REBECCA COX Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University 312 Wilson Hall, 111 21 st Avenue South Nashville, TN 37212 615-322-5522 rebecca.cox.1@vanderbilt.edu EDUCATION AND TRAINING Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN 2014 present PhD program in Clinical Science GPA: 3.96 Hendrix College - Conway, AR 2009-2013 Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, cum laude overall GPA: 3.82 Graduated with distinction major GPA: 4.0 RESEARCH INTERESTS The role of sleep disturbance in the development, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety disorders HONORS AND AWARDS Margaret E. Fitch Award - Spring 2013 Highest departmental award for outstanding achievement in Psychology Graduated with Distinction in Psychology - Spring 2013 Graduated with honors, Cum Laude - Spring 2013 Psi Chi member - Spring 2011-Present Vice-President: Spring 2012-Spring 2013 Phi Alpha Theta member - Spring 2013-present Hendrix College Academic Integrity Committee - Spring 2012-Spring 2013 Appointed by Student Senate to faculty and student committee to review cases of student plagiarism; worked on revision of the Academic Integrity Policy to make consequences better reflect the degree of the indiscretion and encourage faculty to report incidents Dean s List - Spring 2011 Hendrix Academic Scholarship - Fall 2009-Spring 2013 Scholarship awarded for academic accomplishments Odyssey Distinction Scholarship - Fall 2009-Spring 2013 Scholarship awarded for accomplishments outside of the classroom Hendrix College Award - Fall 2009-Spring 2013 Scholarship awarded for ACT performance GRANTS Vanderbilt Summer Research Award Summer 2016 Awarded $1,875 for the purchase of sleep measurement equipment and participant compensation for a study examining the role of executive function in the relationship between daily sleep disturbance and anxiety-related symptoms.
Vanderbilt Graduate School Travel Grant Awarded $500 to travel to the 49 th meeting of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies to present research on the role of impaired executive function in the relationship between sleep disturbance and maladaptive repetitive thought. Vanderbilt Graduate School Travel Grant Awarded $500 to travel to the 48 th meeting of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies to present research on the role of self-disgust in the relationship between shame and compensatory behaviors. Hendrix Odyssey Travel Grant - Fall 2012 Awarded $1,000 to travel to the Southwestern Psychological Association conference in Fort Worth, Texas to present research on how sleep deprivation affects sexual intent and commitment aversion PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS Cox, R.C., Kramer, E.L., & Olatunji, B.O. (under review). Flexible shifting and focusing of attention predicts different components of distress tolerance: Implications for affective disorders. Cox, R.C., Ebesutani, C., & Olatunji, B.O. (2016). Linking sleep disturbance and maladaptive repetitive thought: The role of executive function. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 40, 107-117. Cox, R.C. & Olatunji, B.O. (2016). Sleep disturbance and obsessive-compulsive symptoms: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 75, 41-45. Cox, R.C. & Olatunji, B.O. (2016). A systematic review of sleep disturbance in anxiety and related disorders. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 37, 104-129. Olatunji, B. O., Cox, R., & Kim, E. (2015). Self-disgust mediates the associations between shame and symptoms of bulimia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 34, 239-258. Olatunji, B.O., Cox, R., Ebesutani, C., & Wall, D. (2015). Self-harm history predicts resistance to inpatient treatment of body shape aversion in women with eating disorders: The role of negative affect. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 65, 37-46. Peszka, J., Penner, J., Lenow, J., Heimann, C., Lennartson, A. Cox, R., Defrance, K., Murphy, S., & Johns, C. The effects of sleep deprivation on perceptual processes involved in human mating decisions. (in preparation). POSTER PRESENTATIONS Cox, R.C., Kramer, E.L., & Olatunji, B.O. (2016). Flexible shifting and focusing of attention predicts different components of distress tolerance: Implications for the development of affective disorders. To be presented at the 2016 meeting of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in New York, NY. Cox, R.C., Kramer, E.L., & Olatunji, B.O. (2016). More than stress? Prospective association between sleep disturbance and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. To be presented at the 2016 meeting of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in New York, NY.
Cox, R.C., Ebesutani, C., & Olatunji B.O. (2015). Linking sleep disturbance and maladaptive repetitive thought: The role of executive function. Presented at the 2015 meeting of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in Chicago, IL. Cox, R.C. & Olatunji B.O. (2015). Insomnia and obsessions: The moderating role of distress tolerance. Presented at the 2015 meeting of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in Chicago, IL. Kim, E., Cox, R., & Olatunji, B. (2014). Self-disgust uniquely mediates the association between shame and psychopathological symptoms marked by compensatory behaviors. Presented at the 2014 meeting of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in Philadelphia, PA. Cox, R., & Maxwell, T. (2013). The associations between academic doping and depression, anxiety, and personality facets. Presented at the 2013 meeting of the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students in Conway, AR. Cox, R., Defrance, K., Penner, J., & Peszka, J. (2013). The effects of sleep deprivation on perception of attractiveness. Presented at the 2013 meeting of the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students in Conway, AR. Cox, R., Defrance, K., Lennartson, A., Penner, J., & Peszka, J. (2013). The effects of sleep deprivation on commitment aversion and sexual intent. Presented at the 2013 meeting of the Southwestern Defrance, K., Cox, R., Lennartson, A., Peszka, J., & Penner, J. (2013). Do preferences for short- and longterm relationships change with sleep deprivation? Presented at the 2013 meeting of the Southwestern Lennartson, A., Defrance, K., Cox, R., Peszka, J., & Penner, J. (2013). Sleep deprivation s influence on the need for trustworthiness in sexual relationships. Presented at the 2013 meeting of the Southwestern Peszka, J., Penner, J., Mastin, D.F., Lenow, J., Heimann, C., Lennartson, A., Cox, R., & Defrance, K. (2013). The effects of sleep deprivation on perceptual processes involved in human mating decisions. Presented at the 2013 meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (SLEEP) in Baltimore, MD. MEMBERSHIPS IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Association for Psychological Sciences American Psychological Association- Division 12 AD HOC REVIEWER American Journal of Orthopsychiatry Behavior Therapy Journal of Anxiety Disorders Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry Association for Psychological Science Student Research Award 2015 and 2016
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE Emotion and Anxiety Research Laboratory - Vanderbilt University, Fall 2013-Summer 2014 Research assistant to Dr. Bunmi Olatunji; assisted in coordinating and implementing research on attentional biases and genetic factors associated with PTSD symptoms in trauma-exposed veterans; responsibilities include editing IRB proposal, editing and preparing computer tasks using E-Prime and Matlab, participant recruitment, screening potential participants, administering the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview, administering computer tasks (Fear Learning Task and Rapid Serial Presentation Task), and collecting saliva samples for DNA testing Sleep Laboratory - Hendrix College, Summer 2012-Spring 2013 Research assistant to Dr. Jennifer Peszka; assisted in developing and implementing research on the effects of frontal lobe inhibition due to sleep deprivation on mating decisions; designed eye-tracking study to determine the effects of sleep deprivation on pornography viewing; researched and purchased eye-tracking equipment; researched eye-tracking methodology; wrote HSRB proposal; screened potential participants; was responsible for running participants on eye-tracking measure during two 31-hour sleep deprivation studies; analyzed data in Fall 2012 and Spring 2013; presented findings at the meetings of the Southwestern Psychological Association conference and the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students in April 2013 Independent Research - Hendrix College, Summer 2012-Spring 2013 Designed study to determine the role of personality, depression, and anxiety factors in academic doping; wrote HSRB proposal; designed survey using Survey Monkey; collected and analyzed data in Spring 2013; presented findings at the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students in April 2013 Social Psychology Laboratory - Hendrix College, Spring 2011-Spring 2013 Discussed social psychology articles; assisted in planning priming and stereotype research; worked as experimenter and confederate on one priming and one stereotype threat study under Dr. Leslie Zorwick Aging and Memory Laboratory - Hendrix College, Fall 2012-Spring 2013 Assisted in designing recruitment materials to create elderly participant pool from the Conway, Arkansas community for participation in research on aging and memory conducted by Dr. Ruthann Thomas TEACHING AND MENTORING EXPERIENCE Teaching Assistant Abnormal Psychology, Instructor: Bunmi Olatunji; Fall 2015 Mind and Brain, Instructor: Frank Tong; Spring 2016 Guest Lecturer Sleep Disorders. Presented in Abnormal Psychology, Instructor: Bunmi Olatunji; Fall 2015 Introduction to the WISC-5. Presented in Introduction to Clinical Psychology, Instructor: JoAnne Bachorowski, Fall 2015 Workshops Applying to Graduate School: Tips, Strategies, and Common Pitfalls; Fall 2015
Undergraduate Directed Studies Advisor Eliza Kramer, Fall 2015; Spring 2016 Jolene Underwood, Fall 2015 Undergraduate Honors Thesis Committee Member Forrest Edens (PI: Leslie Kirby), Spring 2016 PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE Intern - Pathway Day Treatment, Spring 2013 Worked with adults with severe mental illness, primarily schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder; taught classes on functional living skills and coping strategies, engaged clients in leisure activities, and accompanied clients on community outings EMPLOYMENT Introduction to Psychology/Personality Departmental Assistant - Hendrix College, Fall 2012-Spring 2013 Selected by Dr. Timothy Maxwell to grade Introduction to Psychology and Personality exams and quizzes, compile course evaluations, enter data, and perform any other necessary tasks Departmental Assistant - Hendrix College, Spring 2012 Selected by entire department faculty to perform office duties, compile course evaluations, enter data, and perform any necessary tasks under Dr. Jennifer Peszka TRAINING CITI: Human Subjects Protection Training in Behavioral Research Vanderbilt University Responsible Conduct of Research: National Science Foundation Hendrix College CPR certified ADDITIONAL SKILLS Trained to administer the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview Trained to collect saliva samples for DNA testing Trained to perform telephone screens Experienced in writing and editing IRB proposals Experienced with Microsoft Office and iwork programs Experienced in SPSS Experienced in E-Prime Experienced in creating online research surveys using Survey Monkey and Redcap Familiar with MediaLab Experienced with operating Mirametrix eye tracking equipment and Ogama eye tracking software