CPHAR Fellows Biographical Information

Cory K. Chen

Cory K. Chen, PhD completed his undergraduate work at Duke University in 2000 with a degree in Psychology and Public Policy and concentrations in neuroscience and health policy. As an undergraduate Howard Hughes Research Fellow, he conducted research on Alzheimer’s disease related genetic influences on neuronal development at Duke’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. As a Gable Fellow for Duke’s Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Dr. Chen examined the housing and care options for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease in the Research Triangle Area, Rochester, NY, and Oxford, UK. In 2000, Dr. Chen began his graduate training at UNC-Chapel Hill in Clinical Psychology and during that time he was an American Psychological Association Minority Fellow for their Summer Institute on Minority Aging and a Fellow for the National Institute on Aging’s Summer Training in Aging Research Topics program.

Cory K. Chen, PhD was awarded a CPHAR fellowship in 2005, which he used to complete his dissertation research through the Clinical Psychology Department at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Chen’s faculty advisory committee for the training program included Sheryl Zimmerman, Ph.D. and Marilyn Hartman, Ph.D. Dr. Hartman was also the co-chair of Dr. Chen’s dissertation committee which included Drs. David Miklowitz, Melanie Elliot, Laura Clark, and Andrea Hussong. Dr. Chen’s dissertation project involved a study of family caregivers of individuals with dementia and examined the impact of relationship history on current interaction patterns. Study findings have been presented at national conferences and are currently under review for publication. Dr. Chen also received a Baughman Dissertation Award for Innovative Dissertation Project, a Graduate Mentor Support Grant, a Smith Graduate Research Grant and a Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society Grant. He completed his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2007 following his internship training at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. He was also awarded the Martin S. Wallach Memorial Award for Outstanding Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology by the UNC-Chapel Hill Clinical Psychology Department.

In 2007, Dr. Chen joined the staff at the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System – Manhattan Campus (VA NYHHCS) where he worked as a Staff Psychologist on the Home Base Primary Care Team. Dr. Chen is currently a Staff Psychologist and Coordinator for the Program for Family Caregiver Mental Health and Wellness at the VA NYHHCS. He was awarded at T21T Demonstration Project Grant in 2009 through the VA Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care to develop a family caregiver program in Primary Care Geriatrics. He is also on the training faculty of the Pre-doctoral Psychology Internship Program, Postdoctoral Program in Geropsychology and Postdoctoral Program in Health Psychology at VA NYHHCS as well as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry in the NYU School of Medicine. Dr. Chen is currently pursuing postdoctoral clinical training through the Certificate Program in Psychoanalysis at the William Alanson White Institute.

Selected Publications

Original Reports

1. Zimmerman SI, Gruber-Baldini AL, Sloane PD, Eckert JK, Hebel JR, Morgan LA, et al. Assisted living and nursing homes: Apples and oranges?  The Gerontologist 2003; 43 (Spec, 2): 107-17.

2. Zimmerman S, Sloane PD, Eckert JK, Gruber-Baldini AL, Morgan LA, Hebel JR, et al. How good is assisted living? Findings and implications from an outcomes study. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 2005; 60(4): S195-204.

3. Chen CK. Abiding with the Client: Is Listening Enough? Voices: The Art and Science of Psychotherapy 2006; 42(3): 38-43.

4. Chen CK, Sabir M, Zimmerman S, Suitor J, & Pillemer K. The Importance of  Family Relationships with Nursing Facility Staff for Family Caregiver Burden and Depression. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences 2007; 62b(5): P253-P260.

5. Chen CK, Sloane PD, Barrick AL, & Zimmerman S. Assisted Living Policies Promoting Autonomy and their Relationship to Depression. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 2007; 15(2): 122-129.

6. Zimmerman S, Mitchell CM, Chen CK, Morgan LA, Gruber-Baldini AL, Sloane PD, et al.  An observation of assisted living environments: space use and behavior.  Journal of Gerontological Social Work 2007; 49 (3): 185-203.

Reviews, Books, and Book Chapters

1. Chen CK, Sloane PD, & Dalton T. Lighting and Circadian Rhythms and Sleep in Older Adults: Technical Memorandum, EPRI, 2003.  #1007708

2. Potter GG, Attix DK, and Chen CK. Group psychotherapy approaches for dementia.  In D.K. Attix, & K. Welsh-Bohmer editors.  Geriatric Neuropsychological Assessment and Intervention. New York: Guilford Publications; 2005. p.394-413.

Books and Monographs

1. Chen C. Dynamics of Intergenerational Caregiving: A Study of Attachment and Expressed Emotion among Children Caring for Parents with Dementia. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller; 2009.

Abstracts

1. Chen, C. Psychotherapy in the homes of depressed older veterans: Unique opportunities and challenges. Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging 2009; 13(Supp 1): S154-S155.