معرفی
Mary Davis is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She serves as Research Council Chair of the Center for Mindfulness, Compassion, and Resilience at ASU and maintains affiliation with the REACH Institute. Her research examines how emotional and social factors influence adaptation to chronic stressors, particularly chronic pain conditions, with a focus on developing mindfulness-based interventions to bolster resilience.
Her educational background includes:
- B.S. from University of Idaho (1979)
- M.S. from University of Pittsburgh (1989)
- Ph.D. from University of Pittsburgh (1994)
Dr. Davis's research program centers on social and emotional predictors of adaptation to chronic stress and pain, with particular emphasis on mindfulness-based approaches to promoting emotion regulation and resilience. She leads the Emotion Regulation and Health Lab, which investigates multiple interconnected areas: mindfulness applications for chronic pain management, health consequences of childhood trauma, physiological effects of affectionate touch, resilience factors that mitigate stress impacts, and mechanisms of chronic pain transmission across generations. Her work bridges clinical psychology, health psychology, and neuroscience to develop practical interventions for individuals facing chronic health challenges.
Analysis of her recent publications reveals an evolving research trajectory with increasing interdisciplinary connections. Her current work integrates developmental psychology perspectives with pain research, examining how early experiences shape later pain vulnerability. There is growing emphasis on the relationship between sleep-circadian rhythms and chronic pain conditions, along with sophisticated examination of genetic and environmental factors in pain development. Her research increasingly employs longitudinal and twin study methodologies to disentangle complex causal pathways in pain and resilience processes.
Mary Davis has secured substantial research funding from the National Institutes of Health, including the active grant 'Sleep and circadian rhythm disturbances as risk and progression factors for multiple chronic pain conditions' (2023-2028), 'Research training in drug abuse prevention' (2021-2026), and 'Genetic and Environmental Origins of the Development of Pain in Children' (2016-2027). Her previous successful grants include studies on emotional resilience in fibromyalgia, affectionate touch effects on cardiovascular responses, and mindfulness interventions for chronic pain conditions.
She actively mentors graduate students through dissertation committees (PSY 799), research practicums (PSY 780), and directed research courses (PSY 792). Her service contributions include extensive journal reviewing for Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Health Psychology, Pain, and Psychosomatic Medicine, along with committee service within her department and professional organizations including the American Psychological Association's Division 38 (Health).
The Emotion Regulation and Health Lab, directed by Dr. Davis, brings together interdisciplinary researchers to investigate how emotional and social processes affect adaptation to chronic stressors. The lab employs both experimental and longitudinal methodologies to examine mechanisms through which mindfulness, social support, and other resilience factors influence health outcomes in populations experiencing chronic pain conditions. Current lab projects examine the neural mechanisms of mindfulness interventions, the role of self-compassion in pain management, and developmental pathways to chronic pain conditions.
