Title: Assistant Adjunct Professor
Education:
Arizona State University, PhD in Clinical Psychology
Postgraduate Training:
Internship: Palo Alto VA Health Care System, Clinical Psychology/Behavioral Medicine; Postdoctoral Fellowship: UCSF, NIMH Psychology & Medicine Program
Biography Summary:
Heather Burke is an assistant professor in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry. She is also a faculty member in the Health Psychology Postdoctoral Program. Her program of research is based on identifying the biopsychosocial link between depression, stress and diseases of inflammation. Her focus is on endocrine-immune interactions, the “cross-talk” between stress-related hormones such as cortisol and norepinephrine and immune system production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In her NIMH-funded Career Development Award grant, she is examining endocrine and immune responses to a standardized psychosocial stressor in depressed and non-depressed women, as well as in vitro immune cell resistance to the regulatory effects of cortisol. In addition to her depression study, she also collaborates with several other faculty members on related projects, including Drs. Owen Wolkowitz, Margaret Kemeny, Elissa Epel, and Sindy Mellon.
Clinical Expertise:
Behavioral medicine, health psychology, medical and mood disorders, medical neuropsychology
Educational Expertise:
Behavioral medicine, mind-body interactions
Research Areas:
Currently recruiting depressed women for research study on stress and depression (
http://www.sadstudy.org); Research interests include depression, cytokines, and inflammation
Administrative Assistant: Hana Tylova-Stein - Contact Information
Campus Location: Laurel Heights
Publications on PubMed »