Derek Spangler

Derek Spangler serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Health at the College of Health and Human Development, Pennsylvania State University, where he investigates real-world stress dynamics through mobile sensing technologies.

His educational background includes a PhD in Neuroscience and Biological Psychology from Virginia Tech (2016).

Dr. Spangler's research program examines the interplay between physiological responses (particularly autonomic nervous system activity) and behavioral manifestations of stress in naturalistic settings. His work specifically aims to: (1) quantify how real-world stress varies across timescales, contexts, and individual attributes including gender, ethnicity, and socioemotional traits; and (2) develop mobile technology applications to predict and modify health outcomes related to cardiovascular disease and psychopathology.

His core research interests encompass:

• Stress and negative emotion
• Autonomic nervous system regulation
• Mobile sensor applications in health research
• Cardiovascular disease risk pathways
• Gender and ethnic differences in stress responses

Dr. Spangler is actively recruiting graduate students for his laboratory and maintains his research operations in the Biobehavioral Health Building at Penn State, with contact available via dqs6050@psu.edu or 814-863-5802.