Samantha Farris

Samantha Farris serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. As Director of The Rutgers Emotion, Health and Behavior (REHAB) Laboratory, she leads translational research examining how anxiety and fear mechanisms influence physical health and risk behaviors.

Her academic training includes a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Houston, an internship at Brown University's Alpert Medical School, and specialized fellowships in cancer prevention (MD Anderson Cancer Center) and cardiovascular behavioral medicine (The Miriam Hospital/Brown University).

Dr. Farris' research program investigates biopsychological fear pathways through experimental methodologies and real-time assessment, focusing on emotion regulation's role in smoking behavior, chronic pain conditions like migraine, and exercise avoidance. Her work identifies transdiagnostic mechanisms—particularly anxiety sensitivity and fear-avoidance—that drive health behaviors across medical comorbidities, with emphasis on women's health and gender-specific pathways.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals consistent innovation in developing assessment tools (e.g., Exercise Sensitivity Questionnaire) and tailored interventions (e.g., BE-FIT protocol) targeting interoceptive exposure for medical populations. Her scholarship spans cardiac rehabilitation, smoking cessation, and menstrual cycle influences, demonstrating how momentary anxiety amplifies health-risk behaviors through emotion dysregulation.

Supported by continuous NIH funding for over a decade, Dr. Farris has produced 100+ peer-reviewed publications. Her REHAB Lab trains graduate students in clinical health psychology methodologies while advancing telehealth-delivered behavioral interventions for fear of physical sensations.

The REHAB Laboratory maintains active collaborations with medical centers, employing ecological momentary assessment and clinical trials to study fear-avoidance in chronic disease populations. Current projects include BE-FIT implementation for cardiac rehabilitation patients, ovarian hormone effects on anxiety-smoking interactions, and telehealth adaptation of interoceptive exposure protocols for medically complex individuals.