Paul Duberstein, Ph.D.

I have addressed these issues in clinical research conducted at the URMC and other academic health centers as well as in secondary analyses of publicly available datasets. The clinical studies have been conducted in an array of health care settings, including primary care and specialty care (psychiatry, oncology, neurology). My current research primarily focuses on the development of personalized, tailored interventions to overcome barriers to effective communication and decision-making about emotion-laden topics in medical care. Another area of current interest is the impact of clinician characteristics (e.g., personality, personal experiences) on clinical care.

In 2009, along with colleagues in the Departments of Public Health Sciences and Family Medicine, I formed the Rochester Health Care Decision Making Group. The mission of the HCDMG is to create knowledge that helps patients, family members, and clinicians make effective decisions about health and health care while minimizing the emotional and cognitive burdens of decision-making.

I have served as Associate Editor (2007-2009; 2013-present) and Interim Editor (2010-2012) of the American Psychological Association's flagship aging journal, Psychology and Aging. At URMC I have served as the Director of the Laboratory of Personality and Development (2000-2012), as well as Co-Director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide (2002-2008) and the Rochester Center for Mind Body Research (2004-2008). My URMC-based research has been conducted in collaboration with local physicians, scientists and community partners. I have also collaborated with researchers nationwide, as well as with scientists in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Germany, France, Iceland, Australia, and Sweden, where I have a longstanding affiliation with Göteborg University's Neuroepidemiology Program.

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