VCU Health & Development Lab

The VCU Health and Development Lab in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University is directed by Dr. Cecelia Valrie and includes graduate and undergraduate students. Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of people living with sickle cell disease (SCD), and Black youth and young adults.  We strive to understand the unique risk and protective factors and processes that lead to poor health outcomes for these populations, with a focus on pain, sleep, and health disparities. We also partner with various stakeholders (e.g., health care providers, community leaders and groups, public health agencies, people with SCD, youth and their families) to test, implement, and disseminate interventions. Our work is grounded in health psychology and developmental theories, and uses a mix of methodologies, including survey, interviews, and mhealth technology (e.g., ecological momentary assessments and sleep actigraphy) that allows for time-sensitive assessments in the environments people live in. It also spans the range of bio-behavioral research (e.g., focused on individual factors and processes) to community-engaged research (e.g., informed by, in partnership with, or led by community members).