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Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Epidemiology
University of Pittsburgh
Email: thurstonrc@upmc.edu
Phone: 412-246-5443
Fax: 412-246-5333

Research Program
Dr. Thurston’s primary research interest concerns menopausal hot flashes, with a focus on
four areas: 1) Racial/ethnic disparities in hot flashes, including affect and body composition
as mediators of these differences; 2) Obesity as a risk factor for hot flashes; 3) Behavioral
interventions for the management of hot flashes; and 3) The measurement of hot flashes,
including the development of new technologies for the physiologic measurement of hot flashes.
Dr. Thurston’s secondary research area concerns socioeconomic disparities cardiovascular
disease among women, with particular attention to the role of obesity in these disparities.
Methodologically, Dr. Thurston’s work integrates approaches from health psychology and
social epidemiology.
.
Leadership Positions and Honors
National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities Scholar, NIH, 2004 and 2006
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholar,
Harvard School of Public Health, 2003 
Joseph Becker Research Award, University of Washington, 2003
James B. Duke Fellow, Duke University, 1998
Phi Beta Kappa, Stanford University, 1996

Representative Publications 
Thurston RC, Blumenthal JA, Babyak MA, Sherwood A. Emotional antecedents to hot
flashes during daily life. Psychosom Med 67:137-146, 2005.View Adobe .pdf File . . .
Thurston RC, Joffe H, Soares CN, Harlow BL.  Physical activity and risk of vasomotor
symptoms in women with and without a history of depression: Results from the Harvard
Study of Moods and Cycles. Menopause 13; 553-560, 2005.View Adobe .pdf File . . .
Thurston RC, Kubzansky LD, Kawachi I, Berkman LF. Is the association between
socioeconomic position and coronary heart disease stronger among women than men?
Am J Epidemiol 162:57-65, 2005.View Adobe .pdf File . . .
Thurston RC, Kubzansky LD, Kawachi I, Berkman LF. Do depression and anxiety
mediate the link between educational attainment and coronary heart disease?
Psychosom Med 68:25-32, 2006.View Adobe .pdf File . . .
Thurston RC, Blumenthal JA, Babyak MA, Sherwood A. Hot flashes,
sleep complaints, and psychosocial functioning in healthy menopausal women.
Int J Behav Med 13:163-72, 2006.View Adobe .pdf File . . .
  Revised 9/5/2007  la/tc

 

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