) in Washington, DC.
Judith Gere, Ph.D.
Judith earned her Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology at the University of Toronto and completed a one-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State University. She is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University in Kent, OH.
Ruixue was a postdoctoral scholar and Assistant Research Professor in Penn State's Center for Healthy Aging, from 2016 to 2022. Her research focused on the association between close relationships and health within daily activities and across the lifespan.
Past Postdoctoral Fellows
Christina Marini, Ph.D.
Christina earned her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies at Purdue University (2017) and completed a two-year T32 postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Health Aging at Penn State. She is now Assistant Professor of Psychology at Adelphi University.
Jooyoung Kong, Ph.D.
Jooyoung earned her Ph.D. in Social Work at Boston College (2016) and completed a two-year T32 postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State. She is now Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Rachel C. Hemphill, Ph.D.
Rachel earned her Ph.D. in Experimental Social/Health Psychology at Kent State University (2013) and completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State University. She is now a Program Officer at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) in Washington, DC.
Judith Gere, Ph.D.
Judith earned her Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology at the University of Toronto and completed a one-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State University. She is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University in Kent, OH.
Past Graduate Students
Suyoung Nah, Ph.D.
Suyoung completed her doctoral work in HDFS at Penn State in 2023. Her dissertation, "Emotional Responses to Received Support and Changes in Well-Being of Care-Recipients and their Spousal Caregivers" was advised by Dr. Martire. Suyoung is currently completing a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech.
Ashley Tate, Ph.D.
Ashley completed her doctoral work in HDFS at Penn State in 2022. Her dissertation, "The Impact of Religiosity on Well-Being Among Chronically Ill Older Adults and their Caregiving Spouses" was advised by Dr. Martire. Ashley is currently a Project Manager at Penn State's Center for Healthy Aging.
Courtney A. Polenick, Ph.D.
Courtney completed her doctoral work in HDFS at Penn State in 2016 and worked in the Martire lab from 2012 to 2014. Her dissertation, "Relationships with aging parents: Implications for well-being in middle-aged couples" was advised by Dr. Steve Zarit. Courtney completed a postdoctoral fellowship (T32) at the University of Michigan and is now Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan.
Stephanie Wilson, Ph.D.
Stephanie earned her PhD in HDFS at Penn State in 2015. Her dissertation, "Associations between daily pain communication and physical health for chronic pain patients and their spouses" was advised by Dr. Martire. Stephanie completed postdoctoral training (T32, K99/R00) at Ohio State's Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, working with Dr. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, and is now Assistant Professor of Psychology at Southern Methodist University.
Mary Jon Barrineau, Ph.D.
Mary Jon earned her PhD in HDFS at Penn State in 2014. Her dissertation, "Emotions in chronic illness: The good, the bad, and the balanced" was co-advised by Dr. Martire and Dr. Steve Zarit. Mary Jon is now a Lecturer of Psychology at Columbia College.
Past Undergraduate Honors Students
Megan Cass, B.S.
Megan recently graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a BS in Biobehavioral Health. She was a member of the Schreyer Honors College and completed her honors thesis, Couple Functioning and Cardiovascular Health: Current Approaches and Findings, during the spring of 2015.
Emily Lowry, B.S.
Emily graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a BS in Human Development and Family Studies. She was a member of the Schreyer Honors College and completed her honors thesis, The Effect of Depression on Cancer Progression and Mortality Among Adults, during the spring of 2015.
Cal Williams, B.S.
Cal graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a BS in Human Development and Family Studies.
Lisa Rosario, B.S.
Lisa graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a BS in General Biology . She plans to attend medical school in the near future. Her ultimate goal is to become a family medicine physician with her own practice.
Suyoung Nah, Ph.D.
Suyoung completed her doctoral work in HDFS at Penn State in 2023. Her dissertation, "Emotional Responses to Received Support and Changes in Well-Being of Care-Recipients and their Spousal Caregivers" was advised by Dr. Martire. Suyoung is currently completing a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech.
Ashley Tate, Ph.D.
Ashley completed her doctoral work in HDFS at Penn State in 2022. Her dissertation, "The Impact of Religiosity on Well-Being Among Chronically Ill Older Adults and their Caregiving Spouses" was advised by Dr. Martire. Ashley is currently a Project Manager at Penn State's Center for Healthy Aging.
Courtney A. Polenick, Ph.D.
Courtney completed her doctoral work in HDFS at Penn State in 2016 and worked in the Martire lab from 2012 to 2014. Her dissertation, "Relationships with aging parents: Implications for well-being in middle-aged couples" was advised by Dr. Steve Zarit. Courtney completed a postdoctoral fellowship (T32) at the University of Michigan and is now Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan.
Stephanie Wilson, Ph.D.
Stephanie earned her PhD in HDFS at Penn State in 2015. Her dissertation, "Associations between daily pain communication and physical health for chronic pain patients and their spouses" was advised by Dr. Martire. Stephanie completed postdoctoral training (T32, K99/R00) at Ohio State's Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, working with Dr. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, and is now Assistant Professor of Psychology at Southern Methodist University.
Mary Jon Barrineau, Ph.D.
Mary Jon earned her PhD in HDFS at Penn State in 2014. Her dissertation, "Emotions in chronic illness: The good, the bad, and the balanced" was co-advised by Dr. Martire and Dr. Steve Zarit. Mary Jon is now a Lecturer of Psychology at Columbia College.
Past Undergraduate Honors Students
Megan Cass, B.S.
Megan recently graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a BS in Biobehavioral Health. She was a member of the Schreyer Honors College and completed her honors thesis, Couple Functioning and Cardiovascular Health: Current Approaches and Findings, during the spring of 2015.
Emily Lowry, B.S.
Emily graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a BS in Human Development and Family Studies. She was a member of the Schreyer Honors College and completed her honors thesis, The Effect of Depression on Cancer Progression and Mortality Among Adults, during the spring of 2015.
Cal Williams, B.S.
Cal graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a BS in Human Development and Family Studies.
Lisa Rosario, B.S.
Lisa graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a BS in General Biology . She plans to attend medical school in the near future. Her ultimate goal is to become a family medicine physician with her own practice.
