Photo of Dr Jenna Cummings

Dr Jenna Cummings

Lecturer Psychology

About

Personal Statement

I am a health psychologist with interest in the biopsychosocial causes and effects of health-related behaviours, particularly eating behaviour. I earned a PhD in Health Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (2018) and completed postdoctoral training in Developmental Science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2020) and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2022).

I would be pleased to hear from prospective PhD students with the following areas of research interest, and I support students from diverse backgrounds (e.g., first-generation students, students from deprived neighbourhoods, racial minorities):
-Examining why there are between- and within-person differences in emotional eating
-Investigating how children develop beliefs about the emotional effects of different foods
-Identifying biopsychological pathways by which socioeconomic factors influence eating and other health-related behaviours

Prizes or Honours

  • Early Career Award (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2021)
  • Health Psychology Graduate Award for Most Outstanding Research Paper (University of California, Los Angeles, 2018)
  • Dissertation Research Award (American Psychological Association, 2017)

Funded Fellowships

  • Intramural Research Training Award (National Institutes of Health, 2020 - 2022)
  • T32 Fellowship for Training in Developmental Science to Improve Child Health and Well-Being (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2018 - 2020)
  • Graduate Research Fellowship (National Science Foundation, 2015 - 2018)