Dusti R. Jones, PhD

Dr. Jones is currently a K12 scholar in the Clinical and Translational Science’s Career Development Program. She completed a postdoc with Dr. Joshua Smyth which focused on Ambulatory Biopsychology. Dr. Jones received her PhD in Biobehavioral Health from the Pennsylvania State University, where she was a T32 predoctoral fellow in the Pathways T32 Training Program to identify psychosocial determinants and biological pathways that underlie healthy aging. She also has a master’s degree in Experimental Psychology and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Western Washington University.

Research Statement

Dr. Jones uses a resilience-based approach to understand what protective factors (e.g., positive emotions, emotion stability, self-regulatory capacity, mindfulness) can be utilized as an asset or resource to decrease engagement in harmful health behaviors (e.g., tobacco and alcohol use) and to buffer against stress in ways that may reduce cancer risk. Her work incorporates novel mHealth methodologies (e.g., ecological momentary assessment, wearable sensors, just-in-time adaptive interventions) to assess these dynamic, microlevel resilience processes among populations that have been historically marginalized, which include individuals identifying with racial and ethnic minority groups and those living in poverty.